← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
"takin ' a walk" welcomes The Professor of Rock-Adam Reader-Talking Led Zeppelin
00:17:43
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- [00:00]
Host
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Buzz
We're leaving today and entering a world.
- [00:07]
Adam Reeder
Of Cinderella, Castle sightseeing, Tron Light cycling, Jungle Cruise Bunning, Pirate swashbuckling, Everest climbing.
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Professor of Rock
Dapper Denning, Danning, Dunning, Soarin Soaring fireworks.
- [00:23]
Buzz
Show of I'm not crying, you're crying.
- [00:27]
Adam Reeder
World of Favorites for whatever you love.
- [00:30]
Buzz
Infinite worlds await at the most mag.
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Adam Reeder
Place on Earth Walt Disney World Resort.
- [00:35]
Ryan Seacrest
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Professor of Rock
Taking a Walk when you know you've got something, go for it. Keep going. Because we all worry about what other people think. But if you know in your heart there's something great, you keep going, moving forward. And that was a great lesson to me.
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Buzz
Well, welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast and we have Adam Reeder, the Professor of Rock. We are gonna break down the amazing Led Zeppelin documentary. But before we get started, Adam, you know, since the podcast is called Taking a Walk, I do wanna ask you, could you tell me if there was someone you could take a walk with, living or dead, who would you like to take a walk with and where might you want to walk with them?
- [04:07]
Professor of Rock
You know, thinking about it, there's three names that come up and I'll choose one of the three. But the three that immediately come to mind are Dan Fogelberg, Prince and Elvis Presley. Then Frank Sinatra just came into my head. But you know, I love Dan Fogelberg and that's a dream interview. And Prince, just so interesting. But I think, I think I would have to go with Elvis. I'd have to go with the King because. And I think I would take a walk with him, honestly, in the grounds of Graceland. I've been there many times and I've interviewed Mark Cohen about walking to Memphis. And so I just think that it's a special place, a sacred place. When I went, I actually spent a few months in Memphis, Tennessee a long time ago when I was doing totally different thing. I was traveling for business and was opening up a business center there and so spent a few months there. And I mean, every week I was at Graceland and Beale street. But you know, it was, it's an incredible place. But I just think Elvis is so fascinating. I would love to just pick his brain and, and hear his take on. It's interesting. We're very blessed to be able to do what we do, Buzz, you know, to be able to talk about music and talk to some of these heroes of ours. People have written some of the great songs of all time. Elvis, I always find when I'm interviewing somebody like Lamont Dozier from Holland, Dozier, Holland, or somebody, you know, Henry Diltz, the great photographer. I interviewed him a few weeks ago. He's an official photographer of Woodstock and took so many great photos at Laure Canyon. Sometimes you feel like you're interviewing somebody and it's like, you know, or like Brian Wilson, the Washington Monument. You're like sitting down with the Washington Monument. There's so much history there. And to me, I'm fascinated by the early, early rock and roll, 50s and 60s, when, when it was barely registering with people and they said, oh, it's a flash in the pan. It'll never last. And Elvis was right there. I mean, he, he's, he's the one that, that started that fire along with, you know, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. And so to me, that would be, that would be a treat to be able to really. The magic of, of his voice and, and, and just what he created.
- [06:39]
Buzz
And as we're going to talk about Led Zeppelin and becoming Led Zeppelin, the great documentary, you know, there's no doubt for so many of the Brits, you know, the road started with people like Elvis. I mean, that really. It really just began there. And it still is a great starting point, you know, talking about Elvis.
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Professor of Rock
So Robert Plant talked about Little Richard, you know, on the documentary. And of course, in the interview with David Letterman, he talked about the King, of course, the King, you know, he threw that out there. So, you know.
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Buzz
Yeah, that's a, that's, that's a good one. So what stood out to you most about the approach that they took for becoming Led Zeppelin compared to other documentaries, you know, that you've seen, whether about Zeppelin or just in general documentaries.
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Professor of Rock
I, I loved the origin story. I mean, I, I start off every interview I've ever done with that, an origin question about, you know, what was the moment that kicked open the door to your mind and made you want to pursue music? Like that moment, like where everything changed for you. And I love to know about people's history because, I mean, the origin story is so important. I mean, if comic book movies are any indication, I mean, they're hitting, you know, they were ruled the box office for a decade and it's always the origin Story, why did Spider Man? How did Spider man become Spider Man? And what motivated that Batman, that kind of thing. And I think the same thing with artists, you know, what would. What was it? And I love how Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page. It was just so cool to feel like you had him in your living room there and them telling about what started out, you know, and Jimmy. Jimmy Page talking about he always had a guitar in his hand and, you know, he took it to school and they'd take it away from him when he would go into school. And his dad kind of said, okay, well, I'll support you, but you make sure you keep your grades up, you know, and it was just great to. I was fascinated by that. And then, of course, to get, you know, John Bonham to get Bonzo to get that interview that had never been shared. And it was really a treat to watch Robert Plant and, well, all of them, you know, just listening to John Bonham and smiling, and I thought that was a really cool approach. And. And the origin story just took him from there. And then how they all met and. And you got to see that, you know, Robert Plant talked. You could see the pain in his face. He went through some hard times. He was homeless, you know, he was. He had a little suitcase he'd carry around and he had some tough times trying to figure out what he was going to do, who he was. And we all look at these guys as rock gods, and we don't see them as human. And when we see them in human, it makes them even more precious to us. At least it does to me, because they come. Come down to that level. I mean, you know, I know we shouldn't worship that type of thing, but, you know, as a little kid, when you see Led Zeppelin, the golden gods of rock, up there on the stage, you hear those records, it's mystical, it's magical. It's like almost indescribable, you know, and then you see them and then they come down and they're mere mortals. You would think that that would take something away, but it doesn't. For me, it strengthens it, that bond.
- [10:07]
Buzz
I think I loved how there really was no external commentary. It was really just the band members themselves. How do you think that choice that they made in creating the documentaries impacts us as viewers and our connection to the story?
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Professor of Rock
Because I think that they're holding us by the hand and taking us along for the ride. And I love that too. I love that aspect. There was no voiceover. There was no, okay, now we're going to give him some exposition here and we're going to take you to the next here, you know, here's this year. And I loved how they, they let the music also breathe life into it where you'd see a live performance and they'd let the live performance go on, where you'd see the full performance and then you'd also see what was going on in those years, which was impacting Zeppelin's music and Zeppelin was impacting what was going on. And I love that too, that aspect of it, you know, And I would have given it a perfect 10. The only thing that I didn't like about it is I feel like there was a huge missed opportunity at the end. And we learned this from the Star wars trilogy. How could you not bring the characters together at the end, you know, and let them be in the room? And it would have been so perfect to end with Jimmy Pay, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant sitting together in, in that, that room where, you know, looked like even they were being interviewed in the same room, some of them. But at least John Paul Jones or Robert Plant looked like the same room to me. Maybe I'm mistaken, but it would have been great to have them sitting in that kind of den together listening to John Bonham and them kind of together, the four of them, one last time. And, and give, give the last word. You know, I like how Jimmy Page had the last word because it was his band, he started it. But it would have been cool to see that. That's my only. That's my only hiccup.
- [12:02]
Buzz
I wondered the same thing and I wondered whether it was too painful in a way for them to go through that in terms of the ride that would have taken them on emotionally. But I definitely had that same feeling. And I wish it went, you know, I wish the whole thing went on further, further down the road. You know, like a good tease of an interview, which you're so great at. You leave people wanting more. I think they left us wanting more.
- [12:30]
Professor of Rock
Definitely. I would love to see, you know, I mean, who doesn't want to hear their take on Stairway to Heaven, even though Robert Plan doesn't want to talk about it really from other interviews. But it would have been great to see, you know, for example, my. I mean, my favorite song of all time by Zeppelin is 10 years gone. And I would love to have heard their take on that Immigrant Song and, and so on and so forth and, and I loved how you got little stories behind the songs. But yeah, it seemed like Zeppelin 1 and 2 and and they left us. But maybe there'll be a sequel. I. We can only hope.
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Buzz
I love how Jimmy Page talked about his specific decision to steer Zeppelin away from mainstream singles, you know, toward these more ambitious albums. How in your mind, how pivotal do you think that decision was in shaping the band's legacy?
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Professor of Rock
Oh, it was monumental because there was a part where Jimmy Page talked about that he saw the future in America. They were playing full sides of albums. You know, they were trying to push him for a cut for AM radio, pop radio, and he could see where the future was going with. With FM and with them playing entire sides of albums, and that's where he wanted to be. And I. I think that they influenced everybody that came after. I mean, Pink Floyd and. And, you know, the great albums. I always say that the 60s, to me, are the greatest. You know, I've been doing this project for like the last six months where every Saturday I count down the top 10. Or in my case, I've been doing 11 songs because it's so difficult for every year in music from so far, I've done 1964 to about 1989, and I plan to probably do a few. Few years from the 90s and the 50s. But is so hard because in the 60s is impossible because you go from 65 to 69 and there's 50 songs that could be in the top 10 easy. So to me, the 60s are the greatest. And nothing comes close as far as singles go, you know, their own individual songs. But when you get in the 70s, I think the 70s is the greatest decade by far for albums, for a full picture thematically, you know, and. And Zeppelin certainly had that, and Eagles followed that. And a lot of bands in the 70s who were trying to create full albums, full experiences, we're missing that, you know, in. In the new age, that's a bit of a lost art. The album is going away. In some ways, it is coming back in some ways with vinyl being so exciting for younger people. So there's no question that the Zeppelin had a massive impact on that. And they were writing, they were looking at as a full album. They were. They were never a band that was sitting down and saying, all right, what's going to be the leadoff single? What's going to be the second single? And. And that's the mentality that. That we all have. I mean, that record executives have and that. That most artists have is how are we gonna. I mean, today it's about grabbing them that first five seconds. That was never on their mind. They were it was art first and commerce came a distant second.
- [15:55]
Buzz
The filmmakers mentioned that there's a bit of a message in the doc about following your passion and not listening to naysayers. How do you think that theme resonates with musicians and the general, broad audience?
- [16:13]
Professor of Rock
We live in a time where social media has taken over, and a lot of these younger kids are, in some ways, are. There's their. Their value of themselves is tied to likes and comments and. And I can understand that as a. Having a YouTube channel, you know, if I'm having a bad day on YouTube where it's not resonating, you know, I'm beating myself up, like, I'm. Maybe I should this or whatever. You can't worry about what others think of you if you know you've got something. There was an artist that taught me something really incredible, Kenny Loggins. Actually, Kenny Loggins was telling a story about how he and Michael McDonald had just written what a Fool Believes, huge hit for the Doobie Brothers, of course, you know, one record of the year and was a number one hit and massive. And so they really had a great connection as writers. So Kenny wrote Whenever I call you friend, and he thought, this is. Man, I think this is a great song. And he took it to Michael McDonald as their next song to do together. And he said, man, I think we should do this next one together. And Michael McDonald listened to it, and he said, nah, I don't hear it. I don't care for it. I don't think it's a great song. Kenny's like, what? And so Kenny, Stevie Nicks, at the time he was touring with her, she said, let's do a duet together. And he said, let's do this song. And she loved it. And they recorded it, and it became his first massive solo hit. And he said, you know, my lesson from that is when you know you've got something, go for it, keep going. Because we all worry about what other people think. But if you know in your heart there's something great, you keep going, moving forward. And that was a great lesson to me that, you know, we got to do. And I think Zeppelin's a great example of that. I mean, they had their struggles. You know, it shows that. That's what I love about this documentary is it shows all of their. Their ups and downs getting to the point where they were the greatest fan of all time.
- [18:15]
Buzz
After watching Becoming Led Zeppelin, did you come away with any new insights or questions that you would like to explore further in your own work?
- [18:26]
Professor of Rock
Gosh, I. I probably haven't had enough time to reflect on it because I just barely watched it last night. I've been so crazy busy the last few months. But yeah, I, I think I, I love their example of they were creating without worrying about what an audience wanted. And I think sometimes as a, as a podcaster, as an interviewer, as content creators, I guess is what they call it now, sometimes we're worried about really tying it into your last question, what others are thinking, or maybe I should cover this because it's the popular thing and forego our own ideas of what our heart is telling us, a direction to go. And I think that Zeppelin's a great example of you follow your heart and your passions. And a couple days ago, my son, I've got a 17 year old and he had a bunch of friends over here, we're putting together a puzzle of rock albums. We were talking about music and I, I was showing them different songs that they weren't aware of. They're like, what's this album? And they said, oh, it's, you know, it's General Toll. And I showed him or a Jefferson Airplane and I was showing them different things and they never heard it and their mind was being blown. And I thought this is so fun to, to share something new with these kids that they've never heard that they're like, wow, how did they, how did, what instrument is that? And how did they do this? And, and, and I thought I need to get back to that a little bit more of, I'm not worrying so much about, I gotta do a video that's gonna get, you know, that's gonna get clicks or views. It's about creating something that, that resonates and I think for the most part I do that. But it is a good reminder that we need to follow our heart. We need to follow where the muse is taking us as opposed to what, you know, the marketing plan is.
- [20:22]
Buzz
It's great advice for all of us. Great advice for me. I couldn't agree more. Highly recommend Becoming Led Zeppelin. Great documentary. And I highly recommend you check out the professor of Rock because it's chock full of behind the scenes stories with some of the greats from the music business. So, Adam, thank you for, for being on Taking a Walk Buzz.
- [20:48]
Professor of Rock
Thank you. I appreciate it. Love it.
- [20:52]
Adam Reeder
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:10]
Host
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- [22:11]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [22:12]
Professor of Rock
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Professor of Rock
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- [24:25]
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- [25:00]
Host
This is an Iheart podcast.