Congrats to rock legends Led Zeppelin, who will be bestowed with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in December. For Zeppelin fans, it will be the rare opportunity to see Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones together in person as their reunions since the death of John Bonham have been few and far between. Their last one took place in London in 2007.

 

Led Zeppelin's influence on hard rock and metal is undeniable, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers were among the first to have someone with the powerful scream that Robert Plant had and the guitar mastery and crunchy riffs that Jimmy Page provided making them one of the first true heavy rock outfits.

Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein agrees, stating, "Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant transformed the sound of rock and roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures, infusing blues into the sound of rock and roll and laying the foundation for countless rock bands."

In addition to Led Zeppelin, blues guitar great Buddy Guy, Late Show host David Letterman, actor/director Dustin Hoffman, and ballerina Natalia Makarova will be among those saluted during the ceremony. The event is scheduled for Dec. 2 at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Each of the honorees will be seated with President and Mrs. Obama, and will be treated to a pre-festivities supper dance with the Obama family. In addition, the honorees will be saluted at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Dec. 1, one night prior to the Kennedy Center Honors bash.

The ceremony itself will be taped and edited down for a CBS special airing Dec. 26 at 9PM ET/PT.

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