Kashmir - Led Zeppelin (1975) 4/20/23

When the original members of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Jon Bonham and John Paul Jones were asked separately what they thought was their greatest achievement as a band, they all agreed: 1975's "Kashmir."

Page and Plant wrote the song in Africa while driving across the Sahara Desert in Morocco...which is nowhere near Kashmir, which is in an area of Asia that includes India and Pakistan.

(Fun fact: Kashmir is known for its fabric made from goat hair, and for growing poppies to make opium).

The song is a masterpiece, and one of the very few Zeppelin songs to include extra session musicians. Their horn and string arrangements made the song even better.

And Page also believes that Bonham's drumming was the final touch that made the song great.

The band loved "Kashmir" so much, they played it at virtually every concert from 1975 until their breakup in 1980.

Fans loved it too, but since it was more than 8 minutes long, it was played almost entirely on FM album rock stations, which, for the most part, paid no attention to length...or Billboard charts.

But who needs Billboard when you receive accolades like these: #21 on VH1's list of the "Greatest Hard Rock Songs," and #148 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

"Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin: classic rock from the "Great Song" list of 1975! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzVJPgCn-Z8

Tomorrow: Cole Soul

Coming Soon: Great Songs of the '80s!