Led Zeppelin Manager Peter Grant Saw a Fake Band Win a Grammy Before Zep Did

It would be hard for music fans to argue Led Zeppelin didn’t leave a massive mark on popular music. In a little over a decade together, the band’s songs left their mark on fans everywhere, and manager Peter Grant’s strong leadership and business savvy helped the band make a fortune. Yet Grant never saw Led Zeppelin win a Grammy — he saw a fake band he managed win the award decades before Zep did.

Peter Grant managed a made-up band that won a Grammy decades before Led Zeppelin did

Led Zeppelin featured four expert performers at the peak of their powers. 

Jimmy Page solidified his spot as an all-time guitar legend. John Paul Jones showcased the wealth of musical talents that made him one of the most in-demand session players of his day. John Bonham went from relatively anonymous to drumming legend with some help from his bag of tricks, and Robert Plant established himself as a standout frontman. 

Nobody short of a music novice would confuse Led Zeppelin for The New Vaudeville Band. Yet the latter outfit was the fake band Grant saw win a Grammy decades before Led Zeppelin did.

The New Vaudeville Band was nothing more than the name songwriter Geoff Stephens assigned to the group of session players who performed his tune “Winchester Cathedral.” He never planned to form an actual group. 

Then the song took off. 

It rose to No. 4 on the charts in October 1966 (per the Official Charts Company). “Winchester Cathedral” became a No.1 Billboard single in early December of that year. The song spent several weeks at the top. Stephens hastily assembled a group to tour behind the tune and a subsequent album of the same name. Grant managed them.

The novelty song brought two Grammy nominations for the made-up New Vaudeville Band. One for record of the year and a win for best contemporary (R&R) recording in the 1967 ceremony. (R&R being the Grammy abbreviation for rock ‘n’ roll). Those two nods for one song were twice as many Grammy nominations Led Zeppelin received in their groundbreaking career.

Led Zeppelin only earned 1 Grammy award nomination during their active career

Grant watched the fabricated band he managed win a Grammy for the 1966 hit novelty song “Winchester Cathedral.” He started overseeing Led Zeppelin less than two years later. The latter band’s success was irrefutable — just look at the list of their best-selling albums — but they never won a Grammy during Grant’s lifetime.

Led Zeppelin earned a nomination for best new band at the 1970 ceremony. They lost to Crosby, Stills & Nash (along with Chicago, Oliver, and Neon Philharmonic). Led Zeppelin finally won a Grammy nearly 20 years after Grant died when they took home the statuette for best rock album for 2012’s Celebration Day.

Interestingly, Plant’s solo songs earned Grammy awards before Led Zeppelin picked up the hardware. 

His collaborations with Alison Krauss became incredibly successful. The duo won the Grammy for best pop collaboration at the 2007 awards and cleaned up the following year.

Plant and Krauss’ won five Grammys in 2008, including album of the year and best contemporary folk/Americana album for Raising Sand. Three songs from the record — “Please Read the Letter,” “Rich Woman,” and “Killing the Blues” — won awards, too.

Plant and Page earned their first golden gramophones in 1999. The duo won for best hard rock performance for their song “Most High.” Zep’s Celebration Day win accounted for his other Grammy. 

Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant guided the band to incredible heights. Yet he never got to see the band win a Grammy award. A fake band Grant managed before he took over Zep beat his signature band to the Grammy stage by decades.

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