Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page and Chris Dreja, both of whom had been playing with the English band, The Yardbirds. At first Page and Dreja named their band “The New Yardbirds,” completing for the original Yardbirds some concert dates that had already been scheduled.  Jimmy Page was very meticulous in putting together his band, securing Peter Grant as the manager. Page had already decided that he wanted to be the producer for his new band.  The decision was also made that the new band would write their own material.

Along with Dreja and Grant, Page started interviewing other musicians for the positions of drummer, vocals and bass guitar. Robert Plant was chosen for the vocals, John (Bonzo) Bonham on the drums and John Paul Jones for bass guitar/keyboards. Plant and Bonham had previously worked together in “The Band of Joy.” John Paul Jones was a session musician well-known to Page. Chris Dreja left the band at this time to become a photographer.

In the meantime, their name as The New Yardbirds was coming under fire, especially since Dreja had left (or been dismissed from) the band. From an interview of Chris Dreja with Greg Russo:

“I have a letter from my solicitor to Peter Grant saying, “My client is concerned
over the use of [“The Yardbirds”]. Please desist.” 
(Shadwick, Keith. Led Zeppelin, The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968-1980. San Francisco: Outline Press, 2005.)

Many stories exist of how the name “Led Zeppelin” was chosen, but Page was happy with the name, feeling it represented the concept of both heavy and light.

Led Zeppelin’s success is due to many factors. First their manager Peter Grant was a brilliant businessman with years of experience, who was able to get Led Zeppelin signed to the Atlantic label. Atlantic was keen to sign some of the British bands, and they awarded Grant’s new band a 5 year contract and a 6 figure advance. Page was allowed to continue as producer and a curious clause was that the band would be allowed final say on which of their songs would be released as singles. Grant had the vision of a band who made and sold albums instead of singles. This was a brilliant move. Grant and Page also set up a publishing company for Led Zeppelin, another brilliant move, named Superhype Music, Inc. That Page set himself up as the producer for the band allowed the band even further control over their music.

It is notable that during their career, they released very few singles, even though pressured by Atlantic Records to do so. The goal was to preserve musical integrity within the songs. Releasing singles would have meant editing and cutting their songs down to an appropriate time limit for the radio, which was less than 3 minutes at that time. It was nothing short of genius that from its inception, the band insisted on maintaining control of their own music.

Grant also felt that bands would make more money if they were to concentrate on albums and not on releasing single songs. He was a shrewd businessman who negotiated more money for his band and less money for concert promoters. It has been said that Grant always put the band’s long-term interest first and never sold out for short-term gain. Also it must be noted that he spent much of his time on the road with the band instead of sitting in an office, as most managers would have done.

The band worked to produce music and give concerts until their break-up in 1980, which occurred after the death of John Bonham from asphyxiation after a day of heavy drinking.

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You

Stairway to Heaven