When Giants Walked the Earth Wall, Mick

You are Jimmy Page. It is the summer of 1968 and you are one of the best-known guitarists in London--and one of its least famous. (from the first line)

In this well-researched biography of the English band Led Zeppelin, Mike Wall relies on a plentitude of interviews to give a balanced look at the legendary antics and status of these giants of 1970s rock. Particularly in the United States, where the band earned insane amounts of money on tour, the members of Led Zeppelin--guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham, and vocalist Robert Plant--could get away with nearly anything. (Apparently bassist John Paul Jones eventually stayed in different hotels to escape the madness.) Physical assaults on random bystanders, unabashed misogynistic behavior, and rampant drug use were normal--and with a manager like Peter Grant, who previously worked as a heavy for a notorious slumlord, nobody much complained about the band's excesses. Wall even takes on the rumors of Page's Aleister Crowley-inspired Satanism with remarkable intelligence. This book has plenty of salacious and shocking hotel-room stories, but it also takes a serious look at the impact of one of the most important rock bands of all time.

Originally published: London: Orion, 2008.

From the Publisher:

The first significant fresh reporting on the legendary band in twenty years, built on interviews with all surviving band members and revealing a never-before-seen side of the genius and debauchery that defined their heyday.

Veteran rock journalist Mick Wall unflinchingly tells the story of the band that pushed the envelope on both creativity and excess, even by rock ‘n’ roll standards. Led Zeppelin was the last great band of the 1960s and the first great band of the 1970s—and When Giants Walked the Earth is the full, enthralling story of Zep from the inside, written by a former confidante of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Rich and revealing, it bores into not only the disaster, addiction and death that haunted the band but also into the real relationship between Page and Plant, including how it was influenced by Page’s interest in the occult. Comprehensive and yet intimately detailed, When Giants Walked the Earth literally gets into the principals’ heads to bring to life both an unforgettable band and an unrepeatable slice of rock history.

Annotation:
In this well-researched biography of the English band Led Zeppelin, Mike Wall relies on a plentitude of interviews to give a balanced look at the legendary antics and status of these giants of 1970s rock. Particularly in the United States, where the band earned insane amounts of money on tour, the members of Led Zeppelin--guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham, and vocalist Robert Plant--could get away with nearly anything. (Apparently bassist John Paul Jones eventually stayed in different hotels to escape the madness.) Physical assaults on random bystanders, unabashed misogynistic behavior, and rampant drug use were normal--and with a manager like Peter Grant, who previously worked as a heavy for a notorious slumlord, nobody much complained about the band's excesses. Wall even takes on the rumors of Page's Aleister Crowley-inspired Satanism with remarkable intelligence. This book has plenty of salacious and shocking hotel-room stories, but it also takes a serious look at the impact of one of the most important rock bands of all time.

Praise

"Anybody interested in learning more about the turbulent circumstances of its making should definitely consult Wall's book. Unlike most heavy-metal specialists, he writes clearly and with authority." - Robert Sandall

"[F]ans will love it." 10/01/2009

Product Attributes

Book Format:		Paperback
Number of Pages:		0504
Publisher:		St. Martin's Griffin

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When Giants Walked the Earth A Biography of Led Zeppelin (Paperback)

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