I have always loved finding out the stories behind songs. I was researching a song the other day, and it led me to the question: “What are some of the rock bands influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien?”
The Tolkien Influence
Tolkien is one of my all-time favorite writers. I have read The Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy repeatedly. I credit Tolkien as a huge influence on many fantasy and sci-fi fans today, including myself. Tolkien’s books have sold more than 600 million copies since the release of The Hobbit in 1937.
A lot of rock songs written in the ’70s and ’80s were influenced by books. Robert Plant and many other rock stars are avid readers… specifically of Tolkien. Along with a thousand death-metal band names, Tolkien has influenced the lyrical content of many rock songs.
Tolkien’s Books On The Big Screen
Huge thanks to Peter Jackson. Before his cinematic magic on this novel set, only The Hobbit cartoon (1977) and the awful Lord of the Rings animated film existed outside the books. I still remember watching The Hobbit cartoon in school and being offended at what they had done to the storyline. Peter Jackson became the first person to direct three major feature movies simultaneously when he made the Lord of The Rings movies.
By The Same Tolkien – Musical Influences
Recently, I was looking up “Sugar Magnolia” from the Grateful Dead and found out a new-to-me nugget of knowledge. The song describes the character Goldberry in the novel, Fellowship of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The novel describes the character as “fair young Goldberry, sitting in the rushes.” The lyrics in “Sugar Magnolia” include “Rolling in the rushes down by the riverside.” There are more several comparisons that have been made in regard to the song lyrics and the Tolkien novels.
I knew of a couple of Led Zeppelin songs with references to Tolkien’s work so I started poking around for more rock bands influenced by Tolkien. These are my findings.
Rock Bands Influenced By Tolkien
