10 best Led Zeppelin songs

Led Zeppelin is an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The band consisted of vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.

Singer's Room writes, "The band was originally characterized by a heavy guitar sound, and is considered one of the founders of hard rock and heavy metal. At the same time, its style is influenced by various musical styles, including blues and folk."

Led Zeppelin significantly influenced the nature of the music industry, in particular, the development of "album" and "stadium" rock.

Initially, the band was called New Yardbirds. After changing the name to Led Zeppelin, the musicians signed a contract with Atlantic Records, which gave them considerable creative freedom.

Initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success, releasing eight studio albums in ten years.

Their 1969 debut album, Led Zeppelin, reached the top ten in several countries and included such songs as "Good Times Bad Times," "Dazed and Confused," and "Communication Breakdown." Led Zeppelin II (1969) was their first number one album, featuring "Whole Lotta Love" and "Ramble On".

In 1970, Led Zeppelin III was released, featuring the song "Immigrant Song". The fourth untitled album, known as Led Zeppelin IV (1971), is one of the best-selling albums in history (37 million copies sold) and includes the songs "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Stairway to Heaven", the latter of which is one of the most popular and influential works in the history of rock music.

Here are the 10 best Led Zeppelin songs according to Singer's Room.

"Stairway to Heaven"

"Stairway to Heaven" was released in late 1971 by Atlantic Records. Its authors are Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who wrote the composition for Led Zeppelin's fourth studio album IV. "Stairway to Heaven" is considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

It consists of three parts, each of which gradually increases in tempo and volume. The song begins in a slow tempo with acoustic instruments, followed by electric instruments. The last part is a fast-paced hard rock arrangement, emphasized by Page's guitar solo and Plant's vocals. The last poignant words of the songs - "and she buys a stairway to heaven" - are sung a cappella.

"Kashmir"

"Kashmir" is a song from Led Zeppelin's sixth album Physical Graffiti (1975). It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, with the participation of John Bonham. It is known that the musicians began working on it back in 1973.

The song has become one of the main concert numbers and was performed by the band at almost every performance. Critics consider "Kashmir" to be one of Led Zeppelin's most epic works, along with "Stairway to Heaven".

"Whole Lotta Love"

"Whole Lotta Love" is the opener of the band's second album (Led Zeppelin II), and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries other than the UK.

In the United States, this song became the band's first hit and was certified gold. Some of the lyrics of "Whole Lotta Love" are taken from Willie Dixon's song "You Need Love", recorded by Muddy Waters in 1962.

In 2004, the song was ranked 75th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in March 2005, Q magazine ranked "Whole Lotta Love" third on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

In 2014, BBC Radio 2 voted "Whole Lotta Love" the best guitar riff of all time.

"Immigrant Song"

"Immigrant Song" is built on a repetitive riff and contains lyrical references to Norse mythology, and singer Robert Plant's vocals mention wars and Valhalla. The song was included in the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III and was released as a single.

Several live recordings were also released on various Led Zeppelin albums.

Although Led Zeppelin is generally considered to be an album-oriented band, "Immigrant Song" is one of the band's few hit singles. The popularity of Immigrant Song led to its inclusion in the compilation albums Led Zeppelin Remasters (1990) and Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin.

"Black Dog"

"Black Dog" is the opening song of Led Zeppelin's fourth album "Untitled" (1971). The composition was released as a single and hit the charts in several countries. "Black Dog" is included in the list of the 500 greatest songs of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine (USA) and ranked first in the list of the 20 greatest guitar tracks according to Q magazine (UK).

"Rock and Roll"

"Rock and Roll" was first released as the second song from the band's fourth album in 1971. One of the Rolling Stones' members, Ian Stewart, took part in its creation. In 1972, Robert Christgau called it "simply the most dynamic hard rock song in music".

"When the Levee Breaks"

"When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. Its lyrics reflect the experiences associated with the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

"When the Levee Breaks" was covered by Led Zeppelin as the last track of their fourth album.

"Ramble On"

"Ramble On" is a song by Led Zeppelin from the 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and recorded in 1969 at Juggy Sound Studio in New York City, during the band's second North American concert tour.

In 2010, this song was ranked 440th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2019, Rolling Stone included the song in the list of the 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs at number 5.

It is also known that the lyrics of Ramble On were inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings.

"Dazed and Confused"

"Dazed and Confused" is a folk-rock song written by American singer-songwriter Jake Holmes in 1967 and recorded by him for his debut album The Above Ground Sound.

After hearing Holmes's song in August 1967, the rock band Yardbirds reworked it in a new arrangement. Soon it became a centerpiece of their tours, and several recordings of "Dazed and Confused" were released, including on the Yardbirds' '68 album, produced by Jimmy Page.

In 1968, "Dazed and Confused" with new lyrics and vocal line appeared on Led Zeppelin's debut album. It became their signature song and was performed at concerts for many years.

Holmes is known to have tried to contact Page in the 1980s about copyright but received no response. In 2010, he filed a lawsuit, but the matter was settled out of court, and the authorship was changed to "Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes" on Led Zeppelin releases.

"Good Times Bad Times"

"Good Times Bad Times" is the opening song of Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album. It became the band's first single released in the United States, where "Good Times Bad Times" hit the Billboard Hot 100.

For the lead guitar, guitarist Jimmy Page ran the output of his Fender Telecaster through a Leslie speaker to create a swirling effect. And John Paul Jones said that the riff he wrote for this song was the most complex he had ever created.