I Tried To Replace Led Zeppelin in My Rotation—These Songs Actually Worked

I’m not saying that just anybody can be as good as this iconic rock band, but there are some pretty close calls out there. If you want more of that heavy rock feel, but you’ve already overplayed most of Led Zeppelin‘s catalog like me, here are a few songs that might do the trick.

Videos by American Songwriter

“When The Curtain Falls” by Greta Van Fleet

Anthem of The Peaceful Army, the debut album from Greta Van Fleet, has often been compared to Led Zeppelin. This song in particular has that same heavy rock feel.

Even Variety noted in 2018 that “As usual, the new song, ‘When the Curtain Falls’, finds the group channeling Zeppelin big time, with a fiery riff and shrieking vocals from singer Joshua Kiszka…”

Honestly, if you didn’t know it, you’d probably think this one was a Led Zeppelin masterpiece.

“Fortunate Son” by Credence Clearwater Revival

From the get-go, the high energy of this song and John Fogerty’s gritty vocals instantly give off that Led Zeppelin vibe rock fans know and love.

Fogerty wrote this one about privilege after feeling inspired by Dwight Eisenhower’s son, David, and Richard Nixon’s daughter, Julie, who were dating at the time.

He wrote in his autobiography, “They seemed privileged and whether they liked it or not, these people were symbolic in the sense that they weren’t being touched by what their parents were doing. They weren’t being affected like the rest of us.”

“Get It On” by Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come released “Get It On” in 1988 as their debut single, and, apparently, it immediately gained traction for an unexpected reason: people thought the song was an unreleased Led Zeppelin track.

If you listen to “Get It On”, it’s easy to see why. Whether it’s the big-sounding drums or the gnarly guitar riff, there’s just something about this tune that feels Led Zeppelin-inspired. In an interview with Louder, the group’s lead singer even addressed the song’s association with the iconic band.

“The riff in Get It On had a very strong Zep feel,” Lenny Wolf admitted. “I’m not trying to hide it. I was heavily into the band back then. But when you hear Robert Plant’s voice and then you hear my voice… I mean, ‘Hello? Is anybody home?’ Those are two different worlds.”

He then joked, “But it could have been worse. They could have compared us with Poison!”

Photo by: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images