{"id":742891,"date":"2026-07-04T14:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T14:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/742891\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T14:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T14:32:12","slug":"the-1970-classic-rock-album-that-saved-dave-grohls-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/742891\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1970 classic rock album that saved Dave Grohl’s life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dave<\/p>\n

Credit: Raph Pour-Hashemi<\/p>\n

Sat 4 July 2026 12:42, UK <\/p>\n

For any music fan, an album is always more than just a collection of songs. It\u2019s an art piece that can take years to unpack, but no amount of dissecting each track will ever compare to the way the music made people feel the minute they put it on the turntable. <\/p>\n

Dave Grohl<\/a> already had credits for playing on records that have shifted the tides of rock and roll, but his musical lineage traces back to Led Zeppelin. Their third album was when everything came together for him.<\/p>\n

But for everyone else, Led Zeppelin III is a bit of an odd entry in their catalogue. Before then, everyone knew Zeppelin as the kind of group that was bringing electric blues to the masses. Their debut was already one of the most ferocious albums of the late 1960s, but their sophomore outing was when it stopped being a fluke, with almost half the track listing becoming rock classics like \u2018Whole Lotta Love\u2019 and \u2018Heartbreaker<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

When putting on Led Zeppelin III, it sounded like fans were in for something even bigger with \u2018Immigrant Song\u2019, but the bait and switch that comes from hearing the group\u2019s downtempo material is one of the most abrupt tonal shifts in rock history. Zeppelin had embraced their folksy side, and more than a few fans were pissed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In hindsight, that stylistic detour proved to be one of the band\u2019s boldest creative decisions. Rather than repeating the thunderous formula that had already made them stars, Led Zeppelin demonstrated a willingness to explore folk, acoustic textures and more nuanced songwriting, greatly expanding the scope of what the band could become.<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ Led Zeppelin<\/p>\n

The guitars may not have been as ferocious on every song, but Grohl was just the right age to experience the music, telling Rolling Stone<\/a>, \u201cZeppelin III was full of gentle beauty. That was the soundtrack to me dropping out of high school. I listened to it every single day in my VW bug, while I contemplated my direction in life. That album, for whatever reason, saved some light in me that I still have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grohl\u2019s comments highlight the deeply personal way music can shape a listener\u2019s life. While many remember Led Zeppelin III for its unexpected change in direction, he found comfort in its quieter moments, connecting with the album at a pivotal stage in his own journey long before he became a rock icon himself.<\/p>\n

Then again, this isn\u2019t like Zeppelin suddenly transformed into easy-listening schlock on a whim. There are still traces of their older acoustic material, but where a song like \u2018Tangerine\u2019 is one of the most tender songs they would ever write, \u2018Friends\u2019 is certainly one of the most eccentric, featuring Jimmy Page strumming away in an open tuning while a string section glides underneath him sounding like they\u2019re trying to give accompaniment to the apocalypse.<\/p>\n

But even without the acoustic tunes, everything pales in comparison to their cover of \u2018Since I\u2019ve Been Loving You\u2019. Since most of the record revolved around the slower stuff, hearing Page speak through his guitar solo on this song is one of the most emotional musical passages of the 1970s, as if you\u2019re listening to him having an emotional breakdown and having no choice but to unleash his fury through his guitar.<\/p>\n

While Foo Fighters are much more straight-ahead rock than Zeppelin ever was, Grohl occasionally finds ways to slip that influence into his own stuff. Acoustic songs were nothing new to the group, but listening to the wild left turns on the back half of In Your Honor, Grohl definitely captured that same moody atmosphere that Zeppelin had, down to the fact that John Paul Jones oversaw some of the arrangements.<\/p>\n

Grohl usually confessed to being a superfan of Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III is a lot more than just the self-titled album that isn\u2019t as good. This was the start of them discovering themselves, and without them taking those chances, we might not have been able to hear \u2018Stairway to Heaven\u2019 as we do today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking back, Led Zeppelin III stands as one of the band\u2019s most important artistic leaps. Its willingness to trade brute force for vulnerability not only broadened Zeppelin\u2019s own musical horizons but also inspired future generations of musicians, proving that sometimes the greatest risks produce the most lasting rewards.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n

All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Raph Pour-Hashemi Sat 4 July 2026 12:42, UK For any music fan, an album is always more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[83931,2616,2617,42276,88,37890,19810,216,1740],"class_list":["post-742891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-83931","tag-1970s","tag-classic-rock","tag-dave-grohl","tag-entertainment","tag-foo-fighters","tag-led-zeppelin","tag-music","tag-rock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}