Led Zeppelin

Jimmy Page had been playing with the Yardbirds when the other members decided they needed a break. They still had commitments to perform, so Page agreed to form a band to fulfill the remaining shows - creating the New Yardbirds. Originally he wanted to recruit The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistle along with Jeff Beck and Steve Winwood, but they declined stating that a band made up of all those players would go down like a "lead balloon". Their manager, Peter Grant felt they should spell "lead" as "Led" to be sure people would pronounce it right. They also replaced "balloon" with "zeppilin" as it evoked a combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace.