British rock band Led Zeppelin have received a prestigious award from Barack Obama for their significant contribution to American culture and the arts.
Dressed in black suits and bow ties, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were among a group of artists who received Kennedy Centre Honours at a dinner event at the White House.
Frontman Plant said he was flattered and overwhelmed by the award, adding that he was glad to see Jones and Page using "good table manners".
In his tribute to the band, Obama said: "When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst onto the musical scene in the late 1960s, the world never saw it coming.
"There was this singer with a mane like a lion and a voice like a banshee, a guitar prodigy who left people's jaws on the floor, a versatile bassist who was equally at home on the keyboards, a drummer who played like his life depended on it.
"And when the Brits initially kept their distance, Led Zeppelin grabbed America from the opening chord. We were ready for what Jimmy called songs with "a lot of light and shade".
"It's been said that a generation of young people survived teenage angst with a pair of headphones and a Zeppelin album ... but even now, 32 years after John Bonham's passing - and we all I think appreciate the fact - the Zeppelin legacy lives on."
The president drew laughter from guests when he thanked the former band members for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of "hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around".
Barack Obama, Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant The band were among those honoured at a White House dinner.
He ended his speech saying: "We honour Led Zeppelin for making us all feel young, and for showing us that some guys who are not completely youthful can still Rock!"
Legions of fans worldwide were expecting a reunion tour following LED ZEPPELIN's triumphant reunion concert at London's O2 Arena in 2007. And apparently some of the members of the band also expected the reunion tour to happen. "Some of us thought we would be continuing, that there were going to be more concerts in the not-too-distant-future," Jimmy Page told Rolling Stone Senior Writer David Fricke in the NEW issue (on stands Friday). "Because there was a lot of work being put into the show."
"He was busy," says Page. "He was doing his Alison Krauss project. I wasn't fully aware it was going to be launched at the same time. So what do you do in a situation like that? I'd been working with the other two guys for the percentage of the rehearsals at the O2. We were connecting well. The weakness was that none of us sang."
Full article HERE!
Recently, the band released their NEW concert film "Celebration Day" at the historic Ziegfeld Theater in New York's theater district on October 9. Prior to the premiere, founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant were joined by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham, for a press conference at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Footage available HERE!
A one-minute TV commercial for "Celebration Day" can be seen HERE!
The film of "Celebration Day" saw a worldwide theatrical release by Omniverse Vision on 1,500 screens in over 40 territories on October 17.
"Celebration Day" is available now in multiple video and audio formats via Swan Song/Atlantic Records. Available for pre-order now, the details on all configurations of "Celebration Day" are listed here:
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Led Zeppelin
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