Of all of the wild urban legends in the history of rock and roll, Led Zeppelin’s infamous 1969 ‘Mud Shark Incident’ is perhaps the most baffling and graphic. And it might even be true.
The story involves a groupie, some of the most famous rockers of all time, plenty of drugs, what could arguably be called outside-the-box thinking, and, well, a mud shark.
If your first question is, ‘What is a mud shark?’ you certainly aren’t alone. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a mud shark refers to ‘several kinds of sluggish bottom-dwelling sharks.’ If you’re having trouble picturing it, the fish looks more like a giant catfish than a shark.
You’ll be upset to have such a clear mental image shortly, but now that you do, we can get down to it.
Music rapidly changed in the late 60s, with a cultural revolution sweeping the US and UK and leaving a restless generation starving for a new kind of music …