Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series.
I’m Paul Vogelzang and we have a really fantastic show today with one of my favorites, returning guest Bob Spitz, telling us all about his new revealing Led Zeppelin biography!
Yes, it’s THAT Bob Spitz, the NYT best-selling author of THE BEATLES: THE BIOGRAPHY comes the definitive biography of LED ZEP.
Bob Spitz will be presenting at Smithsonian Associates, Wednesday January 19, 2022, and the title of his upcoming presentation is A Whole Lotta (Crazy) Love: The Led Zeppelin Story
You can find more details on our website, NotOld-Better.com or the Smithsonian Associates website, both of which are in our show notes today, but we have Bob Spitz right now, and we’re talking about one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin!
It has been 50 years since Led Zeppelin’s legendary rock hit “Stairway to Heaven” was released.
The story of how virtuosic London sophisticates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones came together with Midlands wild men Robert Plant and John Bonham to form the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin is one for the rock-history books. New York Times bestselling biographer Bob Spitz draws on his own book, Led Zeppelin: The Biography, to tell the band’s definitive story.
It was one of the most successful (and certainly one of the most notorious) bands of all time, selling more than 300 million albums worldwide. From the opening notes of their first album in 1969, Led Zeppelin was something different: a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute force, of English folk music and African American blues.
Bob Spitz will pull back the curtain today with us on Led Zeppelin’s creative process, from dress rehearsals to creative breakthroughs. For his book, he conducted more than 150 interviews with friends, colleagues, executives, and even groupies who shared detailed inside accounts of Zeppelin’s exploits, from who really stole the money at the Drake Hotel robbery, to the step-by-step creation of their albums.
Led Zeppelin’s music, however, is only part of the legend. Their story is a window into how the 1960s turned into the ‘70s, of how playing small clubs became playing stadiums, of how innocence became decadence, and how the band came to be.
That of course is our guest today, Bob Spitz, reading from his new book, Led Zeppelin The Biography!
“This is the story of poetry and power, rape and pillage, of rock ’n roll incarnate. It’s a great book.”
“Bob Spitz always gets right to the heart of the story, whether it’s the story of Dylan, the Beatles, or Julia Child. This story, the outrageous story of Led Zeppelin and all its rock ’n roll craziness, is right here in these pages.” —Graham Nash, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via internet phone, Smithsonian Associate, Bob Spitz.
My thanks to NYT best-selling author, Bob Spitz for his generous time today. Bob Spitz will be presenting at Smithsonian Associates, Wednesday January 19, 2022, and the title of his upcoming presentation is A Whole Lotta (Crazy) Love: The Led Zeppelin Story
You can find more details on our website, NotOld-Better.com or the Smithsonian Associates website, both of which are in our show notes today.
My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show. My thanks to you, my wonderful Smithsonian Associates audience here on the Not Old Better Show. Please be safe, be well, get the vaccine booster right now, and let’s talk about better. The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series. Thanks, everybody.