What is the story behind the name Led Zeppelin?
In March 1967, Jeff Beck released his solo album 'Hi Ho Silver Lining,' which included a Jimmy Page composition, 'Beck's Bolero.' Page, Beck, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon were all present at the recording session for 'Beck's Bolero.' Moon and Entwistle were kidding about forming a new band with Beck and Page, and then Keith quipped, 'I've got a good name for it. Let's call it Lead Zeppelin, 'cause it'll go over like a fuckin' lead balloon!'
However, Entwistle claims he was the one who had invented the name: 'Led Zeppelin is a good name, isn't it? I made it up. Everybody says Keith Moon made it up, but he didn't. About four years ago I was realy getting fed up with the Who.... And I was talking with a fellow who is the production manager for the Led Zeppelin now. I was talking to him down in a club in New York. And I said, 'Yeah, I'm thinking of leaving the group and forming my own group. I'm going to call the group Led Zeppelin. And I'm going to have a an LP cover with like the Hindenburg going down in flames, and, you know, this whole business.' And like two months later he was working for Jimmy Page and, like, they were looking for a name, and so he suggested Led Zeppelin, and Page liked it, and they came out with the same LP cover that I'd planned.'
Who invented the name, Moon or Entwistle? There is no real proof for either version of the story, and some even say that it was really Bonham, Jones, and Page who came up with the name Led Zeppelin. However, the four band members say it was Keith Moon, and most people say it was Moon. Therefore, the Moon version is considered the truth.
As for the removal of the letter 'A' from 'Lead Zeppelin,' this was due to the fact that the members did not want Americans to mispronounce the name, 'Leed Zeppelin.'
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