Dread Zeppelin is a rock-n-roll band whose music can be described as "Elvis Presley meets Bob Marley meets Led Zeppelin". It could also be described as hyper-amplified reggae music with an Elvis impersonator singing on Lead Vocals. Dread Zeppelin as been around 19 years and has even gotten the endorsement of former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant himself.

The band first came together in Pasadena, California in 1989. Led by an Elvis impersonator by the name of "Tortelvis" (real name: Greg Tortell), the other members in original line-up featured guitarists "Jah Paul Jo" and "Carl Jah", bass guitarist "Butt-Boy", percussionist "Ed Zeppelin", and drummer "Fresh Cheese & Cheese". Dread Zep played their first live concert on January 8, 1989 (Elvis' 54th birthday). They played reggae versions of Led Zeppelin topped off by the Lead Vocals of Tortelvis. The local buzz around California about Dread Zeppelin soon earned them a record contract with I.R.S. Records. Their first CD, "Un-Led-Ed" released in 1990, featured the hit song "Heartbreaker (At The End Of Lonely Street)", splicing Led Zep's "Heartbreaker" with Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel". Upon hearing "Un-Led-Ed" for the first time, former Led Zep singer Robert Plant said he preferred Dread Zeppelin's version of "Your Time Is Gonna Come" over his original version with Led Zeppelin.

In 1991, Dread Zeppelin followed up with their 2nd CD, "5,000,000" (as in: "5,000,000 Tortlevis fans can't be wrong). The "5,000,000" CD featured cover versions of other people's songs such as Johnny Nash's "Stir It Up" and the classic "Train Kept A Rollin'" as well as a couple of originals ("Big Ol' Gol Belt" and "Do The Claw"). The high point of the CD was their version of "Stairway To Heaven".

In 1992, "Tortelvis", "Ed Zeppelin", and "Fresh Cheese" left the band. Bass Guitarist "Butt Boy" rechristened himslf "Gary B.I.B.B." and took over Lead Vocal duties for their next Cd, 1992's disco flavored "It's Not Unusual". The record alienated their core following as well as I.R.S. records, who dropped them from the label later that year.

"Tortelvis" and "Ed Zeppelin" both returned in 1993 for their next CD, "Hot-N-Spicy Beanburger", a definite rturn to past glories for the band. In 1994, they released their next CD, "Spambake". Later that same year, Dread Zeppelin made a cameo appearance in the movie "National Lampoon's Last Resort".  Shortly thereafter, "Carl Jah" and "Ed Zeppelin" both left the band. Dread Zeppelin carried on with new members on their next CD, 1995's "No Quarter Pounder".

On their 1996 CD "The Fun Sessions" (Tortelvis Sings The Classics), the band covered classic songs by The Who, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and The Beatles. After the CD came out, "Jah Paul Jo" left the band. Dread Zeppelin released a live CD, "The Song Remains Insane" in 1997 and followed that up with a rarities collection titled "Ruins" in 1998 as well as a Christmas CD titled "The First No-Elvis". In 2000, Dread Zep released "Deja-Voodoo". By this time, both "Butt Boy" and "Ed Zeppelin" from the original line-up had returned to the band.

In 2002, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's passing, Dread Zep released a CD titled "Nine Inch Elvis".  In 2005, the band released the CD "Chicken-N-Ribs" which included a bonus DVD.  And now in 2008, Dread Zep has released their latest CD, "Bar Coda". Tortelvis and Dread Zeppelin are still going strong after close to 20 years of being together and they continue to record and tour constantly. As Tortelvis himself said on "The Fun Sessions" CD, "Let's get gone baby! Let's get real gone!"

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