10 Bands That Changed Rock And Roll
2. Led Zeppelin
At the end of the '60s, rock was just starting to realize that it could deal with something much heavier. Though the start of the decade had a bunch of guys cribbing from the blues tradition, there wasn't too many who actually could go back and put some real edge behind everything. While many people settled for the Rolling Stones as something heavy, Led Zeppelin's arrival felt like nothing short of a battering ram.
Originally born out of the British Blues Boom that birthed acts like Cream, Zeppelin were their own unique animal, taking styles from blues, folk, and even world music and combining them into one eclectic musical stew. As opposed to just laying down some hard rock, Jimmy Page had a vision for Zeppelin as something much more diverse, going from epics like Kashmir to some of the most off kilter rock music imaginable on songs like Rock and Roll and Immigrant Song.
Before it had even become an idea, this was the format of the supergroup as well, with Jimmy's killer riffs gelling perfectly with the animalistic power of John Bonham and the brilliant arrangements from John Paul Jones. With Robert Plant out front becoming the signature rock and roll frontman, this is what became the baseline for all other rock bands going forward. The '60s were over...it was time to kick things up a notch.