Led Zeppelin covers and tributes

Led Zeppelin songs have been the subject of cover versions on occasion; American band Dread Zeppelin have made a career out of covering and parodying Zeppelin tunes. However, other serious and authentic-sounding tribute bands have also emerged, striving to keep the true essence of a Led Zeppelin live show experience alive such as Swan Song - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin, In the Light, and the British band Fred Zeppelin, who are based in the Back Country homeland of Plant and Bonham and have been seen by Robert Plant several times.

Beginning in the 1980s, the iconic nature of many 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 group the Beastie Boys sampled Bonham's crushing beat from "When the Levee Breaks", and also borrowed parts of "The Ocean" for "She's Crafty". For the movie "Godzilla", guitarist Jimmy Page collaborated with P. Diddy, reworking the famous riff from "Kashmir" in the song "Come With Me"—Page also has a brief vocal part in this song. Tool has covered "No Quarter" and a riff from the song can be found in Sublime's "Smoke Two Joints". Another band featuring Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, A Perfect Circle, cut When the Levee Breaks for their eMOTIVe album in 2004. The rock/comedy duo Tenacious D strategically used pieces of "Stairway to Heaven" in the original version of their song "Tribute". In 2005 Coheed and Cambria released an album titled "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol 1: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness" which included a hidden song entitled "Bron-Y-Aur" after Zeppelin's famous "Bron-y-aur".

A cover version of "Whole Lotta Love", by Alexis Korner, was, for many years, used as the theme music for the BBC's chart show "Top of the Pops". Saxophone legend King Curtis also did "Whole Lotta Love" (with an uptempo R&B arrangement) on his 1971 "Live at Fillmore West" album. Tina Turner covered "Led Zeppelin II" 's "Whole Lotta Love" (as did the a capella group The Bobs) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra released an orchestral tribute to Led Zeppelin that includes versions of "Stairway to Heaven", "When The Levee Breaks", and "Kashmir". Rolf Harris recorded a cover version of "Stairway to Heaven" in 1993 which reached No.7 in the UK charts [http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirr/rolfh.htm] . Not long after an album "Stairways To Heaven" was released, featuring Australian artists' interpretations of the classic song. In 1995 a tribute album entitled "" was released featuring covers performed by modern rock acts, notably a hit version of "Dancing Days" performed by Stone Temple Pilots. Robert Plant actually sang on this album, duetting with Tori Amos on "Down by the Seaside," because she wanted to sing a descant to it.

In 1978, a band from Davis, California called Little Roger and the Goosebumps put out a single called "Stairway To Gilligan's Island" (by putting the words to the theme of the 1960s US 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. Comedian Mark Silverman made a parody of the song "Stairway to Heaven" with a song titled, "Stairway to the house on the rising smoke on the water."

Unlike many of their contemporaries, the band has been very protective of its catalogue of songs and has seldom allowed them to be licensed for other uses -- for example, as of early 2006, the band remains one of a select handful who have refused to license their songs to any online music stores. In recent years this position has softened somewhat and Led Zeppelin songs can be heard in movies such as "One Day in September", "Almost Famous" and "School of Rock", On the DVD release of the latter movie, a special feature shows star Jack Black and an auditorium full of extras videotaping a plea to Led Zeppelin for permission to use "Immigrant Song" in the film. In a singular concession for commercial use, the Led Zeppelin song "Rock and Roll" was heard in Cadillac television and radio ads.

On November 7th 2003, Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) put together a one-off cover band to perform at the 2003 Montreal Drum Festival. The one-time cover line-up titled "Hammer of the Gods" included Portnoy (drums), Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big) on guitar, Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs) on bass and Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation, The Flower Kings) on Vocals. All members dressed in proper attire to imitate the original members. This performance is scheduled for release on both CD and DVD in 2006 through Portnoy's website [http://www.mikeportnoy.com/store/?menu=store] .

A tribute can also be heard in Dream Theater's album "A Change of Seasons". In this live performance, "The Rover", "Achilles Last Stand" and "The Song Remains The Same" are put together in a medley. These tracks were performed and recorded in the "Uncovered" Show at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London, England in January 31st, 1995.

The British Heavy Metal Band Iron Maiden recorded a cover of the song "Communication Breakdown" on their single Bring Your Daughter... To the Slaughter.

Frank Zappa covered "Stairway To Heaven" during live performances. One version can be found on the 1991 live album "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life". This remarkable cover features a note-for-note copy of Page's guitar solo played by the horn section.

The Minnesota Orchestra performed with a cover band by the name of "The Music of Led Zeppelin" on January 21, 2006 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. This performance combined electric guitar, singing, and drums with a full-blown orchestra and rock concert-style lighting for the entire duration of the show. The Minnesota Public Radio website features an article with more details at this address: [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2006/01/20_robertsc_mnorchzeppelin/] . The Target Center website also features an article at this address: [http://www.targetcenter.com/event.php?id=140] .

The metal band Demons and Wizards has also covered "Immigrant Song". So have Los Angeles thrash metal/speed metal legends Dark Angel on their 1989 album "Leave Scars". Guitarist Eric Meyer admits the band covered the song to get on the radio.

The North American concert act "Get the Led Out" performed authentic replications of Led Zeppelin's studio recordings live in concert on 3/17/06 at the House of Blues Atlantic City, NJ., Plymouth Memorial Hall, MA, 3/25/06, and Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA. on 7/21/06.

An electro-charged version of "Immigrant Song" can be found on 2004's "Electric Samurai" by Japanese guitar wizard Tomoyasu Hotei.

Jeff Buckley, in the 2003 extended release of his "Live at Sin-é" cafe recording, covered and transformed the song "Night Flight", a throw-away from Zep's "Physical Graffiti". He also performed a rather abbreviated version of "Kashmir" on 2001's "Live á l'Olympia" (though definitely not at original speed).

In a promotional b-side to their "Drops of Jupiter" album, the band Train recorded an acoustic cover of "Ramble On".

Missouri Metalcore band Coalesce's album, "There is Nothing New Under the Sun", which is composed solely of Led Zeppelin covers.