Thu 4/16 @ 6:30PM
It’s unquestionable that Led Zeppelin, whether you love or hate them (and people have strong feelings about them), was once of the most influential bands in rock & roll, a bridge between British blues rock and heavy metal.
The film Becoming Led Zeppelin, released in early 2025, sheds light on that transition. It explores the childhoods and early musical experiences of the band’s four members—vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham—and how they became involved in England’s multifaceted ’60s music scene. Led Zeppelin emerged in 1968 from a failed attempt to put together a new lineup for the blues-rock band the Yardbirds that Page was then playing with, as the members of what became Led Zeppelin cycled in and Yardbirds cycled out. Its success was stunningly quick: it released its self-titled debut album in January 1969, followed by Led Zeppelin II, and spent the entire year touring, which brought them to Cleveland’s Public Hall that summer. By the end of that first year, they were superstars.
Becoming Led Zeppelin ends there. It’s the first and only documentary about the band in which they’ve participated, featuring new interviews with Page, Plant and Jones and archival interview with the late John Bonham.
The film will be shown at the rock Hall as part of its Rock and Roll Movie Club series. Go here for tickets.