Led Zeppelin at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, April 17, 1977. Photo by Christopher Lee.
Despite ceasing to be a full-time band after John Bonham's death in late 1980, throughout the remainder of the decade, there was probably no other rock band as popular nor as influential as Led Zeppelin.Case in point, the amount of press dedicated to stories on the band and if they would reunite or not, their constant presence on rock radio stations, and of course, bands who attempted to replicate the sound and/or approach of such Zep classics as "Black Dog," "Kashmir," "When the Levee Breaks," "Whole Lotta Love," and "The Ocean."
In my 2024 book, Led Clones: The Led Zeppelin Imitator Craze of the '80s... and Beyond, this topic is fully explored and analyzed – including studies of those who were influenced by Zep before and after the '80s (and also, if Zeppelin "borrowed" from others, as well).
Below are excerpts from the book, concerning two tunes that were probably the biggest examples of an artist appropriating the Zeppelin sound: Whitesnake's "Still of the Night" and Kingdom Come's "Get It On."
Whitesnake: "Still of the Night"
While a bit of a tune by Elvis the Pelvis may have served as the guitar riff's initial inspiration [Whitesnake singer David Coverdale has admitted being inspired by the tune "Jailhouse Rock" while writing "Still of the Night"], by the time it was laid down in the studio, it sounded 100% Zeppelin derived – seeming to be an amalgamation of "Black Dog" (the riff, the call and response between the vocals and riff, etc.) and "Whole Lotta Love"... with a dash of "Kashmir" (particularly the middle breakdown) sprinkled on top.
However, radio host Eddie Trunk questions if the group's brief merge into the Zep turning lane was not entirely Coverdale's doing. "I think also when 1987 [the UK title of the group's self-titled release] rolled around, David decided to just rev everything up and changed the band and brought in John Sykes on guitar. And then Sykes comes in with these gargantuan riffs that were Zeppelin-esque, Coverdale just adapted to that. But if you really know the history of Coverdale and what he was doing prior – it was very much his own thing. And also, very much rooted in the blues."
By the time a music video was filmed for "Still of the Night," Coverdale was the only geezer from the song's recording left in attendance, as Sykes was replaced by not one but two shredders – ex-Vandenberg's Adrian Vandenberg and ex-Dio's Vivian Campbell (with Ozzy's former rhythm section, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge, also doing battle). And the video proved to be incredibly popular with still-major-tastemakers MTV – which prominently featured one of the era's top music video vixens, Tawny Kitaen (who was briefly married to Coverdale), as well as Vandenberg incomprehensibly ripping off Jimmy Page's violin bow gimmick!
And although Whitesnake did succeed in claiming an enormous new audience Stateside with their "Zeppelin pastiche," it left older fans with a case of the blahs. Including Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. "I used to really enjoy certain Whitesnake songs – especially the album before Slide It In [1982's Saints & Sinners]... but I do like Slide It In, too. But I don't understand how most people didn't see this as a Zeppelin copy band. And then when I heard 'Still of the Night,' I was like, 'This is fucking 'Whole Lotta Love'!"
Kingdom Come: "Get It On"
Led by German singer Lenny Wolf (whose previous claim to fame was fronting the obscure outfit Stone Fury), Kingdom Come was rounded out by guitarist Danny Stag, guitarist/keyboardist Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank, and drummer James Kottak at the time of their 1988 self-titled debut.
Issued on February 29, 1988, majorly backed by Polygram Records, and co-produced by Wolf and a pre-Metallica Bob Rock, Kingdom Come's self-titled debut was a sizable hit straight away – peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200, going gold in both the US and Canada, and helping the band secure a spot on the hottest US rock tour that summer, the Monsters of Rock (which saw KC open a bill that also featured Metallica, Dokken, Scorpions, and headliners Van Halen). And a major contributor to the success of the "Get It On" single (which peaked at #4 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks Chart) was MTV's support of its video – which Kottak later shared his memories of filming.
But seemingly from the get-go, the band came under fire from the press and from fellow rockers – quickly becoming one of the top rock bands "you love to hate." And looking back, Kingdom Come can be filed in the same category with the likes of Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Vanilla Ice, Nickelback, and Kid Rock. And what category may that be? It's the mysterious – but apparently quite lucrative – "artists who have sold a bazillion albums but I don't know a single person who owns one" classification.
While it appeared as though Kingdom Come was the brunt of many a joke ever since their inception, there is no denying that they were quite popular during 1988 – with MTV and rock radio giving some serious airtime to "Get It On." And Eddie Trunk remembers this period of peak popularity for the band, as well.
"I worked in radio when Kingdom Come came out. There were people that would call them 'Kingdom Clone' and they took shots at them. What I found interesting about Kingdom Come – even at that time – they took all this shit for being so Zeppelin-like, but 'Get It On' was a huge song. And radio played the hell out of it. I remember that there would be DJs that would even goof on it or make a snide comment about it sounding so much like Zeppelin... but they were still playing it, and they still blew it up, and they still made it a huge record. I always found that interesting."
October 18, 2024
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