Dread Zeppelin was an American

reggae rock Reggae rock is a subgenre of reggae fusion and rock music that primarily uses the genres reggae, rock, and ska. Typical lyrics of reggae rock songs incorporate love, personal awareness, and life challenges while incorporating music and beat ...

band. Formed in 1989 in

Sierra Madre, California Sierra Madre (Spanish language, Spanish for "mother range") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with a population of 11,268 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley below the southern ...

, the band combined

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

styles with humor. They are best known for performing the songs of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

in a

style as sung by a

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the wor ...

. They also performed songs originally by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

and

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

. The group toured extensively around the world during their tenure with

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...

Career

1986–1989: The Prime Movers

The nucleus of Dread Zeppelin, bassist Put-Mon (Gary Putman), drummer Cheese (Curt Lichter) and guitarist

Jah Paul Jo Joseph Jack "Severs" Ramsey, better known by his stage name Jah Paul Jo (November 1, 1956 – December 29, 2014) was an American musician, singer and producer best known for creating the novelty band Dread Zeppelin. From 1983 to 1988, Ramsey wa ...

(Joseph "Severs" Ramsey), were from a

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

group called The Prime Movers. Signed to Island Records in 1986, The Prime Movers had some success in the UK with singles "On The Trail" and "Dark Western Night". The late

Stuart Adamson William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music inc ...

contributed his trademark E-Bow guitar to "Dark Western Night" and another Prime Mover song, "Strong As I Am", was featured in

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

's motion picture thriller, '' Manhunter''. When The Prime Movers ended in 1989, Jah Paul Jo hatched the idea for a new group that would call itself "Dread Zeppelin". Aside from the three original members, the band recruited guitarist Carl Jah (Carl Haasis) and 300-pound Vegas-era Elvis impersonator Tortelvis (Greg Tortell). The band supposedly met Tortelvis when he rammed his

milk float A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the Delivery (commerce), delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly Float (horse-drawn), horse-drawn floats. They were ...

into the back of the band's car. Longtime graphic artist for The Prime Movers, Bryant Fernandez, was brought in as conga-man Ed Zeppelin. The concept for Dread Zeppelin may be less bizarre than it seems. Notably,

did make a recording which reflected a prominent

influence, the 1973 song "

D'yer Mak'er "D'yer Mak'er" ( "Jamaica") is a song by the English Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1973 album ''Houses of the Holy''. The title is a play on the words "did you make her?" being pronounced as "Jamaica" when spoken in an Regional a ...

". Also, the band frequently performed

songs in concert, often presented as a medley which occasionally flirted with self-parody. (Led Zeppelin met Elvis briefly in 1974 after attending one of his concerts in Los Angeles.)

1989: Birdcage Records

The first Dread Zeppelin recording was meant to be a goof on Led Zeppelin's 45 single "

Immigrant Song "Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was i ...

" and its sought-after non-LP B-Side " Hey Hey What Can I Do". Produced by Jah Paul Jo and Rasta Li-Mon (Lee Manning) and released on their indie Birdcage Records label, the single sold amazingly well and represses featured the seven inch 45 RPM in a rasta rainbow of colors: red (original), green, yellow, blue, white and clear vinyl. All early Dread Zeppelin recordings and most of the band's first album '' Un-Led-Ed'' were recorded at the home studio of Dave Stewart of

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

, where Rasta Li-Mon was a house engineer. Dread zeppelin drivein

After the success of "Immigrant Song", a second single, "

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no singl ...

/Tour-telvis: A Bad Trip", was released on Birdcage Records. A third, "

Your Time is Gonna Come ''Led Zeppelin'' (sometimes referred to as ''Led Zeppelin I'') is the debut studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 13January 1969 in the United States and on 31 March 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Recor ...

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

(live)", was released not as a single but as part of a singles compilation entitled ''Komm Gib Mir Deine Zeppelin'' (a play on the title of the German version of The Beatles' song "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles recor ...

"). There was also a live cassette issued by Birdcage, but only to members of The Dread Zeppelin fan club, called ''Live On Blueberry Cheesecake.''

1990: I.R.S. years

In 1990, Dread Zeppelin were signed to

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing ...

's IRS label. Their first album, ''Un-Led-Ed'', consisted of more covers taken from ''

'' and ''

Led Zeppelin II ''Led Zeppelin II'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place ...

'', plus " Black Dog" from Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album. Original drummer Cheese (Curt Lichter) left the band just after recording ''Un-Led-Ed''. He was replaced by Fresh Cheese (Paul Maselli). Shortly before ''Un-Led-Ed'' was released, the original Ed Zeppelin (percussion and Reggae Dub) was replaced by his identical twin brother who was the former lead singer of local LA bands: Rampage, Blue Frontier and Public Eye. ''Un-Led-Ed'' was successful. In autumn 1990, Dread Zeppelin took a three-week break from touring and recorded their second album, '' 5,000,000* *Tortelvis Fans Can't Be Wrong''. In addition to the usual "Zeppelin in a reggae style", this album also featured a cover of

's "

Stir It Up "Stir It Up" is a song composed by Bob Marley in 1967 and first recorded by the group Bob Marley and the Wailers that year and issued as a single. It was later covered by American singer Johnny Nash on his 1972 album ''I Can See Clearly Now''. ...

" as well as three original songs. For the next album, the band had planned a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, ''Albert'', about a rock critic who wanted to be a star (based loosely on the real rock critic

Albert Goldman Albert Harry Goldman (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American academic and author. Goldman wrote about the culture and personalities of the American music industry, both in books and as a contributor to magazines. He is known for ...

), but this never materialized. The plan changed to an album of

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

covers, ''

It's Not Unusual "It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones, after it had first been offered to Sandie Shaw. He intended it as a demo for her, but when she heard it she was so impressed with ...

''. Both Ed Zeppelin and Fresh Cheese had left the band after ''5,000,000* *Tortelvis Fans Can't Be Wrong'', and during rehearsals for the new album, Tortelvis also quit. Bassist Put-Mon (Gary Putman) took over the vocals, assuming the name Gary B.I.B.B. ''It's Not Unusual'' featured guest spots by both

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, shouting vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

and

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

. Whether it was the public's resistance to disco, or the lack of Dread's popular frontman, Tortelvis, sales of ''It's Not Unusual'' were disappointing. The band was dropped by IRS and for all intents and purposes, had dissolved.

1993: ''Hot & Spicy Beanburger''

Unknown to the band, Dread Zeppelin were being sought by Australian rock band

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

to be the support band on their US tour. INXS were fans of Dread Zeppelin. Tortelvis was persuaded to return to the band; however, without a recording contract, he could only perform at the May 8, 1993, show at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Dread Zeppelin returned to the studio. With Jah Paul Jo and Rasta Li-Mon again producing, they recorded ''

Hot & Spicy Beanburger ''Hot and Spicy Beanburger'', released in 1993, is the fourth studio album by Dread Zeppelin. This album saw the return of Tortelvis, the lead singer who had left the band and did not appear on the previous album, ''It's Not Unusual''. Overview ...

'', a 1993 release on Birdcage Records. In the spring of 1994, Dread Zeppelin appeared in the feature film ''

National Lampoon's Last Resort ''National Lampoon's Last Resort'' (also known as ''Last Resort'' or ''National Lampoon's Scuba School'') is a 1994 direct-to-video comedy film directed by Rafal Zielinski. The film stars Corey Feldman and Corey Haim as Sam and Dave, two friends ...

'' and provided a song for the closing credits. Carl Jah (Carl Haasis) and Ed Zeppelin left the band shortly thereafter. With Put-Mon moving from bass to lead guitar and the addition of David Raven (drums), bassist Derf Nosna Haj (Freddie Johnson) and Fernandez (Pete Burke) on conga and toast, Dread Zeppelin recorded ''

No Quarter Pounder ''No Quarter Pounder'' is an album by the American band Dread Zeppelin, released in 1995. Its title is wordplay on the Led Zeppelin song "No Quarter", and the name of a McDonald's hamburger, the Quarter Pounder. The band promoted the album with a ...

''. Released by Birdcage Records in 1995, ''No Quarter Pounder'' would be the band's final Birdcage CD as Jah Paul Jo left the group shortly after its release.

1996: Imago

The remaining members of Dread Zeppelin signed onto Imago Records and released '' The Fun Sessions'', a collection of

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

covers. It was the first all non-Led Zeppelin cover recording with the exception of "BBWAGS (Butt-Boy's Wearin' a Girls' Shirt)" written by Gary Putman. This would be Derf Nosna Haj (Freddie Johnson) and Fernandez (Pete Burke) last recording with the band. After the Imago release, Carl Jah and Ed Zeppelin returned to the band.

1999: Cleopatra

The band then signed to Cleopatra Records and recorded ''De-jah Voodoo'' in 1999. The recording was produced by bassist Bob Knarley (Howard Ulyate) and includes 11 Led Zeppelin covers and two tracks written by the band (Putman, Ulyate, Fernandez, Tortell, and Boerin). ''De-jah Voodoo'' was later re-released with a new cover and title (''Re-Led-Ed''); some versions include an acoustic version of "Hey Hey What Can I Do" as a bonus track.

2000–2011: Cash Cow

In 1995 Dread Zeppelin had a new production company, Cash Cow, run by original members Gary Putman (Butt-Boy) and Greg Tortell (Tortelvis), which had produced the ''Fun Sessions''. They released the live album ''Front Yard Bar*B*Que'' in December 1996 and the all-original album ''Spam Bake'' (a take-off of the Elvis movie sound recordings of the 1960s) in November 1997. Also released on Cash Cow Records were the band's first full length Christmas recording ''Presents'' in 2002, followed by ''Chicken and Ribs'' 2004; both were produced by Bob Knarley. In February 2008 the band released ''Bar Coda'', produced by Spice (Cris Boerin). Other Cash Cow releases included the DVDs ''Jah-La-Palooza 2004'' and ''Live in Minne-Jah-Polis 2002''. The album ''SoSo'' (the title referencing

Led Zeppelin's fourth album The untitled fourth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV'', was released on 8 November 1971, by Atlantic Records. It was produced by the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page, and recorded be ...

), followed in 2011, produced by Spice. Lead singer Tortelvis sang "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" at Bank One Ballpark, now known as

Chase Field Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks season, 1998, the ...

, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

on May 27, 2005. He had been scheduled to sing the song at a

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

game in 1990, but

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

's notorious version quashed that opportunity.

2012-2016

Carl Jah released a solo album in 2012; in 2014, founding guitarist Jah Paul Jo died following years of poor health. Dread Zeppelin toured regularly through 2014; Putman is the only member of Dread Zeppelin to have performed on every record and played every live show to date. They last performed live o
April 2, 2016

Members

* Tortelvis (Greg Tortell) - vocals * Butt-Boy a.k.a. Put-Mon a.k.a. Gary B.I.B.B. (Gary Putman) - bass (1986-1993), vocals (1992-1993), guitars (1993-present) * Spice (Cris Boerin) - keyboards, percussion * Bob Knarley (Howard Ulyate) - bass * Ziggy Knarley (Chip Moreland) - drums * Charlie Haj (Earle Rothwell) - manservant

Former members

* Carl Jah (Carl Haasis) - guitars *

(Joseph "Severs" Ramsey) - guitars * Cheese (Curt Lichter) - drums * Ed Zeppelin (Bryant Fernandez, later Bruce Fernandez) - percussion * Fresh Cheese (Paul Maselli) - drums * Rasta Li-Mon (Lee Manning) - engineer, producer * Tuna Melt a.k.a. Jah Jah Gabor - bass * Fernandez (Peter Burke) - percussion * Fuzzy Buzzman/Derf Nosna Haj (Freddie Johnson) - bass

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Un-Led-Ed'' (1990), IRS Records * '' 5,000,000* *Tortelvis Fans Can't Be Wrong'' (1991), IRS Records * '' Rock'n Roll'' (1991),

JVC Records is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...

(Japan only) * ''

'' (1992), IRS Records * ''

'' (1993),Also released as part of a 1997 ''Hot & Spicy Beanburger/No Quarter Pounder'' 2 CD set (Australia only, TWA Records) Birdcage Records * '' The First No-Elvis'' (1994), Birdcage Records * ''

'' (1995), Birdcage Records * '' The Fun Sessions'' (1996), Imago * ''

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

'' (1996), Birdcage Records * ''Spam Bake'' (1998) * ''De-jah Voodoo'' (2000) (reissued in 2004 as ''Re-Led-Ed'') * ''Presents'' (2002) * ''Chicken and Ribs'' (2004)Also released as part of the ''Chicken and Ribs / JahlaPalooza'' DVD combo package in 2005 * ''Bar Coda'' (2007) * ''Best of the IRS years'' (2009) * ''Soso'' (2011)

Live albums

* ''Front Yard Bar*B*Que'' (1996) * '' The Song Remains Insane'' (1998), TWA Records (two-CD Australia-only set) * ''Haunted Houses O' the Holy'' (1999) * ''Live - Live at Larry's'' (2002) * ''Live - Hots On for Fresno'' (2003)

Singles

* "Immigrant Song" / "Hey Hey What Can I Do" (1989), Birdcage Records (7" clear, blue, green, red, white and yellow vinyl) * "Whole Lotta Love" / "Tour-Telvis: A Bad Trip" (1989), Birdcage Records (7" black and pink vinyl) * "Heartbreaker (At the End of Lonely Street)" (1990), IRS Records (UK CD single) * "Your Time Is Gonna Come" (edit) (1990), IRS Records (UK CD single) * "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...

" (1991), IRS Records (UK CD single)

Extended plays

* ''Komm Gib Mir Deine Zeppelin'' (1989), Birdcage Records (six-track EP) * ''Live on Blueberry Cheesecake'' (1992), Birdcage Records (seven-track fan club EP)

DVD

* ''Live at the Cabooze in Minne-jah-polis'' (2003) * ''Jah-La-Palooza'' (2004) * ''Pure Inner-Tainment'' (2009)

Documentaries

Dread Zeppelin: A Song Of Hope

References

External links

*
Official site of the original band

Official Carl Jah site

The Prime Movers
{{Authority control Elvis impersonators Led Zeppelin tribute bands American parodists Parody musicians American comedy rock musical groups American reggae rock groups Musical groups established in 1989 Cover bands