Z is for Led Zeppelin

If I were a stickler, I'd put ZZ Top in this slot. But because it's my list and this is the last letter of the alphabet, I'm giving myself some leeway to go with Zeppelin, a far better band that left a hugely influential footprint in the world of rock music.

A quick word about ZZ Top. Guitarists Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill brought a free-wheeling, fun-loving style to the stage, for sure, and they're fun to watch. ("Sharp Dressed Man" captures their energy and hard-driving sound.) But the chest-length beards and sunglasses screamed "shtick."

On the other hand, Led Zeppelin burst onto the scene in 1968, when I was still in high school and the first notes of  the first track ("Good Times Bad Times") just grabbed you by the throat and demanded your attention.

With Robert Plant on vocals and Jimmy Page on guitar, they were superb showmen who performed with manic energy. They had a great bluesy sound that intersected nicely with hard rock on songs like "Heartbreaker," "You Shook Me," and "Dazed and Confused."

Of course, it was "Stairway to Heaven" that shot them into the stratosphere. I still remember seeing them do it live during a show at the Oakland Coliseum, just a few rows from the stage. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey gave the song a second life with their homage in "Wayne's World."

I'm still trying to figure out how T-Bone Burnett came up with the idea of pairing Robert Plant with Alison Krauss on the Grammy-winning album "Raising Sand." Sheer genius.

But back to Zeppelin. Here are a couple of clips from the band's early days.