DON GONYEA, HOST:
There are some musical acts that just seem like they've always been there. When we listen to their work by streaming or on vinyl or CD or even cassette tape or eight-track, it's hard to imagine when these songs weren't part of our lives. One such band is Led Zeppelin.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOOD TIMES BAD TIMES")
LED ZEPPELIN: (Singing) In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man.
GONYEA: Formed in 1968, this supergroup was made up of two little-known musicians from England's midland, singer Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham, and seasoned session musicians Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass.
The group went on to become one of the biggest rock bands ever. Their exploits are legendary. The band tore through the 1970s, setting sales and concert records and burnishing a reputation for hard playing and hard living. It all came to an end, though, in 1980 when John Bonham died and the band split up. Rather than focus on the tours and debauchery, a new documentary, "Becoming Led Zeppelin," looks at their early years and remind us that legends do not arrive fully formed.
Watching the film directed by Bernard MacMahon and produced by Allison McGourty, you're reminded of the magnetism of singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page. But when I sat down with the filmmakers, I was more curious about the overall dynamic in the group.
So very distinct personalities come through as we watch these interviews you did with them. And can I just say that John Paul Jones was such a fascinating character in this film? And he's probably the least well-known member of the band.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN")
JOHN PAUL JONES: When I told my colleagues and the people that employ me that I'm giving up session work, I'm going to join a rock 'n' roll band, everybody said you're mad, completely crazy.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
JONES: I'm bass guitar, John Paul Jones.
John Paul Jones.
GONYEA: I just found it riveting listening to him talk about his influences, talking about being onstage with the other members.
BERNARD MACMAHON: That was the great joy when we met him. It was, like, he was like this terrific raconteur, and - which, after a while, made sense 'cause he's like the son of Vaudeville entertainers. His mum and dad had a Vaudeville act together. And so he was - I just remember thinking, my God, if we can get this guy on the screen, we have gold here 'cause he's so charismatic and interesting and entertaining.
GONYEA: An important piece of this film is John Bonham's voice. He, of course, died in 1980, but having his voice present along with the others seems so critical. You had an old tape of an interview with him. How did you come by that and some of the other personal recordings and pictures and notes that you have of his life? Allison?
ALLISON MCGOURTY: Well, the first thing was that Deborah Bonham, John Bonham's sister, gave us the home videos that no one's ever seen before, that Jack Bonham, John Bonham's father, had filmed. So we're able to see John Bonham for the first time with his first drum kit and in his childhood house and garden where he lived.
And then Bernard discovered three types of audio recordings that we were able to use to hear his voice in the film. And one of these, he found as far afield as Australia that was in the archives at the University of Canberra that had been mislabeled so nobody knew existed. So with that and the other two tapes and then the home videos provided by Deborah Bonham, we were able to tell his story equally.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN")
JOHN BONHAM: Well, I was pretty shy, and the best thing to do when you're in a situation like that is not to say much and just to soldier along and suss it all out sort of thing.
MCGOURTY: It was very important us to do that because they'd never told their story before, so we wanted it to be in their words only, hearing from them telling their own stories for the first time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RAMBLE ON")
ZEPPELIN: (Singing) Leaves are falling all around me. It's time I was on my way. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay. But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way. For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's heading my way.
GONYEA: You establish how music consumed each of their lives at such an early age. And then there were years as successful studio musicians making well-known music that sounds nothing like Led Zeppelin. I was stunned to see footage in the film of the singer Shirley Bassey doing that hit single "Goldfinger" from the "James Bond" movie. And it turns out that Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are playing on that song.
MACMAHON: When they were going in these sessions, they were looking at what was going on and learning. They were staring. And so when you think of, like, you know, the grandeur of some of the Led Zeppelin music that would follow, these giant epic songs - "Dazed And Confused" and things like that but also things, like, later on, like "Kashmir" - well, you imagine you're sitting in Abbey Road Studio One. You're watching John Barry conducting, you know, this orchestra with Shirley Bassey singing "Goldfinger." This is a huge-sounding piece of music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLDFINGER")
SHIRLEY BASSEY: Pretty girl, beware of his heart of gold. This heart is cold. He loves only gold.
MACMAHON: And so they're drinking all this up, and then at the same time, you know, Jones is learning how to write and arrange these songs. And Jimmy, every single session - he's wandering into the control room and checking out how they're getting these sounds out of the mics, how they're making these effects on the records he's recording and similarly with Robert Plant and John Bonham. You know, they're literally joining countless groups trying to pick up as much experience as they can.
So really, the message of the film is if you've got a passion as a kid and there's something you want to do - and maybe your parents are telling you, you won't be able to do that, you should just get another - a safer job - this film is about sticking to it, but as you carry on that path, do not waste a single day. Grab every opportunity. Like John Paul Jones says, never turn down work, whatever it is. And the message of the film is, yes, you can do it today, but you've - in order to do it, you've probably got to ignore all 90% of the things that people are telling you you should do.
MCGOURTY: That's what happened to us, as well - wasn't it? - because we were told that nobody would want to watch a film with full songs in it, but we didn't listen to them. We believed that it's Led Zeppelin, of course the audience is going to watch full songs, and that's a message to young people as well just to - not to listen and to follow their heart.
GONYEA: We have been talking with producer, writer Allison McGourty and director Bernard MacMahon about their new film about Led Zeppelin called "Becoming Led Zeppelin." Thank you to both of you.
MCGOURTY: Thank you very much.
MACMAHON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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