Led Zeppelin emerged in 1968, at a time when Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon were already on the verge of splitting up. Rock and Roll was moving into a new revolution that would be heavier and louder, driven by Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Zeppelin became the band that truly ignited these movements, proving it was possible to play that kind of music and still attract a big audience. McCartney witnessed that transformation up close and over the decades often spoke about many bands from that era, including the one formed by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones. What is Paul McCartney's opinion on Led Zeppelin Paul McCartney is a fan of Led Zeppelin and even had the chance to see them playing live in the 1970s. “I like the Pink Floyd, I like Led Zeppelin, I like the Rolling Stones. I like quite a few of the English groups," he told Sounds magazine in 1976. He had the chance to see the hard rock group live a couple of times and said they always put on a great show because they were so musically connected. "(To do a) show is hard. If you go on and do a show, you’ve got to know how people are doing it today. Because I went to a Led Zeppelin gig. Zeppelin goes on and they do a good show because they have the thing together as a band. They’ve got absolute confidence in each other. You get a band that hasn’t played together for 10 years and pass up will, well, then it’s difficult, he told Los Angeles Times in 1974. Curiously, one year after talking about seeing Zeppelin live, the Beatle mentioned guitarist and producer Jimmy Page in the Wings song “Rock Show”. That track is part of a medley with “Venus and Mars,” released on the 1975 album of the same name. "Tell me, what's that man movin' cross the stage? It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page. It's like a relic from a different age," the lyrics say. Talking with Let It Rock in 2008 he explained the meaning of that part. "You know what? It’s fictitious. It’s really just a general song. I think I was just talking about a guitar used by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin," he said. Paul McCartney believes John Bonham is the second best drummer of all time "John Bonham was a good friend of mine and I was a great admirer of his. I really liked the power of John. I remember (someone) asking him once 'How do you want your tom-toms to sound?' He said: 'Like cannons!' That is true. If you listen to something like 'Kashmir'. There's a power and he was a very powerful guy," Paul McCartney said in an interview (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Paul McCartney had the chance to work with John Bonham and be a good friend of the late drummer. Talking with Howard Stern in 2020, he chose the musician as the second-best drummer in the world. The Beatles placed Keith Moon in third place and Ringo Starr in first. “I’d go Ringo top, he’s something else. Second, I’d go Bonzo (Bonham. And third, Keith Moon. That’s mine. I’m going from that generation. Those are pretty good drummers, those boys,” Paul McCartney said. Talking with the Brazilian newspaper Estadão in 2019, he revealed that for a dream band, John Bonham would be his choice for drums. They would be accompanied by Billy Preston, John Entwistle, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley. John Bonham and Paul Jones’ partnership with Paul McCartney https://youtu.be/lC1EKgXrdgc?si=ZaNHRNa6QooPV-oB&t=64 Although Bonham's career was tragically cut short in 1980 at the age of 32, he still had the chance to spend a lot of time with Paul. They recorded together and even played live. Bonham played in the demo of “Beware My Love” (1975). Then in two tracks of the 1979 album “Back To The Egg”, called “Rockestra Theme” and “So Glad To See You Here”. Answering fans’ questions on Twitter in 2014, the Beatle talked about what it was like to work with the late drummer. “It was fantastic! He was always on my top 5 drummer list. (It was) a great friend and ballsy drummer!” In 1979, one year before his passing, Bonham played with The Wings at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Other two special guests that night were Pete Townshend and Zeppelin's Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. The latter also played on McCartney’s album "Back to the Egg". When Led Zeppelin broke The Beatles’ eight-year reign as the UK’s greatest band Curiously, Led Zeppelin was the first band to be voted the best in the United Kingdom after eight consecutive years in which only The Beatles had won the award. In 1970, the Hard Rock group was chosen by the readers of Melody Maker magazine. At the time, Robert Plant spoke about that shift in a TV interview, saying (transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage): ‘It’s changing. I think that’s why the awards have changed. Because the kids are changing and so is the music. “I think these days, the public you know, let’s no just say the kids. Because we’ve had all sorts of people at concerts. I think they’re coming to listen to what you’re playing. Not just to look you and see what you are. I remember a few years when I went to see The Beatles, because we’ve mentioned them a few times. It was to look at them. You didn’t really bother what you were listening to. Today is not what you are, is what you’re playing,” Robert Plant said. He was also elected the best male vocalist in the United Kingdom that year.
