Tributes to Led Zeppelin: Difference between revisions

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{{Merge|#REDIRECT [[List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin coverssongs]] and{{R tributes|date=Junefrom 2011merge}}

{{Refimprove|date=July 2008}}

Beginning in the 1980s, the iconic nature of many [[Led Zeppelin]] riffs made them a popular target for sampling, initially unauthorised, but later sanctioned by the surviving band members, to mixed reactions from fans. [[Hip hop music|Hip-hop]] group the [[Beastie Boys]] sampled two Led Zeppelin songs for their ''[[Licensed to Ill]]'' album; they used Bonham's drum introduction from "When the Levee Breaks" (which was also used by [[Mike Oldfield]] and [[Erasure]]) for the song "Rhymin' and Stealin'", and parts of "[[The Ocean (Led Zeppelin song)|The Ocean]]" for "[[She's Crafty]]".

For the [[1998 in film|1998]] movie [[Godzilla (1998 film)|Godzilla]], guitarist [[Jimmy Page]] collaborated with [[Sean Combs|Puff Daddy]], reworking the famous riff from "Kashmir" in the song "Come With Me"—Page also has a brief vocal part in this song.

==List of Led Zeppelin cover song recordings==

*[[Sandie Shaw]] was said to be one of the first to cover a Led Zeppelin song. She covered "Your Time Is Gonna Come" in 1969 for her controversial album ''[[Reviewing the Situation]]'', and she also covered songs originally by [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Donovan]], and [[Bob Dylan]] to name a few.

*An [[instrumental]] version of "Whole Lotta Love" by [[C. C. S. (pop group)|C. C. S.]] reached the [[UK singles chart]] in 1970, and was used as the theme music for the [[BBC]]'s chart show ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' for most of the 1970s, and, in a remixed version, between 1998 and 2003.

*[[Tina Turner]] released "Whole Lotta Love" as a single in 1975.

*Beginning in 1985, American stand-up comedian [[Wayne Federman]] included the main riff plus the solo from "[[Whole Lotta Love]]" and "[[Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)|Heartbreaker]]" in a medley of hard rock tunes played on his ukulele (through a [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] amplifier). A version can be seen on [[Comedy Central]].

*[[Jeff Buckley]] has performed "Kashmir" [[Live at L'Olympia]].

*[[Little Roger and the Goosebumps]] released a single called "Stairway to Gilligan's Island" in 1978. The song puts the words to the theme of the television show [[Gilligan's Island]] to an adapted and condensed "Stairway to Heaven". This song became popular, especially through heavy play (and many listener requests) on the [[Dr. Demento]] Radio Show. Legal action by representatives of Led Zeppelin soon followed, and the single was withdrawn from sale. Many Led Zeppelin [[tribute band]]s perform the song.

*[[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] performed a sloppy rendition of "Heartbreaker" in 1987 during the first live performance under the Nirvana name.

*[[Soundgarden]] covered hits such as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Communication Breakdown" during tours in the early 1990s.

*[[Iron Maiden]] released a cover of the song "Communication Breakdown" on their single "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", released on December 24, 1990.

* [[A cappella]] group [[The Bobs]] included "Whole Lotta Love" on their 1991 album '''The Bobs Sing the Songs Of...''

*[[Frank Zappa]] covered "Stairway to Heaven" during live performances. One version, featuring a note-for-note copy of Page's guitar solo played by the horn section, can be found on the 1991 live album ''[[The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life]]''.

*The [[New York City|New York]] [[Hardcore punk|hardcore]]/[[metalcore]] band [[Judge (band)|Judge]] recorded a version of "When the Levee breaks", originally released on the CD version of their 1991 EP, ''There Will Be Quiet''.

*A riff from "No Quarter" is used in [[Sublime (band)|Sublime]]'s version of [[The Toyes]]' "[[Smoke Two Joints]]", on Sublime's 1992 album, ''[[40 Oz. to Freedom]]''.

*In 1993, [[Rolf Harris]] recorded a cover version of ''Stairway to Heaven'' which reached No.7 in the UK charts.<ref name="RH">[http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirr/rolfh.htm Rolf Harris' Stairway to Heaven]</ref> Not long afterwards, an album called ''[[Stairways to Heaven]]'' was released, featuring Australian artists' interpretations of the classic song.

*"Immigrant Song" was covered by [[Infectious Grooves]] (a [[funk metal]] side project of [[Suicidal Tendencies]]) in 1993.

*[[Louisiana]]'s [[Crowbar (U.S. band)|Crowbar]] covered "No Quarter" on their second album, also called [[Crowbar (album)|Crowbar]], released on October 12, 1993.

*[[Ofra Haza]] recorded a version of "Kashmir", which appeared on her 1994 single, "Mata Hari".

*[[Dream Theater]] recorded a live performance (at [[Ronnie Scott]]'s Jazz Club in London, England, on January 31, 1995) of "The Rover", "Achilles Last Stand" and "The Song Remains the Same", combined into a medley. The recording features on their album ''[[A Change of Seasons]]''.

*In 1995, a [[tribute album]] entitled ''[[Encomium (album)|Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin]]'' was released. The album featured covers performed by modern rock acts, including a hit version of "Dancing Days" by [[Stone Temple Pilots]]. Robert Plant sang on the album, duetting with [[Tori Amos]] on "Down by the Seaside".

*In 1997, the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] released ''[[Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin]]'', an orchestral tribute to Led Zeppelin scored and arranged by [[Jaz Coleman]] and [[Martin Glover|Youth]] of [[Killing Joke]], including versions of "When the Levee Breaks", "Kashmir" and "Stairway to Heaven".

*In 1999, [[Great White (band)|Great White]] released a tribute album called ''Great Zeppelin: Tribute to Led Zeppelin'' which they recorded live in December 1996 at the Galaxy in [[Santa Ana, California]]. The album contains fourteen tracks, including "[[Stairway to Heaven]]".

*[[Incubus (band)|Incubus]] performed a cover of "Immigrant Song" live on ''[[The Howard Stern Show]]'' on October 24, 2001, with Howard Stern trying to emulate Robert Plant's signature high note.

*The rock/comedy duo [[Tenacious D]] used pieces of "Stairway to Heaven" in the original version of their song "[[Tribute (song)|Tribute]]".

*[[Tool (band)|Tool]] covered "No Quarter" for the soundtrack of the 1997 film ''[[Private Parts]]'', but withdrew from the project. Their version was released in 2000, on the ''[[Salival]]'' box set.

*[[Fuel (band)|Fuel]] covered "Going to California" as a bonus track on the 2003 reissue of the album, ''[[Something Like Human]]''.

*On November 7, 2003, Dream Theater's [[Mike Portnoy]] put together a one-off cover band to perform at the [[Montreal Drum Festival]]. The band, called "Hammer of the Gods", included Portnoy on drums, [[Mr. Big (band)|Mr. Big]]'s [[Paul Gilbert]] on guitar, [[Dixie Dregs]]' [[Dave LaRue]] on bass and [[Pain of Salvation]]'s [[Daniel Gildenlöw]] on vocals. All members dressed in attire imitating Led Zeppelin's members. A recording of the performance is available on both CD and DVD through Portnoy's website.<ref name="MP">[http://www.mikeportnoy.com/store/?menu=store Mike Portnoy.com]</ref>

* [[A Perfect Circle]], recorded [[When the Levee Breaks]] for their [[eMOTIVe]] album in 2004. However, this version was a cover version of Memphis Minnie/Kansas Joe McCoy's song, not Led Zeppelin's altered version.

*[[Coheed and Cambria]]'s 2005 album ''[[Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness]]'' included a [[hidden track]] called "Bron-Y-Aur" after Led Zeppelin's song of the same name from "Physical Graffiti".

*[[Muse (band)|Muse]] have sampled the riff from ''[[Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)|Heartbreaker]]'' when playing live.

*[[2pac]] sampled the riff from ''[[Ten Years Gone]]'' on the unreleased original version of "Life's So Hard" which was recorded in 1994 during the making of his album [[Me Against The World]].

* The 2CD edition of the [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]] [[concept album]] [[The Crimson Idol]] contains a live version of 'When the levee breaks'.

*[[Prince (musician)|Prince]] often plays "[[Whole Lotta Love]]" with his band on tour, and his 1985 hit [[Raspberry Beret]] contains the line "she walked [[In Through the Out Door|in through the out door]], out door..."

*[[Heart (band)|Heart]] covered "Rock & Roll" in their 1980's album "Greatest Hits Live". They also released a live version of "Stairway to Heaven" on one of their remastered CD albums.

*[[Phish]] has performed covers of "Good Times, Bad Times," "Dazed and Confused," "Communication Breakdown," "Misty Mountain Hop," "Moby Dick," and "Ramble On."

*[["Weird Al" Yankovic]] used the guitar part from "[[Black Dog (song)|Black Dog]]" in his parody of [[R. Kelly]]'s "[[Trapped in the Closet]]" called "Trapped in the Drive-Thru".

*[[Wolfmother]] performed a cover of "Communication Breakdown" at the 2006 UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

*[[Lez Zeppelin]] is an all-female tribute act performing Led Zeppelin music based out of [[New York City]]. In 2007, they released ''[[Lez Zeppelin (album)|Lez Zeppelin]]'', with production by [[Eddie Kramer]].

*[[Bustle in your hedgerow]] is the instrumental quartet performing Led Zeppelin music based out of [[New York City]]. The band includes [[Dave Dreiwitz]] of [[Ween]], [[Marco Benevento]] and [[Joe Russo]] of The [[Benevento/Russo Duo]] and [[Scott Metzger]] of RANA.

Other Led Zeppelin tribute bands include [[Swan Song - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin]], [[Led Zepplica]], [[Fred Zeppelin]] and [[Dread Zeppelin]], a band that performs Led Zeppelin covers in a [[reggae]] style with an [[Elvis Presley]] impersonator on vocals. Robert Plant has publicly stated that Dread Zeppelin is his favorite Led Zeppelin cover band.<ref name="DZ">[http://www.dreadzeppelin.com/sounds/plantvoice.wav Dread Zeppelin]</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Led Zeppelin}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tributes To Led Zeppelin}}

[[Category:Led Zeppelin tribute bands| ]]

[[Category:Led Zeppelin]]