TOLKIEN - Fifty years without the author and his influence on Led Zeppelin

Fifty years after his death, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is more current than ever. Despite the fact that his best-known work is The Lord of the Rings – which will be seventy years old next year – the current popularity of the entire Middle-earth is undeniable, thanks to the new audiovisual productions and the many references found in series and movies. We owe much of this resurgence to Stranger Things, which spawned a new generation of fans.

Times magazine called JRR Tolkien (image above, left) one of the greatest British writers since 1945, but I dare say he was, is, and will be, one of the greatest in history. Although the literary fantasy genre already existed long before Tolkien, it was thanks to him that it gained strength to become the cult phenomenon it is today.

It is almost obvious to relate the author to the award-winning productions of Peter Jackson and the prequel The Hobbit almost a decade later, as well as the new Amazon Prime production, The Rings of Power. But something not so recognised is his influence on music, specifically Rock and Roll.

Many old-school metalheads showed their fandom for The Lord of the Rings, but one band made it more evident than any other: Led Zeppelin.

As obvious admirers of Tolkien's work – and let's be real, we would have done the same – Led Zeppelin created several songs where characters are named or where there are references to some of the author's work. Starting with Ramble On (1969) is almost a cliché, but it is clearly the most famous of his creations. Fans of this world will realise that in the first verses, there is a nod to one of the author's poems, but I would like to focus on the most obvious.

"I was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a very beautiful girl, but Gollum and the Evil One took her away." Apart from the well-known mentions, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant play on the sense of looking for a woman when in fact the whole song seems to be a first-person account of Frodo carrying the weight of the One Ring of Power.

The sound fused with Celtic folk, and Page's unmistakable mandolin riff on The Battle of Evermore (1971) created one of Zeppelin's most epic songs. There are those who say that it is based on the Scottish wars that drew so much attention to the band, but the vast majority of us know that it is purely inspired by one of the Return of the Kings battles, where two kingdoms join forces to fight against the evil Sauron. It would be interesting for them to listen to it and decide which side they are on.

With Misty Mountain Hop (1971) the band gave us a sound more similar to the heavy metal of the time. In Tolkien's world, the misty mountains are a mountain range where dwarves inhabit, but in reality, only the title of the song has been inspired by them. It is certainly a criticism for the actions of the police against a group of hippies who were protesting to demand the legalisation of marijuana. Therefore, the only relationship that can exist is the reference to smoke.

Although at first it would be called Many, Many Times, finally Led Zeppelin released Over the Hills and Far Away (1973) paying, once more homage to one of Tolkien's poems, Over Old Hills and Far Away, written between 1915 and 1916.

And finally, I don't think there is an article about the band that doesn't mention Stairway to Heaven (1971). From the first time I heard it, I realised that when Plant tells us "there is a lady who is sure, all that glitters is gold" he is clearly referring to one of Tolkien's most beautiful poems that declares "not all that glitters is gold". Maybe it's just a theory, or maybe fanaticism makes us believe that every song by the band has something of Tolkien in it, although it would be too much of a coincidence, right?

Just as Led Zeppelin composed the songs that I have just named, Black Sabbath created The Wizard (1970) inspired by Gandalf, the Canadians Rush released a song with the name of the elf city Rivendell (1975) and Leonard Nemoy (Mr. Spok from Star Trek) sang The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins (1968). With Pink Floyd releasing The Gnome (1967) and with Stragnation (1970) by Genesis we have nothing but theories, since neither band wanted to make statements about their sources of inspiration; but the fans took it upon themselves to draw their own conclusions. And Megadeth, though not as bookish but movie-buff, pulled the line “This Day We Fight” from Peter Jackson's third instalment, releasing their song in 2009.

Robert Plant told Rolling Stone that, looking back, he's a little embarrassed to refer to those books for so much inspiration, but personally, I think it should be the opposite. He had the initiative to create songs and melodies that nobody had ever written until then, and achieved as much success - if not more - than any other band of the time. Led Zeppelin was the voice of all fans of this genre, and was able to unite music and literature in a very pleasant way.

It is 50 years since J.R.R. Tolkien climbed his stairway to heaven. I don't think that he could have imagined the magnitude of the world he was creating: a world that has extended well beyond books, so that Tolkien went from being a great writer to being one of the greatest cultural references in history.

Namárië and Hantalë, Maestro!

In the cover: The Lord of the Ring books
repertoire images