The men of Led Zeppelin brought to the stage an attitude and swagger few bands can muster. They had an eclectic mix of blues, folk, eastern and other influences combined with a hard rock style that helped influence early heavy metal music. The band had some mystery surrounding them as the members had well-known animosity toward the media and rarely gave interviews. They also fought hard to keep their albums intact and not release singles, but their labels frequently went against their wishes. Led Zeppelin’s live performances were unlike any other, and the band relied on them as a way to differentiate them from other, less talented bands. Led Zeppelin was born out of the band the Yardbirds in England. Guitarist Jimmy Page started with the Yardbirds in the band’s final years. John Paul Jones also did string arrangements on their 1967 album Little Games. The group began to disband when Keith Relf and James McCarty dropped out and left page and bassist Chris Deja with an obligation to play a fall tour. Page added Robert Plant as a singer and John Paul Jones as the bassist when Deja left. Jones recommended John Bonham as the drummer and the band was complete. This newly formed group finished the obligatory shows and renamed themselves Led Zeppelin. They soon had a contract with Atlantic Record and started their tour in the United States in 1969 and release their self-titled Led Zeppelin album. The album was in the U.S. Top Ten within two months. They toured both in the U.S. and England to promote the album and released Led Zeppelin II in October of 1969. It also took two months to climb to the top of the charts and was at number one for seven weeks. They had a deeper sound by the time they released Led Zeppelin III in October of 1970. 1971’s Led Zeppelin IV brought even more diversity to the band’s collection with songs like “The Battle of Evermore,” “Stairway to Heaven” and “Black Dog.” They released Houses of the Holy in 1973 after playing large-venue tours in 1972. The album added some funk and reggae sounds and launched a hugely successful tour. They started their own record label and released Physical Graffiti in 1975. Their tour for this album was cut short when Plant suffered from injuries after a serious car crash and had to recover for a year. Presence was released in 1976 and came out on top of the English and U.S. charts. They had a concert film, The Song Remains the Same, in 1976 and continued to tour in 1977 until Plant suffered another tragedy with the death of his six-year-old son from a stomach infection. The band took a break and started touring again in 1979. In Through the Out Door was also released in 1979. In 1980, Bonham was found dead in his home at the age of 32. The band broke up after refusing to replace him. Since the breakup, there have been reunions with some or all of the remaining band members and a few greatest hits albums.