Jimmy Page had other band members in mind in the beginning, and a different name
In the early years, Jimmy Page was a successful session musician and playing guitar/bass in probably the most famous unknown band, The Yardbirds. The Yardbirds, who had Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Moon in its roster over the years, were coming off the road and were tired. Jimmy Page who was in the band at the time wanted to keep it going. So he decided to get new people in the band and start his own supergroup.
Jimmy Page first asked Terry Reid, a vocalist he had worked with in the studio and live shows, to be the singer. Terry declined the position, having just signed a deal to be a solo artist. Terry recommended Robert Plant, a friend of his and who he described as someone who looked like a “Greek god”.
After Chris Dreja, former band mate of Jimmy Page, denied the role of drummer, Robert Plant then suggested his old band mate John Bonham to take the role. John Paul Jones, who was looking to be in a supergroup himself, asked Jimmy if he could join. Both Johns came on board and they would go on to play their first show together as The New Yardbirds – not as Led Zeppelin. They would eventually get their now famous name when Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, said the band would go down like a lead Zeppelin. Jimmy Page then named the band Lead Zeppelin but quickly changed the spelling to Led Zeppelin so people would stop pronouncing it “Leed Zeppelin”.
