Photo: wenn.com
Barack Obama has paid tribute to Led Zeppelin at The White House at an event to mark the band's contribution to American culture and arts.
The President of the United States gave a speech discussing the band's contribution to music and entertainment, saying that the world 'never saw it coming' when the band hit the music scene in the sixties. The band were also thanked for not trashing The White House by the president, who made a joke about the band's rock and roll reputation.
Obama paid tribute to the band and their long-running career, saying: "It’s been said that a generation of young people survived teenage angst with a pair of headphones and a Zeppelin album ... but even now, 32 years after John Bonham’s passing - and we all I think appreciate the fact - the Zeppelin legacy lives on.
"We honour Led Zeppelin for making us all feel young, and for showing us that some guys who are not completely youthful can still rock!"
Obama also honoured David Letterman and Dustin Hoffman at the White House event.
Led Zeppelin back together in 2012 to promote their concert DVD release
Led Zeppelin have been back in business in 2012, promoting new concert DVD, Celebration Day, and fighting off fan demands for the band to get back together.
The release of their 2007 live performance at London's O2 has resulted in massive demand for a reunion, but Jimmy Page recently put the blame on Robert Plant's busy schedule for the band's lack of subsequent live shows.
"Some of us thought we would be continuing, that there were going to be more concerts in the not-too-distant-future. Because there was a lot of work being put into the show.
"[Plant] was busy. He was doing his Alison Krauss project. I wasn't fully aware it was going to be launched at the same time. So what do you do in a situation like that?
"I'd been working with the other two guys for the percentage of the rehearsals at the O2. We were connecting well. The weakness was that none of us sang."
See a video of the ceremony below.
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