The massive track Led Zeppelin only played live once
“We first played together in a small room on Gerrard Street, a basement room, which is now Chinatown. There was just wall-to-wall amplifiers, and a space for the door – and that was it. Literally, it was everyone looking at each other – ‘What shall we play?’” This is John Paul Jones account of the first time he and all of Led Zeppelinjammed together. “There was an old Yardbirds tune called ‘Train Kept a Rollin’… The whole room just exploded.”
Jones wasn’t alone in his admiration for this sound that he and his fellow band members stumbled across. As soon as they began playing, it became clear to Robert Plant that they were on to something really special, so much so that he was worried about overexposing themselves to the sound at risk of breaking it.
“I remember the little room, all I can remember it was hot and it sounded good – very exciting and very challenging,” he said, “Because I could feel that something was happening to myself and to everyone else in the room. It felt like we’d found something that we had to be very careful with because we might lose it.”
The public had a similar reaction when they first heard Led Zeppelin. Each member was a master at their chosen instrument, and they had an infectious ability to dance between genres effortlessly, which meant that people experienced something they had never been exposed to before. It led to huge record sales as albums flew out of the shops, and it became impossible to escape Led Zeppelin’s words.
Their musical ability also transferred to the stage, and they were considered one of the greatest live acts in the world. There was such a huge demand for them that they broke records, selling out one of the biggest arenas in the world in record time. People queued up to get tickets to what would promise to be one of the greatest shows on the planet, causing traffic jams.
However, while they were good at performing live, there are some classic tracks that Led Zeppelin refused to play live. One of these was considered a classic among fans, but despite the song’s popularity, it never made its way to the stage. ‘Ramble On’ was released on the band’s 1969 album Led Zeppelin II and immediately connected with fans. It was heavy and rock-infused but equally catchy and fun to listen to.
Led Zeppelin decided never to play the song live and instead just played a small segment of it, which would lead into their other song, ‘Whole Lotta Love’. The only time that they took to the stage and played the song from start to finish was during their reunion show at the O2 in 2007. This is when John Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, performed with the band in place of his father.
There was never a specific reason given as to why Led Zeppelin refused to play ‘Ramble On’ live; however, a lot of people speculate that it’s because they managed to achieve a unique sound when recording it in the studio that they then struggled to move onto the stage. Rather than deliver a haphazard version of the track, Led Zeppelin opted not to play it at all.
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