Why I Love "The Ocean"

"The Ocean" is off Led Zep's Houses of the Holy (1973). It's definitely in my Top 10 of favourite tunes. It starts out with a chant by drummer John Bonham and I'm glad they kept the chant and the squeak of his bass pedal in the final recording. "The Ocean" does this really awesome switch between 4/4 time and 7/8 time. Plus I love all how the song has so many pieces to it: the rock verses, the short lull before a huge storm of rock, and the doo-wop at the end. It's a really great example of Led Zeppelin's contributions to the world of rock.

But my connection to "The Ocean" isn't just relegated to its sweet jams. In 2008, my family and I went to Aruba, the place where my mother spent her childhood. We were standing atop a dune looking out at the ocean and my mum told me about how "The Ocean" always reminded her of her life in Aruba and how she and her friends would sing along when it came on the radio.

Houses of the Holy

Now that I live in a place where it's a short trip to the beach, I understand how awesome "The Ocean" is. Sure, the lyrics aren't about how sweet it is to live near the beach, but it talks about the power of the ocean, how it washed away the mountains, and how he can sing to it. And now, my love of "The Ocean" is a connection I have with my mother.

"The Ocean" has its own familial piece to it. Robert Plant wrote in a sweet little love ballad to his daughter Carmen. "Now I'm singing all my songs/to the girl who stole my heart./She is only three years old/and that's a real good way to start." Whenever Led Zep performed the song live, Plant would update the lyrics with her current age.


Just a hint, but there'll be a piece on Led Zeppelin II very soon :)

Led Zep: The Beginning

Led Zeppelin, one of the most beloved bands of all time, was really just created to keep some Scandinavian gig commitments in 1968. The Yardbirds, which at the time consisted of Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja, and, of course, Jimmy Page, suddenly broke up while on tour (Fun fact: Page was brought in when Eric Clapton left). Page became the sole remaining member and he and manager Paul Grant had to get a band together to finish up the tour. With some help, he found singer Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.

The band played old Yardbirds tunes as well as new songs like "Killing Floor/The Lemon Song" which wouldn't be recorded until Led Zeppelin II. In just weeks, the band learned to play together and threw superb and fluid shows, unusual for a band who had been together for so short a time. But this smashed together group had a lot of chemistry and decided to keep going together, but in a new direction. With all the old links broken from The Yardbirds, in November of 1968 the band revealed their new name: Led Zeppelin.

The members of Led Zeppelin

You may wonder where the name comes from. Keith Moon (the drummer from The Who) quipped that the last Yardbirds line-up would "go down like a lead zeppelin." Page, Plant, Bonham, and Jones decided that they could use the line for an identity change and removed the "a" from "lead" as to avoid pronunciation confusion of the band's name. Thus, Led Zeppelin was born.

In January of 1969, Led Zeppelin was released after a short 36 hours of recording. Every track rated 4 stars or higher on their debut album, which included hits like "Dazed and Confused" (an old Yardbirds tune), "Good Times, Bad Times," and "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You." It's clear that some of their songs had roots in old Yardbirds songs, but it can be seen that Led Zep had their own sound - and they were transforming and rocking the blues genre. The band had incredible power, riffs, and swing, and these qualities would be brought in greater quantities to each successive album in the next 10 years.

Visit their website for even more info: www.ledzeppelin.com
Jimmy Page's Twitter: @jimmypagecom