Led Zeppelin still bigger than the Beatles

What a weekend for Led Zeppelin! The band topped a BBC poll for "I'm in a Rock N Roll Band!" over the also short-listed Beatles and Queen. And John Bonham earned the nod for best drummer as well, during the week he would have turned 62 years old.

Here in the United States, I didn't know much about this until I received the following from Simon, a reader in England who was one of the first guys to fill me in on Led Zeppelin's reunion gig in December 2007. Simon says (he always does that):

The BBC has been running a series of programmes on TV & Radio these past 6 weeks to find the best Guitarist, best Drummer, best Singer, best Bassist and best Band. You might be interested in the results from the national poll:

• Best Band - Led Zeppelin (runners up - The Beatles & Queen)
• Best Guitarist - Jimi Hendrix (runners up - Jimmy Page & Slash)
• Best Singer - Freddie Mercury (runners up - Robert Plant & Kurt Cobain)
• Best Drummer - John "Bonzo" Bonham (runners up - Keith Moon and Dave Grohl)
• Best Bassist - Flea (runners up - no details, but John Paul Jones was in the top 10!)

Ian Anderson remembers Jethro Tull sharing bill with Led Zeppelin

Jethro Tull is back in the United States again today for another tour. Singer/floutist Ian Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre have made a habit of touring the United States for many years, going back to the days when they shared bills with Led Zeppelin in 1969.

Today, Anderson remembers getting on well with most of the members of Led Zeppelin but admits the relationship between him and Robert Plant might not have gotten off to a good start. And although offstage antics distanced the two bands, he still has a big respect for Plant's vocal abilities and looks.

Roger reiterates Page plea; Daltrey wants work with Led Zeppelin guitarist

For the second time this year, Roger Daltrey has taken his desire to make music with Jimmy Page to the press.

"Why not?" the Who singer says in Uncut magazine. "I'm a huge fan, and he's such an immense talent -- a wasted talent at the moment, it's criminal."

Daltrey's interview figures into this piece by Neil Spencer, published in Uncut's June 2010 issue and focusing on a possible end to the Who.

Discussing the topic of continuing to collaborate with Pete Townshend, his only fellow surviving original member of the Who, Daltrey shows his age. He says things such as, "Our bodies are beginning to give up on us," and "I'm really enjoying singing again, but you have to be realistic -- I'm 66 f---ing years old!"

A few remarks of Daltrey's are aimed once again at coaxing the Led Zeppelin guitarist into some kind of a working relationship with him. Daltrey says, "I would love to get together [with Page] and put a bit of fire into things, just to show that we're still alive and kicking -- and can kick well!"

Earlier this year, Daltrey said in an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music's Shaun Keaveny, "I'd love to do something, I'd love to do an album with Jimmy Page. He needs a singer to drive him. I'm a great blues singer. I don't sing the blues with the Who, but that's what I used to be before Townshend started writing. I was a great blues singer."

This is Jimmy Page we're talking about, named one of "The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Heroes" in the latest special collectors edition of Guitar Legends magazine currently on newsstands. He must have no shortage of offers coming in from people with their eyes set on having him as their guitarist.

One such offer may have just come in from one of Page's former bandmates in the Firm, drummer Chris Slade.

A May 26 article for the Contra Costa Times focusing on artwork by former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says "he received a message from former AC/DC and The Firm drummer Chris Slade, who texted he was 'looking for (Jimmy) Page and Newsted."

Laughs Newsted:

"Jimmy Page and Chris Slade. What time do you want me there? When you get called by your first name by guys whose posters you used to have on the wall -- and still do, as my dad has kept my old room the way it was with the posters of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith and AC/DC -- surreal is the word for it."