• The term Heavy Metal was first used by Beat poet William Burroughs and was re-introduced by the rock band Steppenwolf – “Born to be Wild”– It represents volume & distortion, life on the edge– Explosive blues based rock harder than hard rock– Heavy metal is an exaggeration of hard rock

• If hard rock was loud, heavy metal was louder– Many bands include theatrics and have oxymoronic

names• Black Sabbath• AC/DC• Iron Maiden• Quite Riot• Guns & Roses

• Formed in 1968 by members of the Yardbirds– Members: Jimmy Page (guitarist), John Paul Jones

(bass/Keyboards), John Bonham (drums), & Robert Plant (lead vocals)

• Their sound is heavily steeped in the blues• Some critics have termed them the first Heavy Metal

band– They did not like this term since they felt it was too

confining• A third of their music is acoustic

• Characteristics:– Virtuosic guitar - Page– Extreme vocals - Plant– Fantasy lyrics

• Stairway to Heaven about Celtic Fairies• Immigrant Song written after a trip to Iceland “…the land of ice and snow…” inspired by the Vikings

• “Whole Lotta Love” off of Led Zeppelin II, is a good example what becomes the heavy metal sound in its early years– Insistent eighth-note beat– Strong low-range guitar riff repeats under each verse– High pitched vocals which boarder on shouting– Distorted guitar– Loud– It is hard-rock – only harder

• Psychedelic Blues???

You need coolin', baby, I'm not foolin'I'm gonna send ya back to schoolin'

Way down inside, a-honey, you need itI'm gonna give you my love

I'm gonna give you my love, oh

Wanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta love

You've been learnin'And baby, I been learnin'

All them good timesBaby, baby, I've been discernin'-a

A-way, way down insideA-honey, you need-a

I'm gonna give you my love, ahI'm gonna give you my love, ah

Oh, whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta love

I don't want more

(ad lib)

You been coolin'And baby, I've been droolin'

All the good times, baby, I've been misusin'

A-way, way down insideI'm gonna give ya my love

I'm gonna give ya every inch of my loveI'm gonna give you my love

Yeah, alright, let's go

Wanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta loveWanna whole lotta love

Way down insidewoman, you need it

Love

Oh, shake for me, girlI wanna be your backdoor man-a

Hey, oh, hey, ohHey, oh, oooh

Keep a-coolin', babyA-keep a-coolin', babyA-keep a-coolin', baby

Uh, keep a-coolin', baby

Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin, 1969

• March 29, 1975: Led Zeppelin becomes the first band in history to have 6 albums on the charts at once: – Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin IV, House of the Holy,

Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin, and Led Zeppelin III • Important to music history:

– Their management got them advanced royalties and full artistic rights – this is the first time any band had achieved this amount of financial control over their music

• They kept 90% of their arena concert draw

• As the band rose to stardom their off stage behavior became more and more outrageous– Hotels “Riot House”– John Bonham motorcycle through the hotel– Destruction of a Japanese hotel

• Banned

• 1980 drummer John Bonham dies of asphyxiation while drunk – age 32

• Their most successful album is often called Led Zeppelin IV (1971), although officially it was an untitled album represented by these four symbols

• representing (from left to right) Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and Robert Plant.

• “Stairway to Heaven” was never released as a single but is the most requested AOR FM radio song ever.

• In the early 1980s the Baptist church said that satanic messages could be found in many rock songs if they were played slowly and backwards– “…If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be

alarmed now…”– “Here’s to my sweet Satan” and “I sing because I live

with Satan”– LZ’s response:

• Robert Plant wrote the lyrics based on Celtic Fairies in 20 minutes – not nearly enough time to create complicated backwards masking

Stairway to Heaven – Led ZeppelinThere's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold And she's buying the stairway to heaven. When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for. Ooh, ooh, and she's buying the stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings, Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving. Ooh, it makes me wonder, Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, And my spirit is crying for leaving. In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees, And the voices of those who stand looking. Ooh, it makes me wonder, Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune Then the piper will lead us to reason. And a new day will dawn for those who stand long And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, It's just a spring clean for the May queen. Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run There's still time to change the road you're on. And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know, The piper's calling you to join him, Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road Our shadows taller than our soul. There walks a lady we all know Who shines white light and wants to show How everything still turns to gold. And if you listen very hard The tune will come to you at last. When all are one and one is all To be a rock and not to roll.

And she's buying the stairway to heaven.

• Formed in 1968– Originally formed with the name Earth

• Black Sabbath centered their image on occult and horror themes– They took the guitar intensity of heavy metal and used

it to define their dark image• Black Sabbath is one of the most influential early

heavy metal bands of all time

• Their personnel has changed over the years– They have over 22 former members– John Ozzy Osbourne is the front man

arguably their most recognizable member• Fired in 1979 due to his excessive drinking• Replaced by Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010)

• The group changed heavy metal forever with their innovative style and hard edged sound– The released their self titled album Black Sabbath on

Friday the 13th, 1970– “The Beatles of Heavy Metal” – Rolling Stone– Their second 1970 album Paranoid is placed in

Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 best albums of all time– VH1 placed their single “Iron Man” as no. 1 in their list

of 40 greatest metal songs