Behind The Documentary: Becoming Led Zeppelin

The Led Zep documentary, "Becoming Led Zeppelin" hits theaters this weekend. It's a documentary about Led Zep that features in depth interviews with the living Led Zeppelin members. The documentary has a great way of treating previously unheard interviews of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. What makes "Becoming Led Zeppelin" extraordinary is that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones are hearing the interviews with John Bonham for the first time. Their emotional reactions to hearing their friend again make this documentary a true gem. I had an opportunity to speak with the documentary film makers who put this enormous project together. Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty did their homework for this project. Give a listen to our conversation below and it will soon become clear that they painstakingly sifted through the records of libraries, radio stations, and childhood friends and acquaintances of the band members to bring together the definitive story of how Led Zeppelin exploded onto the scene in the late 1960's. The pair had previously completed a documentary series about the beginnings of the blues scene in America. "American Epic" caught the eye of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant because, as we all know, American blues music was the major influence in how Led Zeppelin was formed. Because they were trusted, MacMahon and McGourtney had the credibility to be able to convince Jimmy, Robert and John to tell their story. MacMahon and McGourtney had the guts to do the research... their plan came together thanks to hard work, dedication and the love for the music that became, "The Hammer of the Gods". "Becoming Led Zeppelin" only deals with the first two albums from Led Zep. There's no interviews with other musicians who came after who credit Led Zep as an influence. This makes the experience singularly effective. In it's purest form, the doc explains to us what made Led Zeppelin so damn good. It tells the story in the band's own words. I came away with a new found appreciation for one of my favorite bands of all time. And I think you will too. I picked out all but one of my favorite moments of our interview for the Rat Rock News segment today (2/14/25). My other favorite moment came at the end of our conversation, when Bernard spoke about the relationship between John and Robert... You can watch the whole interview below, and watch the Rat Rock News below as well. Full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax3iio6jEnU