Tragic Stories About Led Zeppelin

When it comes to rock music, Led Zeppelin truly brought the "Hammer of the Gods." Formed in England in 1968, the band was practically destined for greatness as both its founder, guitarist Jimmy Page, and his recruited pal, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, were already accomplished session musicians. The addition of vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham — both young but well-versed in their shared local music scene — perfectly completed the ensemble.

An international sensation in the 1970s, Led Zeppelin remains one of the most successful and legendary bands in rock history, shattering records with their electrifying live shows, diverse genre-spanning catalog, patented refusal to play by the rules, and carefully cultivated air of mystique. Many Led Zeppelin songs, including "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love," and "Immigrant Song" — which has taken on a new life in Marvel's "Thor" movies — have proven to be enduring classics. 

But, over the years, the group's touring exploits — particularly involving frequent dalliances with groupies, irresponsible partying with sea creatures, hedonistic destruction of hotel rooms, and reckless drug and alcohol use — have become a cautionary tale of rock's dark side. On top of it all, nearly everyone affiliated with the band was battling their own personal demons. In fact, a few members were plagued by so much adversity that many people believed the group was cursed. From dangerous riots to unchecked substance abuse to multiple untimely deaths, here are some tragic stories about Led Zeppelin.

The following article includes descriptions of addiction and substance misuse. If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

While touring America in 1973, Led Zeppelin partied hard in New Orleans, Louisiana. As Stephen Davis noted in his biography "Hammer of the Gods," the band was staying at the Royal Orleans Hotel in the French Quarter, which was notorious for its rowdy nightlife. There, according to Davis – who got much of his information from tour manager Richard Cole – bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones invited a person named Stephanie back to his hotel room, unaware that she was a drag queen, and calamity ensued.

Cole claimed that Jones and Stephanie had smoked a joint together and fallen asleep before properly extinguishing it. The still-lit joint then ignited the bed sheets and started an inferno, prompting firefighters to break down the door. When they did, they allegedly discovered Jones and Stephanie unconscious and in varying states of undress. Singer Robert Plant later immortalized this version of the incident in the 1976 Led Zeppelin song "Royal Orleans."

But, in a 2001 interview with Steve Sauer for Lemon Squeezings, Jones claimed that Davis's and Plant's accounts weren't quite accurate. He clarified that Stephanie was a longtime friend of the band and there was never any confusion about gender. But what remains true is that there was a fire, and, had the fire department not intervened, he and Stephanie very well could have died that night. "We were in our room, drinking, and probably fell asleep," Jones told Sauer. "And I found the room full of firemen!"

Though he presented a bold, fearless presence on stage, Led Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham, struggled immensely while on the road. A family man at heart, Bonham — known to his bandmates as Bonzo — often found himself missing his wife and two young children, who stayed back in England when he toured. Early in Led Zeppelin's career, Bonham began drinking heavily to combat his depression and homesickness, which more often than not led to mayhem.

A friendly and gentle man when sober, Bonham was prone to anger, recklessness, and violent outbursts when intoxicated. He frequently took his alcohol-induced rage out on hotel rooms and anyone unfortunate enough to be around him when it hit. Over the years, this behavior earned him the unflattering nickname "The Beast." "Bonzo drank because he hated being away from home, he really did," bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones explained in Barney Hoskyns' book "Led Zeppelin IV." "Between gigs, he found it hard to cope."

Touring also exacerbated Bonham's struggles with anxiety. As Jones told Hoskyns, he hated flying so much that he would often ask his driver to turn around when en route to an airport. He also suffered from constant pre-show panic attacks. "I've got worse," Bonham stated in a 1975 interview (via Louder Sound), adding, "I have terribly bad nerves all the time ... It's worse at festivals."

While on a break from touring in 1975, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and their families took a summer vacation to the Greek island of Rhodes. But on August 4, tragedy struck. Robert's wife, Maureen, was driving a rental car on one of the island's mountain roads when she lost control of it, sending everyone — Robert, the couple's young children, Carmen and Karac, and Page's daughter Scarlet — off a cliff and into a tree.

Both Carmen and Karac suffered broken bones. Robert was thrown on top of his wife, shattering his right leg and elbow in the process. Meanwhile, Maureen nearly died, fracturing her skull and pelvis and later requiring a blood transfusion. In fact, her injuries were so severe that Robert initially thought she was dead. What's worse, the accident happened in a remote area, so the only help available was a local farmer who gave them a ride to the hospital in his fruit truck.

Luckily, everyone recovered ... eventually. Robert's leg was placed in a cast that extended from his hip to his toes. He then spent six months in a wheelchair, after which he used a cane for another year. The traumatic experience changed him. "I know that my kind of vision, or the carefree element I had, disappeared instantly when I had my accident," he told Joe Smith (via Barney Hoskyns' book "Led Zeppelin IV"). "That kind of ramshackle 'I'll take the world now' attitude was completely gone."

Along with their immense popularity came some of the negative aspects of fame: Led Zeppelin soon had their fair share of both deranged fans and outright haters. This hatred — largely fueled by guitarist Jimmy Page's self-professed fascination with British writer and magician Aleister Crowley and the occult — led to a slew of death threats against the band. According to Led Zeppelin's publicist, Danny Goldberg, in Stephen Davis's biography "Hammer of the Gods," the threats started during the group's 1973 American tour, and became commonplace after that.

In fact, as Mick Wall noted in his biography "When Giants Walked the Earth," death threats occurred with such unsettling frequency that bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones once considered quitting the band over them. In one notable incident, famous Charles Manson follower Lynne "Squeaky" Fromme repeatedly tried to contact Page. And in another, a disturbed man was arrested for insisting Page's death was imminent. "Eventually this guy was tracked down and got carted away to hospital," Page told Wall. "He would have definitely had a try, though."

Things got so bad that Led Zeppelin started traveling with an entourage of bodyguards, including two former FBI agents, who accompanied them everywhere. Band manager Peter Grant also hired security to guard the elevators on the band's hotel floor, and, out of an abundance of caution, Page — who began suffering from insomnia — even had private security guards stationed outside of his hotel rooms day and night.

Led Zeppelin's tumultuous final North American tour ended abruptly on July 26, 1977, when vocalist Robert Plant received a life-changing phone call. The band had just arrived in Louisiana when Robert's frantic wife, Maureen, called to inform him that their 5-year-old son, Karac, had contracted a virus and was seriously ill. Just two hours later, she called again with the shocking news that Karac had died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Robert was devastated. The remaining tour dates were promptly canceled and he returned home to grieve with his family. In Mick Wall's biography "When Giants Walked the Earth," Robert claimed that 1977 was "the year it all stopped for [him]." Speaking about his son's sudden and untimely death, he told Wall: "Nothing could make it all right again and nothing ever will."

What's worse, drummer John Bonham was the only member of Led Zeppelin who attended Karac's funeral. "Maybe they don't have as much respect for me as I do for them," Robert told tour manager Richard Cole (via "When Giants Walked the Earth"). "Maybe they're not the friends I thought they were." He eventually attributed his bandmates' aloof behavior in the face of tragedy to cultural differences: He and Bonham were raised in England's Midlands, while Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were from the South. Jones, at least, later made it up to him when the two co-wrote the moving synth ballad, 1979's "All My Love," for Karac.

A tall and sturdily built former wrestler, Peter Grant was certainly an imposing figure. Often considered the fifth member of Led Zeppelin, he ruthlessly protected and advocated for the band throughout their entire career as their manager, but, as a result, he was drawn into the violence, drug use, and general chaos of the music industry. This came at a great cost to his personal life.

Frequently left alone in England with their children while Led Zeppelin toured overseas, Peter's wife, Gloria, became increasingly frustrated in a relationship in which she always seemed to come second to the band. In 1975, after ten years of marriage, she left him. "The split-up with Gloria was like the final nail in the coffin," Peter's close friend, producer Mickie Most, later explained (via Louder Sound). "He was morally broken. He wasn't the Peter Grant we all knew and loved. He became secretive, and you felt uncomfortable around him."

Just five years later in 1980, Peter lost his close friend, drummer John Bonham. Racked with guilt and sadness, he stopped working and became a recluse who rarely left his home. He was also diagnosed with heart problems and diabetes. By 1990, Peter had managed to quit drugs, lost a significant amount of weight, and briefly returned to the public sphere. But, unfortunately, his health problems had finally caught up with him. On November 21, 1995, he died of a heart attack at age 60.

Led Zeppelin's wild touring exploits and penchant for "borrowing" songs from Blues artists are remembered just as often as their great tunes. In fact, they are still commonly presented as the "poster child" band for rock 'n' roll excess. But, while they certainly engaged in plenty of debauchery, the group's negative reputation isn't completely fair.

For one, it was often the band's crew who took part in their most infamous incidents rather than the members themselves. Tour manager Richard Cole, for example, took full credit for combining fish and groupies at a Seattle hotel in 1969. "It wasn't Bonzo [John Bonham], it was me," he told Stephen Davis in his biography "Hammer of the Gods." "Robert [Plant] and Bonzo didn't know anything, they were kids." In a 1975 interview (via Barney Hoskyns' book "Led Zeppelin IV"), vocalist Robert Plant, speaking of the band members while on tour, claimed, "[We were] more into staying in our rooms and reading Nietzsche."

Regardless, Led Zeppelin was hardly the only band living the "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" life or appropriating Black music in the 1960s and '70s. Curiously, The Rolling Stones — guilty of the same behaviors — were widely celebrated, while Led Zeppelin was perpetually disparaged by the media, mothers, and critics alike. This confusing legacy led Plant to raise a valid question in a 2003 interview with Vanity Fair: "How can we be reviled in so many different generations and then find out that we were people's favorite band?"