“When you hear the melodic structures of what classical musicians put together and you compare it to that of a rock & roll record, there’s a hell of a long way rock & roll has to go.”

I deal in emotions. It’s the harmonic side that’s important. That’s the side I expected to be much further along on than I am now. That just means to say that I’ve got to keep at it.

There’s so much that can be done on the guitar. And that’s what is so good about the guitar – everyone can really enjoy themselves on it and have a good time, which is what it’s all about.

From the classical guitar right through to the furthest electrical experiments and everything in-between, it’s amazing what the guitar can actually do. I mean, when one thinks about sounds.

Domesticity and all that isn’t really for me.

The element of change has been the thing, really. We put out the first one, then the second… then a third LP totally different from them. It’s the reason we were able to keep it together.

The way I see it, rock & roll is folk music. Street music. It isn’t taught in school. It has to be picked up.

The key to Zeppelin’s longevity has been change.

I don’t know whether I’ll reach 40. I don’t know whether I’ll reach 35. I can’t be sure about that. I am bloody serious. I am very, very serious. I didn’t think I’d make 30.

I’m at my best when I’m exhausted and under pressure.

You can’t buy time. Everything, for me, seems to be a race against time. Especially musically.

I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it.

All my houses are isolated. Many is the time I just stay home alone.

Music is the one thing that has been consistently there for me. It hasn’t let me down.

Every musician wants to do something which will hold up for a long time, and I guess we did it with ‘Stairway to Heaven.’

The greatest satisfaction is not the decoration. It is knowing that I am able to help someone who needs help.

Every record is a portrait of the band at that time.

The situation of women and men is not comparable to worker-boss or black and white.

Most attractive males talk to most attractive women as if they were Rotarians comparing sales percentages in Des Moines.

There is far more sensitivity in acoustic guitar players than could ever be compared to any synthesizer. That’s a personal point of view but that’s the way I see it. I think that’s what it’s all about. The drive, the fire, the passion – it all comes out on the guitar.

Right from the first time we went to America in 1968, Led Zeppelin was a word-of-mouth thing. You can’t really compare it to how it is today.

I always compare marriage to communism. They’re both institutions that don’t conform to human nature, so you’re going to end up with lying and hypocrisy.

They always compare my ‘Crazy Story’ to Meek’s ‘Tony Story.’

A man is a poor creature compared to a woman.

I never compare myself to anybody. I don’t look at my accomplishments compared to anyone. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished in boxing.