I found this interesting article published in the December 10, 1976 issue of “People Weekly”. The cover blurb reads, “Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin His songs spin heavy metal rock into platinum” and the article is titled “Heavy Metal Gods”.

The first paragraph includes this statement, “That was the Heavy Metal Age, roughly 1969-71, when one group, Great Britain’s Led Zeppelin, emerged as the genre’s unrivaled sovereign.” It continues in the second paragraph: “Heavy metal is the music that most closely commits artistic child abuse, aimed, as it is, at a constituency presumably under 18. Led Zep’s pulverizing force has made it a sound to get cauliflower ear by and, as such, is preferably experienced in a semiconscious state.” The paragraph concludes by stating, “Though heavy metal has faded as an art form, Led Zeppelin continues to pillage and plunder the land, as ever the most puissant rock group on earth.”

Robert Plant expresses his disdain for being associated with heavy metal a little further on in the article. “They have allowed our name to be linked with that horrendous boring period of music—heavy metal. I hate the term.”

Robert Plant isn’t the only progenitor of early and proto-metal who doesn’t care to be hailed as a father-of-metal hero.

Ian Gillan – “Heavy metal is a term that is just unintentionally clumsy. It induces anything from a raised eyebrow to mild nausea in most of the musicians I know.”

Ginger Baker – “People say Cream gave birth to heavy metal. If that’s so, we should have had an abortion.”

Jack Bruce – I still don’t take the blame for inventing heavy metal. Hang that one on Led Zeppelin.”

Dickie Peterson – “People keep trying to say that we’re heavy metal or grunge or punk, or we’re this or that. The reality is, we’re just a power trio and we play ultra blues and it’s rock ‘n roll.”

Dear Lemmy Kilmister (God rest his soul if he’ll let Him) never completely rejected being associated with heavy metal though he always insisted his band played rock ‘n roll and that heavy metal was just another form of rock ‘n roll. At least Ray Davies seems to take a certain pride in his and brother Dave’s invention of riff busters “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night”. I mean, gee whiz guys, take a bow for helping create a style of music that has attracted millions of fans around the world for the last few decades, and has inspired legions of artists and musicians to push the envelope of possibilities with their respective instruments.

Anyway, the People article was interesting because of how they spoke of heavy metal in 1976. Led Zeppelin – heavy metal gods. The Heavy Metal Age, roughly 1969-71. “That horrendous boring period of music.” Heavy metal has faded as an art form.

It would be interesting to find more articles from the seventies and read how the authors use and reference the term heavy metal.

The People Weekly article is here: http://people.com/archive/cover-story-heavy-metal-gods-vol-6-no-25/

I first noticed it when I heard Gillan in an interview in 2007 say he thought heavy metal was the most unflattering term for any style of music. Then I saw on Metal Evolution that Sam Dunn couldn't get an interview with Page and Plant because they didn't want to be associated with heavy metal. That got me looking last night.

Yes. Halford was the next generation and so he was proud of it. So were many bands in the eighties who we would call hard rock these days. I'm surprised to hear Ray Davies suggest he invented heavy metal with those two Kinks' songs he wrote in 64.

I just saw a web page the other night claiming that metal was dead and for the reasons that were illustrated in ten photographs from a metal fest, photos that included pink T-shirts and moms who like heavy metal. 

Well, at my age, heavy metal doesn't need to be rebellious or shocking. It just has to sound freakin' awesome!