Forty years of my life has had a soundtrack that includes some heavy hitters in the rock world, and  Led Zeppelin has always been right at the top of my playlist. The band whose only genre I could give a name to as Heavy Metal Blues, has been a sweet punctuation to my meandering years.

The first Led Zeppelin album I ever owned was Led Zeppelin II, and I only had that because I won a radio contest where I was the first caller who could recite the MacDonald’s Big Mac ingredients. Remember; twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun ? I blurted that out at nine in the morning and won my first contest ever at thrteen years old. I have never won anything better.

Led Zeppelin II was the start of a long relationship for me that was, and is, nearly an addiction. Anchored by the seductive hard rockin’ tune, Whole Lotta Love, the album assaulted my early teen years with a hunger for more. So I sought out their first album, Led Zeppelin I.

Having very little money, but friends who scoured flea markets and auctions, I was able to get my hands on a copy of that album. It was thick and weighty in the material used, and  heavy int the recording material. The blues standards that were covered with the uniquely weighty styling of Jimmy Page’s axe work, complimented by the vocals of Robert Plant convinced me I was more than smitten.

Over the next 8 years I waited in anticipation for each release and was never disappointed. Even with the critically trashed Led Zeppelin III.  Zep III was said to be to much of a departure from the previous to heavy hitters, but it is now hailed as one of the great recordings of all time. What some saw as departure, I saw as a further display of the collective talent of the group. The blues were there again, as always with the group, as well as a great rockin’ tribute to the Vikings in the guise of  The Immigrant Song.

Over the years the band’s fame grew monstrously and was crowned by the theatrical release of their concert/art film The Song Remains The Same. The movie combined fantasy sequences written by each member and their manger Peter Green with live concert sequences filmed during a one night show at Madison Square Gardens.

The band”s final real studio album, In Through The Out Door, came in 1979. On that album, the last song of the second side, is a song that the surviving band members agree is the ultimate Led Zeppelin tune, I’m Gonna Crawl.

The band dissolved in 1980 when the drummer, John Bonham, died from exhaustion while they were touring Europe.

Thrity years of no new recordings, yet they still provide my accent on life.

Squidoo Lensmaster 24websurf (a.k.a Holley) pays a passionate tribute to the band in one of her latest publishes. She explores her love affair with Led Zeppelin in a very well written retrospective titled, Led Zeppelin. Even though the band means so much to my ears, I couldn’t give it the justice that Holley does. Just read it for yourself.

Enjoy!

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

If  we want to get to the fire that burns deep and stoke it to consume our soul, sometimes we have to put ourselves through some craziness. Sometimes we have to just dive in and take whatever knocks come our way.

For me, the diving in had to do with writing and not asking for validation. No dragging my work up onto the back porch and coyly saying, “Look what I wrote. Do you like it?” Nope. I just decided one day that I needed to plunge and not look back. If I was good enough, readers would follow out into the yard and hunt with me, if not, I would have to just keep writing and try to get better at it. The important thing is that I keep writing and not stop the plunge.

I took the easy route to find the fire that burns. Others, like Squidoo lensmaster Lensmaster Luvmyludwig (Crystal Touchton), take much more difficult and often surprising routes.

Crystal recently participated in a charity event for the visually impaired and her contribution most likely has changed her life forever. Crystal went deep because of her pledge. She discovered truths about herself that will remain etched on her soul for eternity.

Crystal became a Fire Walker.

Of course, being a Fire Walker means much more than walking ten feet aacross a bed of burning coals. There is much preperation before that event, and the success of that  preperation hinges on how deep inside themselves that potential Fire Walkers are willing to dive for that pot of gold.

Crystal became a Fire Walker for life.

Crystal wrote a moving lens about her experience and how deeply she was moved by becoming a Fire Walker. It is a worthwhile read and just may stir some yearning inside you to take the dive.

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.