Rockin’ Zeptember 2021
As has been our tradition here at 98 Rocks since the very beginning, this month is designated “Zeptember” to salute the band whose sound has become synonymous with Heavy Metal itself. The musicianship and stellar showmanship remain among the genres most celebrated to this day, and the relevance and appeal of their music remains intact over fifty-years since their debut. Mssrs. Page, Plant and Jones remain musically active to this day, while the late drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham’s son Jason carries on his thunderous legacy behind the drum kit.
Zeppelin’s music has been and ever-present element in my life since a very early age. Certainly very early teens. There was no limit to the lawns I could mow or leaves I was willing to rake to earn funds for my voracious record-buying appetite. Weeding hot and muggy Central Florida ferneries for a couple bucks a day, odd-jobs at school during the summer, polishing floors and refinishing ancient wooden desktops. Babysitting neighborhood brats. No amount of effort was to much to aid in my quest to discover all the music available from these seemingly mystical and other-worldly song-smiths. Then the Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Yes, AC/DC Styx Stones Cream and on and on. Zep was my musical “gateway drug” though, and many times I’d strap a stack of my precious LP’s to the rat-trap on my Schwinn, and pedal across town to wear-out the grooves with buddies who had like tastes in music, and loud stereos! I eventually saved-up for a very cheap electric guitar, a lookalike to Jimmy’s black Les Paul but a far inferior instrument. And far inferior player I was. But I’d plug into an equally cheese-master pawnshop amplifier and spend hour upon hour trying to recreate the sounds thundering from that spinning vinyl. I’m sure there are many young rockers doing the same thing to this very day. Maybey they heard that first Led Zeppelin song on 98 Rocks, or on the internet, or while probing through a parent or grand-parents record stash. Perhaps their first taste of Led Zep was during a Cadillac commercial. No matter. The seed was planted, and the song remains the same!
