Led Zeppelin have been honoured at the White House by Barack Obama for their contribution to America culture and the arts – watch a video of it above.

Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were among a group of artists who received Kennedy Centre Honours, Sky News reports. David Letterman and Dustin Hoffman also received the award.

“When Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham burst onto the musical scene in the late 1960s, the world never saw it coming,” Obama said in his tribute.


“There was this singer with a mane like a lion and a voice like a banshee, a guitar prodigy who left people’s jaws on the floor, a versatile bassist who was equally at home on the keyboards, a drummer who played like his life depended on it,” he continued.

He added: “It’s been said that a generation of young people survived teenage angst with a pair of headphones and a Zeppelin album … but even now, 32 years after John Bonham’s passing – and we all I think appreciate the fact – the Zeppelin legacy lives on.”

The president then thanked band for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of “hotel rooms being trashed and mayhem all around”.

He finished his speech, saying: “We honour Led Zeppelin for making us all feel young, and for showing us that some guys who are not completely youthful can still rock!”

Led Zeppelin released their live DVD Celebration Day on November 19. The film is a concert of the band’s 2007 reunion show at London’s O2 Arena.