The band Paul Stanley said influenced “everything that everybody does” in modern music
Kiss is hardly a conventional band. To say that they have been directly influenced by one musical outfit or another would be a stretch, given their style and sound, which are so individualistic, set them apart from so many other bands who were making music at the time. It’s still the case now: The Kiss imagery is iconic, and no band has come close to being so recognisable based on appearance alone. However, even their lead singer, Paul Stanley, admits that the band had an evident influence.
“They wrote the book,” he said, attending a celebration for Led Zeppelin. Stanley wasted no time in revealing his adoration for the band, which many consider to be the cornerstone of rock music. However, Stanley’s admiration went far beyond what they did within the realm of rock.
“They are the reason most bands are here today. Their DNA is in everything that anybody does,” he said. “They were so innovative and such visionaries. Anybody who calls them heavy metal, that’s sacrilege; they are truly world music. They grew up absorbing so much of what they love, you have a band that is rooted in Appalachian music, blues, rockabilly, classical music, it’s all there.”
Stanley isn’t too far off in his assessment, either. If you were to describe Led Zeppelin to someone who had never listened before, you would almost certainly call them a rock band, but that would be a disservice to the range of influence that played a part in the band’s sound. Each member had an eclectic taste and was given free rein to embrace it within the band. The beauty of Led Zeppelin comes from the fact that all of those influences are at play and still produce a cohesive and exciting sound.
Consider Jimmy Page, for instance. He spent the beginning of his career working as a session guitarist, meaning he had to have a broad range, so people were keen to hire him and have him tidy up whatever sound the band recording was going for. He couldn’t be limited in the kind of music he played, and as such, when he wrote for Led Zeppelin, there was no limitation there either.
The same goes for Robert Plant. He was a vocal gymnast who loved to travel; wherever he went in the world, he liked to listen to music and pick up whatever he could. On a trip to Bombay, he heard an Indian song he thought was beautiful, so he took inspiration from that song when working in the studio with the band the next time they were together. The result was ‘Dancing Days’, a massive track from the House Of The Holy album.
Paul Stanley is correct that most bands today have been somewhat influenced by Led Zeppelin. This isn’t just because of the band’s big name in the industry but also because of their far-reaching sound. The band didn’t confine themselves to a genre, and the result was something truly exciting.
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