WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with Grammy-winning producer Denny Somach about his new book, Get The Led Out: How Led Zeppelin Became the Biggest Band in the World, which arrives on shelves just as the band releases its 2007 one-off reunion concert.
Part of the lasting intrigue of Led Zeppelin is the band’s now-mythic backstory. Formed from the ashes of the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin was an intensely focused and visionary group that became the defining band of the 70s, buoyed by its creative independence and the mastery of its leader and guitarist, Jimmy Page.
The band’s music has remained a radio and cultural staple since its abrupt 1980 breakup on the death of drummer John Bonham, and while interest in the group has remained great in the three decades since, it seems to be at a Misty Mountain high lately, with the band releasing its 2007 one-off reunion concert in theaters and on DVD and being honored at the Kennedy Center next month.
A longer reunion is seen as unlikely, so fans have had to take quarter in the band’s bygone era of dominance. A good way to do so is with Somach’s new coffee table book, Get The Led Out: How Led Zeppelin Became the Biggest Band in the World, which shares its title with the Grammy-award winning Somach’s radio program and is published by Sterling.
