10/15/2023
🔴 DID YOU KNOW THAT ABOUT LED ZEPPELIN?
Led Zeppelin toured relentlessly. Their first US tour was opening for Vanilla Fudge. Here's what Fudge drummer Carmine Appice told Songfacts: "People can't believe it now, but when they came over, they were green. They were a brand new band, nobody knew Robert Plant, nobody knew John Paul Jones Official, nobody knew John Bonham. Their first date with us was Vanilla Fudge and Spirit, and we were already sold out when they were added to the show. When they went on, the audience was yelling, 'Bring on The Fudge.' It was hilarious. I remember telling Robert Plant he should move around more on the stage. In March (2004), we went to Europe, played England, and Robert came up to jam with The Fudge. We told that story on stage and we both had a chuckle about it. Then they became so big. I got John Bonham a Ludwig endorsement, the same drums that I had, which were big 26 bass drums - a totally unique Ludwig kit that started all these crazy sizes. Bonzo saw it and loved it, so I got him the endorsement. Six months later when they came back to tour again, we toured together again, but this time it was equal bill. They got so big so fast, then they went on to become the biggest band in the world. We played with Jimi Hendrix, Cream - Band, The Who, and at times, we blew everybody off the stage. We were a very hard act to follow, we were known for being very aggressive live and different from anyone else. We were wondering who was going to blow us off - it was Led Zeppelin."