Led Zeppelin

In the world of English rock guitar gods, all roads lead back to the Yardbirds.In 1963, the young combo began playing clubs around London, and immediately earned a reputation, both for its devotion to the blues and for a stunning young guitarist named Eric "Slowhand" Clapton (the nickname being an ironic acknowledgment of his speed on the fretboard).Two years later, Clapton left the group, disgusted at how pop-friendly the Yardbirds had become. Desperate for a replacement, the group turned to Jimmy Page, then the hottest session guitarist in England.

Robert Plant has never been the sort given to worrying about radio play. He certainly didn't give the matter thought when he was in Led Zeppelin.After all, Zep often didn't even bother releasing singles, but tracks like "Kashmir" and "Stairway to Heaven" still got on the air.But Plant does hope that "Walking Into Clarksdale" (Atlantic 83092, arriving in stores Tuesday), his new album with guitarist Jimmy Page, gets a fair hearing on radio. Because "Walking Into Clarksdale" is the first full album of new material these two have recorded since Led Zeppelin - which ruled the rock world for 11 years and 10 albums - broke up some 19 years ago."

* = Poor** = fair*** = good**** = excellentGodzillaThe Album (Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax 69338)Like the movie ad says, Size Matters. And just as you can't have a summer blockbuster film without larger-than-life special effects, you can't have a summer blockbuster soundtrack without a generous serving of superstars.Star power is not a problem for "Godzilla: The Album." Not only does it boast a raft of monster acts, including the Wallflowers, Foo Fighters, Jamiroquai and Rage Against the Machine, one track even pairs hip-hop auteur Puff Daddy with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page -- a match-up almost as awesome as when Godzilla squared off against Mothra.

In its youth, rock and roll seemed almost contemptuous of classical music. Derisively dismissing it as "long-hair stuff" -- this was before the Beatles, back when conductor Leopold Stokowski had longer tresses than any teen idol -- these first-generation rockers saw symphonic music as stodgy, dated and about to be pushed into extinction. "Roll over, Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news," chortled Chuck Berry.Today's rock stars, however, hardly seem as cocksure of rock's innate superiority.

In some ways, the worst thing about classic rock recordings is that they eventually become seen as such -- as classics, immaculate, immutable, immortal. There's something almost sacrosanct about long-treasured rock albums, so much so that the average fan can no more imagine altering the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" or the Eagles' "Hotel California" than they could inserting a sax solo into Mozart's "Ein Kleine Nachtmusik."But that's not necessarily the way music was meant to work.

As seems to be true every Saturday, there's not much on tonight. Let's hope the snow lets up enough to allow folks to venture outside.* "Wide World of Sports" (4:30 p.m.-6 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- The granddaddy of all sports anthology-shows opens its 36th season of bringing viewers the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat (that poor ski jumper is still falling off the ramp). Today's coverage includes taped figure skating from the World Challenge of Champions in London. ABC.* "Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin" (11:30 p.m.-12:30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2)

Peter Grant, 60, manager of hard rock groups Led Zeppelin and Bad Company and influential in the careers of dozens of other acts, died Tuesday of a heart attack in London. He also had managed the Yardbirds and worked with Gene Vincent, Little Richard, the Everly Brothers and Chuck Berry."Peter Grant will be remembered as the man who single-handedly turned rock music into a global business," said his spokeswoman, Judy Totton. "He was the foundation stone of the modern music industry."The London native took Chuck Berry to Great Britain from the United States and was one of the first proponents of the global touring circuit for performers -- with performers keeping up to 90 percent of the gate.

Ever wonder what rock stars listen to while on tour? In the case of Peter Buck of R.E.M., it varies from day to day."Last night, I listened to 'The Joe Meeks Story' record, which is one of the sickest things I've ever heard," he continues. "There's a John Coltrane thing, 'Live in Seattle,' that's amazing. The new Blur record I really like. It's really new wave, but it's really cool, real musical. I really like it. I've also been listening to the Oasis record. I like it, because I like that kind of stuff, but it doesn't overwhelm me."

These are the other acts being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The induction dinner takes place this evening at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York but is not being televised.* The Allman Brothers. Formed in Macon, Ga., in 1968, the Allmans mixed down-home blues and gospel with British Invasion rock and psychedelic-era jamming. Their sound laid the foundations for Southern boogie.* Led Zeppelin. Although Led Zeppelin is synonymous with heavy rock, this English quartet drew on everything from Celtic folk and blues rock to Egyptian pop and samba drumming.

Almost 15 years after Led Zeppelin called it quits, guitarist Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have announced dates for their first tour as a duo.The tour is scheduled to begin on Feb. 26 in Pensacola, Fla., and includes a March 22 performance at the USAir Arena in Landover. There was no word at press time on when tickets will go on sale.Despite the duo's association with Led Zeppelin, this will not be a reunion tour. As Page said in a press statement, "We were both agreed that if we were going to do something then it had to be new. . . . If we were to look at old material, then we'd have to treat it as an old picture ready for a new frame."

THURSDAY HIPPIEFEST: Peace, love and good music, man. Flash back to the '60s with musicians from bands such as the Turtles, Badfinger, Three Dog Night and the Rascals. It'll be like Woodstock all over again (sort of) at Pier Six Pavilion, 731 Eastern Ave. The gates open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25-$55. Go to piersixpavilion.com FLICKS FROM THE HILL: Woody Allen's classic 1973 comedy Sleeper screens at this week's Flicks From the Hill at 9 p.m. at American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway.

The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, video game theme music and Leon Fleisher -- not exactly your typical Baltimore Symphony Orchestra summer season. On the classical side of the eclectic 2008 lineup, the BSO will celebrate the 80th birthday of Fleisher, one of the country's most gifted and respected musicians, with an all-Mozart program that will showcase both his pianistic and conducting skills. He'll lead the orchestra in Symphony No. 35 and No. 40 and, from the keyboard, Piano Concerto No. 12. Performances are July 24 at the Music Center at Strathmore and July 25 at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

The press agent in London was getting the same question all day: Which finger was it? The digit in question belonged to Jimmy Page, guitar magus of Led Zeppelin. And according to a statement issued Thursday afternoon, it had been fractured the previous weekend, forcing the group to delay its megaticket reunion concert in London by two weeks, to Dec. 10. "Led Zeppelin have always set very high standards for ourselves," Page said in the statement, "and we feel that this postponement will enable my injury to properly heal, and permit us to perform at the level that both the band and our fans have always been accustomed to."

After spending the summer in rehab, Linday Lohan is back in Los Angeles to shoot a movie, according to People magazine's Web site. The onetime party girl, 21, arrived over the weekend and had a low-key evening with friends Sunday, seeing the movie Elizabeth: The Golden Age and visiting a tanning salon. Lohan was due this week on the set of Dare to Love Me, the film for which she was preparing in July when she was arrested for drunken driving. Lohan's mother, Dina, says her daughter is eager to get back to work.

Hundreds of people pour in and out of the Cuban restaurant and bar Little Havana every weekend. But I'll bet few ever stroll across the street for a nightcap at McCracken's on Key. I did a couple of weeks ago, and now, the nearly unmarked corner bar is my new favorite spot to watch football in South Baltimore. McCracken's occupies the first floor of a building right across Key Highway from Little Havana. There is no name on the outer brick walls just yet, though owner Jim Meehan plans to put one up in the near future.

Tommy Goldman's foot taps the floor and his head bobs as his fingers pluck the familiar melody of the Beatles' "Hide Your Love Away" on his guitar. Matt Hutton adds the drumbeat and Louis Weeks' smooth voice echoes an era long gone. The three teens don't own vinyl records, and they were born a decade after John Lennon's death. To them, Woodstock is beyond old-school. Even so, Goldman and his friends spend hours listening to the old albums on CD, jamming to the guitar riffs and reciting the lyrics of the music that made its mark nearly 40 years ago. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix.

Cadillac sales continue to accelerate, as more daring designs and youth-oriented advertising help lower the average age of buyers. After years of sliding downhill because of a lackluster lineup and stodgy image, Cadillac is regaining traction with luxury buyers. Sales are up 10 percent this year, on top of an 8 percent gain in 2003, and Cadillac has passed Mercedes to rank third among luxury brands. Three years ago it was fifth. More significant, Cadillac's traditional older owners aren't fueling the surge.

Some studies have suggested that music exposure might improve intellectual development. And just in case they're right, 18-month-old Mason Buswell has been getting the saturation treatment since before he was born. His dad used to put headphones on his mom's belly when Mason was in utero - playing everything from New Age jazz to Led Zeppelin - and now the toddler is enrolled in a weekly music class in Clarksville. Scott Buswell, Mason's father, says that while he doesn't know if it's having any effect, it sure is fun. "He's been dancing since he was able to stand," Buswell said, "and he loves these classes."

Some studies have suggested that music exposure might improve intellectual development. And just in case they're right, 18-month-old Mason Buswell has been getting the saturation treatment since before he was born. His dad used to put headphones on his mom's belly when Mason was in utero - playing everything from New Age jazz to Led Zeppelin - and now the toddler is enrolled in a weekly music class in Clarksville. Scott Buswell, Mason's father, says that while he doesn't know if it's having any effect, it sure is fun. "He's been dancing since he was able to stand," Buswell said, "and he loves these classes."

In the world of English rock guitar gods, all roads lead back to the Yardbirds.In 1963, the young combo began playing clubs around London, and immediately earned a reputation, both for its devotion to the blues and for a stunning young guitarist named Eric "Slowhand" Clapton (the nickname being an ironic acknowledgment of his speed on the fretboard).Two years later, Clapton left the group, disgusted at how pop-friendly the Yardbirds had become. Desperate for a replacement, the group turned to Jimmy Page, then the hottest session guitarist in England.