Led Zeppelin have been honored for their contribution to American culture and the arts, with tributes to the band being led by none other than President Barack Obama. The group, along with actor Dustin Hoffman and TV personality David Letterman were recipients of this year's Kennedy Centre Honors.
"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,"
"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 thanked band for not trashing the White House, given their history of "hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around" before concluding: "we honor Led Zeppelin for making us all feel young, and for showing us that some guys who are not completely youthful can still rock!"
Yeah, me too. I hope the whole world, organisations and goverments get togheter and give them recognition behind recognition to put them together again ... cause they still rock!
He's got mine and I don't even live in America. It seems me and this Obama chap have at least one thing in common though and it's probably the best thing to have in common; Zeppelin fans.
Agreed! This is my favorite thing Obama has done in office. Forget hail to the chief. HAIL TO ZEPPELIN!!! Although it doesn't matter if u like the man's politics or not, any person in his position would do the same.
I guess you're completely oblivious to the similar problems faced almost everywhere else in the world, in places where Obama has little-to-no influence then...
WTF? Pandering isn't used solely for elections... I don't know if you are in the U.S. but there is a "big deal" going on right now about this supposed "fiscal cliff" and each political party is calling for their supporters to call and express their opinions to their local congressmen. These slimy dirtbags do anything to get supporters. BOTH sides of our two party system.
You concluded your statement with a dig at Obama so I don't know what else I should've thought. Sorry, but now more than ever it seems you should have just stayed out of the conversation.
I can't force you to think. Sorry. Contact Obama. Maybe he can whip up some kind of taxpayer funded "learn to think" program. Oh wait, if he did that he would lose all of his supporters. BWWWWWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA zing
Amen to that. Whatever happened to this "fiscal cliff" we are all (except for him and his cronies) about to plummet over? I'm all for rock n' roll but his ass is getting paid to do leader type things, not pander.
Exactly, why is it any time I hear about this guy he's golfing, rubbing elbows at some celebrity banquet, or on Letterman? Start working on getting this country back on track Obama.
God forbid someone has a differing opinion! I'll tell you, for a bunch of liberals preaching peace and tolerance ya'll are the most hostile and intolerant bunch I've ever seen.
Funny, when it was Bush everything was the president's fault. with Obama, the president is suddenly just a tiny part of the big picture and isn't accountable for anything.
But.. But.. Led Zeppelin is British. I wonder does he know because they sure contributed to other cultures than American as well. Anyway the first time I hear POTUS praising anything that has came from the other side of the pond.
Don't know what to tell ya. Its a complete sentence written in the best English public education can buy. I'd recommend trying harder with reading comprehension.
It's so nice to know that our tax dollars are being well spent on pressing matters like bestowing government awards on an English rock band. We have no money, but we can afford to support crap like this. All this talk about government cuts and no one wants to offer any, i have a suggestion... how about we start with cutting this Kennedy Centre Honors crap. As musicians, do we really need a government bureaucrat to convey an award on people to let us know who's influential? John Bonham is one of the reasons i became interested in drumming, i don't need Barack Obama to tell me how influential he is. So yeah, cut the Kennedy Centre Honors.
Please don't make this political UG.
A president's job is more than governing, it's also being a good face for the government. And endorsing Zeppelin is a good face. Now shut it.
I knew Obama was cool. I think we can all agree that Bush or Romney wouldn't have known so much about/liked Led Zeppelin. If you don't like Led Zeppelin, then you don't have a soul.
Why couldn't Bush or Romney be fans of Led Zeppelin? Because they're Republican that must mean that they're both a couple of ignorant, racist, country music loving rednecks right? For such a "peaceful" and "tolerant" bunch, liberals always seem to be the first ones ready to stereotype and crucify someone.
I think Zeppelin is one of the most overrated bands ever, although I like a handful of their songs. Do I get at least part of a soul?
Morons tend to generalize regardless of political affiliation or personal belief. How ironic it is for you to chastise someone for generalizing then in the same breath go on to generalize the liberals in America.
Yes, you could say the same for every generalization. It's bad enough you generalize, it's even worse when it's such a broad idea. Liberalism is more than the radical comments from the Huffington Post, believe it or not.
Oh boy, never thought I'd hear 'radical' used to describe the Huff. But then again, in America a handful of anaemic liberals is the closest you're ever likely to get to the Left. Shame, shame.
Obama is a Zeppelin lover, **** ya, being Canadian I couldn't legally vote for Obama, but that didn't stop me. If this was Mitt Romney something tells me he would be giving the award to the KKK's current Imperial Wizard.....ZEPPELIN RULES!
Obama had no idea who these guys were until he looked over his speech and then re-read it on his telepromter. Ever hear him talk about his 'favorite' baseball team, the Chicago Cubs? Guy is a fraud, through and through.
What else do you expect? I'll take one guess where he gets his news from...
and seriously, I lol at the accusation that Obama hasn't even heard of Led Zeppelin (not only based on how trivial that is). Hey, even Paul Ryan has Zeppelin on his iPod, right?
He's from Chicago... What politicians from Chicago aren't frauds and criminals? Its their way of life. Don't they have the highest number of felony convictions? Its a mafia run city.
When Ryan said he was a rock fan, you idiots bashed him because he wasn't on your team (Democrat). When your dear leader reads a tele-prompter speach some professional speach writer wrote for him about Led Zeppelin, you all swoon like 12 year olds at a Bieber concert. You libs are a gullible, and effeminate lot.
... cause they still rock!
people these days.
LED ZEPPELIN