Claim: Led Zeppelin was originally named the New Yardbirds.

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 . The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page , singer Robert Plant , bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones , and drummer John Bonham . The band 's heavy , guitar-driven sound , rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums , has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal , though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences , including folk music .   After changing their name from the New Yardbirds , Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom . Although the group was initially unpopular with critics , they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin -LRB- 1969 -RRB- , Led Zeppelin II -LRB- 1969 -RRB- , Led Zeppelin III -LRB- 1970 -RRB- , Led Zeppelin IV -LRB- 1971 -RRB- , Houses of the Holy -LRB- 1973 -RRB- , and Physical Graffiti -LRB- 1975 -RRB- . Their fourth album , which features the track `` Stairway to Heaven '' , is among the most popular and influential works in rock music , and it helped to secure the group 's popularity .   Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin 's music , particularly early in their career , while Plant generally supplied the lyrics . Jones ' keyboard-based compositions later became central to the group 's catalogue , which featured increasing experimentation . The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery . Although they remained commercially and critically successful , their output and touring schedule were limited during the late 1970s , and the group disbanded following Bonham 's death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980 . In the decades that followed , the surviving members sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off Led Zeppelin reunions . The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London , with Jason Bonham taking his late father 's place behind the drums .   Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful , innovative , and influential rock groups in history . They are one of the best-selling music artists in the history of audio recording ; various sources estimate the group 's record sales at 200 to 300 million units worldwide . With RIAA-certified sales of 111.5 million units , they are the second-best-selling band in the US . Each of their nine studio albums placed in the top 10 of the Billboard album chart and six reached the number-one spot . They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums . Rolling Stone magazine described them as `` the heaviest band of all time '' , `` the biggest band of the Seventies '' , and `` unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history '' . They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 ; the museum 's biography of the band states that they were `` as influential '' during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s .