Gene Simmons, the ever-outspoken bassist of KISS, recently shared a rather surprising first impression of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
During a chat on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, Simmons reminisced about his college days when he first heard Led Zeppelin. Simmons was struck by the theatricality of British rock bands like Led Zeppelin. He noted how American bands at the time didn’t have the same flair.
“The thing that we liked was English music, the Kinks and the Stones. American bands just weren’t writing that kind of music. American bands didn’t look that way,” Simmons said. “Especially Jimmy Page and Zeppelin. The guitar was worn way down on the crotch. They’d hit a chord, and for no reason whatsoever, the hand would swing up in the air. A lot of these guys would do the Jesus Christ pose.”
“American bands didn’t do that. [British rock] was more theatrical and grand, and it was glamorous,” he continued. “You looked at Page and Plant, and you’d go ‘I wanna do that!’ When I first heard Zeppelin, when I was in college, I was convinced Page was a white woman doing an impression of Janis Joplin. I never knew a guy could sing that high!”
This revelation provides a unique perspective on British rock bands’ influence on American musicians, during rock music’s formative years.
In a feature published by Music Radar, Simmons had highlighted Led Zeppelin’s groundbreaking first record as ‘undeniable.’ He specifically noted the impact of songs like ‘Communication Breakdown’ on his own musical journey.
The KISS bassist’s admiration for Led Zeppelin went beyond their recorded music. Their exceptional ability to recreate studio sound during live performances distinguished them from their contemporaries.
Led Zeppelin’s theatrical approach transformed the American rock scene. Page’s distinctive guitar positioning and Plant’s powerful vocal range had created a new perspective of stage presence and musical presentation.
Kiss later incorporated similar theatrical elements into their own performances. This adaptation demonstrated how British rock’s theatrical style became an integral part of American rock culture.
