Alternative Nation recently interviewed author Steven Rosen, and he created an exclusive Alternative Nation biography for Led Zeppelin. Rosen is the author of Tonechaser. Below is our Led Zeppelin Q&A with Rosen, who interviewed Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in the 70’s on Led Zeppelin’s plane.
Why do you think Jimmy Page has stopped performing live in the last 15 years? Will he ever return, perhaps for a one off Led Zeppelin reunion?
It is impossible to crawl inside Jimmy’s head. I seriously doubt if he would ever do a Zeppelin reunion. I don’t think Robert Plant or John Paul Jones would want to either. I think Jimmy has just maybe created all the music he wants to create.
What type of people did you see traveling with Led Zeppelin? Women, security? Anything funny or out of the ordinary?
There were security all over the place. They didn’t fuck around. You never saw the band at anytime except when they were onstage. There were women all over the place. I had several female Zep fans hang out in my room. Those were fun days.
Did Jimmy or John Paul Jones share their opinions about other musicians?
Jimmy loved Bert Jansch and Jeff Beck. John Paul Jones was a big John Entwistle fan. Didn’t like Jethro Tull.
Who were Led Zeppelin’s biggest influences, and who have they influenced the most? What is their legacy?
That is a hard question: I simply believe Zeppelin wanted to be the biggest band in the world and they achieved that. Zeppelin obviously influenced Greta Van Fleet and a thousand other bands. Their legacy is going down in history as one of the most successful, important and creative rock bands who ever were.
What were the distinct personalities of all four members of Led Zeppelin? Do you have any personal examples?
Jimmy was a tough one. He could be rude or simply not engaged. I had a hard time interviewing him. John Paul Jones was a sweet and delightful Englishman. He loved Zeppelin and loved to talk about them. I met Robert during his solo career and he was a bit isolated. John Bonham I never met but anytime I saw him backstage, he gave me a menacing look.
How valid do you think the ripoff allegations against Led Zeppelin are including the Stairway to Heaven lawsuit?
I think it was probably unintentional but nonetheless they did take that riff from “Spirit.” Spirit opened several shows for Zeppelin very early on and Jimmy heard Spirit playing “Taurus.” Jimmy absolutely denied that he lifted that progression but I believe deep down in his heart, he knows he did. He could have acknowledged that during those court proceedings but he never did. Zeppelin took several riffs from blues players and never gave them credit. Later, the band was sued and had to pay compensation to the estates of these blues artists and I believe give them song credit on the albums.
