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Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the death of
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
, the band's drummer. Plant was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
Plant enjoyed great success with Led Zeppelin from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. He developed a compelling image as the
charisma
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
tic rock-and-roll front man, similar to those of contemporaries such as
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
of
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
of
the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...
of
the Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
, and
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
.
After Led Zeppelin dissolved in 1980, Plant continued to perform and record continuously on a variety of solo and group projects. His first well known post-Led Zeppelin project was
The Honeydrippers
The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s, deriving their name from Roosevelt Sykes, an American blues singer also known as "Honeydripper". Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to sati ...
, alongside former Led Zeppelin guitarist
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
, among others. In 1988, he released the solo album ''
Now and Zen
''Now and Zen'' is the fourth solo album by Robert Plant, released 29 February 1988 by Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The album made the top 10 in the US (No. 6) and UK (No. 10). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on 7 Septe ...
'', which spawned the hit singles "
Tall Cool One" and "
Ship of Fools
The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...
". In the 1990s, another reunion project named
Page and Plant
Page and Plant (also known as Jimmy Page & Robert Plant) was an English rock band active between 1994 and 1998. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant (both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin), accompanied ...
released two studio albums and a live album from an ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' performance, as well as winning the
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards until 2011.
The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards (1989). The category was ori ...
in 1998 for "
Most High". In 2007, he began a collaboration with bluegrass artist
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...
, releasing the album ''
Raising Sand
''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Hon ...
'', which won the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...
in 2009 and produced the hit song "
Please Read the Letter
"Please Read the Letter" is a song originally written and recorded by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as Page and Plant) for their 1998 album '' Walking into Clarksdale''.
Plant and Alison Krauss later recorded a version of the song for their colla ...
", which won the
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
the same year. In 2010, he revived the
Band of Joy
Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...
(which shared its name with an early band he performed with in the 1960s), and in 2012 formed a new band, the Sensational Space Shifters, followed by a reunion with Alison Krauss in 2019.
In 2008, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' editors ranked him number 15 on their list of the 100 best singers of all time.
[100 Greatest Singers Of All Time: Robert Plant](_blank)
''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''. Retrieved 30 June 2015 In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' readers ranked Plant the greatest of all lead singers.
In 2006, ''
Hit Parader
''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...
'' magazine named Plant the "Greatest Metal Vocalist of All Time".
In 2009, Plant was voted "the greatest voice in rock" in a poll conducted by UK classic rock radio station
Planet Rock.
Biography
Early life and musical beginnings
Robert Anthony Plant was born on 20 August 1948, in the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
town of
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, England, to Robert C. Plant, a qualified civil engineer who worked in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during the Second World War,
and Annie Celia Plant (née Cain), a
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
woman.
He grew up in the
Hayley Green area of
Halesowen
Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England.
Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
. Plant gained an interest in singing and
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
music at an early age; in an interview with
Andrew Denton on the
Denton talk show in 1994, Plant stated his desire, as a ten-year-old, to be like
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
:
When I was a kid I used to hide behind the curtains at home at Christmas and I used to try and be Elvis. There was a certain ambience between the curtains and the French windows, there was a certain sound there for a ten-year-old. That was all the ambience I got at ten years old ... And I always wanted to be ... a bit similar to that
He left
King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys in
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
in his mid-teens and developed a strong passion for the
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, mainly through his admiration for
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
,
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
and early renditions of songs in this genre.
He abandoned training as a chartered accountant after only two weeks to attend college in an effort to gain more
GCE passes and to become part of the
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
blues scene. "I left home at 16", he said, "and I started my real education musically, moving from group to group, furthering my knowledge of the blues and of other music which had weight and was worth listening to".
Plant's early blues influences included Johnson,
Bukka White
Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White (November 12, 1906 February 26, 1977) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer.
Biography
White was born south of Houston, Mississippi. He was a first cousin of B.B. King's mother (White's mother and ...
,
Skip James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...
,
Jerry Miller
Jerry Miller (born July 10, 1943) is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues ...
, and
Sleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977),
known as Sleepy John Estes, was an Am ...
. Plant had various jobs while pursuing his music career, one of which was working for the major British construction company
Wimpey in Birmingham in 1967 laying tarmac on roads. He also worked at
Woolworth's
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
in
Halesowen
Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England.
Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...
town for a short period of time. He cut three obscure singles on
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
and sang with a variety of bands, including the Crawling King Snakes, which brought him into contact with drummer
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
. They both went on to play in the
Band of Joy
Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...
, merging blues with newer psychedelic trends.
Led Zeppelin (1968–1980)
Early years
In 1968, guitarist
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
was in search of a lead singer for his new band and met Plant after being turned down by his first choice,
Terry Reid
Terrance James Reid (born 13 November 1949) is an English rock vocalist and guitarist. He has performed with high-profile musicians, as a supporting act, session musician, and sideman.
Biography
Reid was born in Paxton Park Maternity Home, L ...
, who referred him to a show at a teacher training college in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
(where Plant was singing in a band named Hobbstweedle).
In front of Page, Plant sang
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
's "
Somebody to Love", leading Page to end his search.
[ As recalled by Plant and Page:
]
With a shared passion for music, Plant and Page immediately developed a strong relationship, and began their writing collaboration with reworkings of earlier blues songs.
Initially dubbed the "New Yardbirds" in 1968, the band soon came to be known as Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
. The band's eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
debut album hit the charts in 1969 and is widely credited as a catalyst for the heavy metal genre. Plant has commented that it is unfair for people to think of Zeppelin as heavy metal, as almost a third of their music was acoustic.
In 1975, Plant and his wife Maureen (now divorced) were seriously injured in a car crash in Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
, Greece. This significantly affected the production of Led Zeppelin's seventh album '' Presence'' for a few months while he recovered, and forced the band to cancel the remaining tour dates for the year.
In July 1977, his son Karac died at the age of five while Plant was engaged on Led Zeppelin's concert tour of the United States. Plant retreated to his home in the Midlands of England and, for months afterward, questioned his future.[Lewis, Dave (2003). ''Led Zeppelin: Celebration II: The 'Tight But Loose' Files'', London: Omnibus Press. , p. 54.]
Lyrics
Plant did not begin writing song lyrics with Led Zeppelin until the making of ''Led Zeppelin II
''Led Zeppelin II'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place ...
'', in 1969. According to Jimmy Page:
Plant's lyrics with Led Zeppelin were often mystical, philosophical and spiritual, alluding to events in classical and Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, such as "Immigrant Song
"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was ...
", which refers to Valhalla
In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...
and Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
conquests. However, the song "No Quarter
The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed.
According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...
" is often misunderstood to refer to the god Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
; the song actually refers to Mount Thor
Mount Thor, officially gazetted as Thor Peak ( iu, ᙯᕐᓱᐊᓗᒃ ''Qaisualuk'' "huge bedrock" or iu, ᑭᒍᑎᙳᐊᖅ ''Kigutinnguaq'' "tooth-like"), is a mountain with an elevation of located in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Islan ...
(which is named after the god). Another example is "The Rain Song
"The Rain Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released in March 1973 as the second track on their fifth album, ''Houses of the Holy''.
Recording
"The Rain Song" is a ballad of over seven minutes in length. Guitarist J ...
".
Plant was also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
, whose book series inspired lyrics in some early Led Zeppelin songs. Most notably, "The Battle of Evermore
"The Battle of Evermore" is a folk duet sung by Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, featured on Led Zeppelin's untitled 1971 album, commonly known as '' Led Zeppelin IV''. The song's instrumentation features acoustic guitar and mandolin playing, ...
", "Misty Mountain Hop
"Misty Mountain Hop" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1971 by Atlantic Records. The song appears on the band's untitled fourth album, and was released as the B-side to the single " Black Dog" and performed in most of the ...
", "No Quarter
The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed.
According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...
", "Ramble On
"Ramble On" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album '' Led Zeppelin II''. It was co-written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and was recorded in 1969 at Juggy Sound Studio, New York City, during the band's second concert ...
" and " Over the Hills and Far Away" contain verses referencing Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' and ''The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
''. Conversely, Plant sometimes used more straightforward blues-based lyrics dealing primarily with sexual innuendo, as in "The Lemon Song
"Killing Floor" is a 1964 song by American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Howlin' Wolf. Called "one of the defining classics of Chicago electric blues",
"Killing Floor" became a blues standard with recordings by various artists. It has ...
", "Trampled Under Foot
"Trampled Under Foot" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin. A funk-influenced piece with John Paul Jones on clavinet, it was included on their 1975 album '' Physical Graffiti''. The song was released as a single in several countries an ...
", and " Black Dog".
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...
also forms a basis of Plant's interest in mystical lyrics. He grew up close to the Welsh border and would often take summer trips to Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
. Plant bought a Welsh sheep farm in 1973, and began taking Welsh lessons and looking into the mythology of the land (such as Black Book of Carmarthen
The Black Book of Carmarthen ( cy, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Ev ...
, Book of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin ( cy, Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before ...
, etc.) Plant's first son, Karac, was named after the Welsh warrior Caratacus
Caratacus ( Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the C ...
. The song "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
"Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is a song recorded by English rock band Led Zeppelin for their third album, ''Led Zeppelin III'', released in 1970.
Background
The song is named after Bron-Yr-Aur, a house in Montgomeryshire, Wales, where the members of Led Z ...
" is named after the 18th-century Welsh cottage Bron-Yr-Aur
Bron-Yr-Aur (Welsh for "breast of the gold", or by extension, "hill of the gold" or "golden hill"; ) is a privately owned 18th-century cottage, on the outskirts of Machynlleth, in Montgomeryshire, mid-Wales, best known for its association with ...
, owned by a friend of his father; it later inspired the song "Bron-Yr-Aur
Bron-Yr-Aur (Welsh for "breast of the gold", or by extension, "hill of the gold" or "golden hill"; ) is a privately owned 18th-century cottage, on the outskirts of Machynlleth, in Montgomeryshire, mid-Wales, best known for its association with ...
". The songs "Misty Mountain Hop", " That's the Way", and early dabblings in what would become "Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...
" were written in Wales and lyrically reflect Plant's mystical view of the land. Critic Steve Turner suggests that Plant's early and continued experiences in Wales served as the foundation for his broader interest in the mythologies he revisits in his lyrics (including those myth systems of Tolkien and the Norse).
Page's passion for diverse musical experiences influenced Plant to explore Africa, specifically Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
in Morocco where he encountered Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...
:
Both he and Jimmy Page revisited these influences during their reunion album '' No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded'' in 1994. During his solo career Plant tapped into these influences many times, most notably on the 2002 album '' Dreamland''.
Arguably one of Plant's most significant achievements with Led Zeppelin was his contribution to the track "Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...
", an epic rock ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
featured on ''Led Zeppelin IV
The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV'', was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded between December 1970 and Fe ...
'' that drew influence from folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
, blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, Celtic traditional music and hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
among other genres. Most of the lyrics of the song were written spontaneously by Plant in 1970 at Headley Grange
Headley Grange is a former workhouse in Headley, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade II listed historic building. It is best known for its use as a recording and rehearsal venue in the 1960s and 1970s, by acts including Led Zeppelin, Genesis a ...
. While never released as a single, the song has topped polls as the greatest song of all time.
Plant is also recognised for his lyrical improvisation in Led Zeppelin's live performances, often singing verses previously unheard on studio recordings. One of the most famous Led Zeppelin musical devices involves Plant's vocal mimicking of bandmate Jimmy Page's guitar effects. This can be heard in the songs "How Many More Times
"How Many More Times" is the ninth and final track on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album ''Led Zeppelin''. The song is credited in the album liner to Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, but Robert Plant was later added to ...
", " Dazed and Confused", "The Lemon Song
"Killing Floor" is a 1964 song by American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Howlin' Wolf. Called "one of the defining classics of Chicago electric blues",
"Killing Floor" became a blues standard with recordings by various artists. It has ...
", "You Shook Me
"You Shook Me" is a 1962 blues song recorded by Chicago blues artist Muddy Waters. Willie Dixon wrote the lyrics and Earl Hooker provided the instrumental backing; the song features Waters' vocal in unison with Hooker's slide-guitar melody. "Yo ...
", "Nobody's Fault but Mine
"It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" or "Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a song first recorded by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. It is a solo performance with Johnson singing and playing slide guitar. The song has been interpreted an ...
" and "Sick Again
"Sick Again" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album '' Physical Graffiti''. It was written by singer Robert Plant. The song is about a group of teen groupies, which Plant referred to as "L.A. Queens", with whom the ba ...
".
He is also known for his light-hearted, humorous and unusual on-stage banter. Plant often discusses the origin and background of the songs during his shows, and sometimes provides social comment as well. He frequently talks about American blues musicians as his inspiration, mentioning artists like Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
, Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...
, Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...
and Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
induction ceremony and the 2007 Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at the O2 Arena in London on 10 December 2007. The headline act was the English rock band Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full- ...
with Led Zeppelin.
Stage persona
Plant enjoyed great success with Led Zeppelin throughout the 1970s and developed a compelling image as the charisma
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
tic rock-and-roll front man, similar to his contemporaries the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
's singer Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
, Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
of the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
of Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, and Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...
of the Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
.["Their Time is Gonna Come", '']Classic Rock Magazine
''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60, ...
: Classic Rock Presents Led Zeppelin'', 2008. With his mane of long blond hair and powerful, bare-chested appearance, Plant helped to create the "god of rock and roll" or "rock god" archetype. On stage, Plant was particularly active in live performances, often dancing, jumping, skipping, snapping his fingers, clapping, making emphatic gestures to emphasise a lyric or cymbal crash, throwing back his head, or placing his hands on his hips. As the 1970s progressed he, along with the other members of Led Zeppelin, became increasingly flamboyant on-stage, and wore more elaborate, colourful clothing and jewellery.
According to ''Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
'' magazine, "once he had a couple of US tours under his belt, 'Percy' Plant swiftly developed a staggering degree of bravado and swagger that irrefutably enhanced Led Zeppelin's rapidly burgeoning appeal." In 1994, during his "Unledded" tour with Jimmy Page, Plant himself reflected tongue-in-cheek upon his Led Zeppelin showmanship:
One of the oddest awards he received was the ''Rock Scene'' magazine "Chest O Rama". Readers of the magazine had to decide who had the best chest in rock, and Plant was the winner. When they contacted him about it, he replied: "I'm really greatly honoured although it's hard for me to be eloquent on the subject of my chest."
Solo career (1981–present)
Early career and success (1981–1993)
After Led Zeppelin disbanded in December 1980 (following the death of drummer John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
), Plant briefly considered abandoning music to pursue a career as a teacher in the Rudolf Steiner education system, going so far as to be accepted for teacher training. He nevertheless embarked on a successful solo career, helped by encouragement from Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
drummer Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
, who would go on to play with him. Plant's solo career began with the album '' Pictures at Eleven'' in 1982, followed by 1983's ''The Principle of Moments
''The Principle of Moments'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Robert Plant, formerly of Led Zeppelin. It was Plant's second Top 10 album in the US and UK. It also gave him his first solo Top 40 hit with "Big Log". The most ...
''. Popular tracks from this period include "Big Log
"Big Log" is a song by English recording artist Robert Plant from his second solo studio album, '' The Principle of Moments'' (1983). It was the first single from the album and became his first Top 40 solo hit, peaking at No. 11 on the UK Single ...
" (a Top 20 hit in 1983), "In the Mood
"In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by E ...
" (1983), " Little by Little" (from 1985's ''Shaken 'n' Stirred
''Shaken 'n' Stirred'' is the third solo studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released on 20 May 1985 by Es Paranza, his own label. Plant, Benji Le Fevre, and Tim Palmer produced the album. ''Shaken 'n' Stirred'' peaked at No. 19 on the U ...
''), "Far Post" (the B-side of " Burning Down One Side"), which appeared on the soundtrack of the 1985 movie ''White Nights
White night, White Night, or White Nights may refer to:
* White night (astronomy), a night in which it never gets completely dark, at high latitudes outside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles
* White Night festivals, all-night arts festivals held in ...
'' starring Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...
and Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...
, and popularised by airplay on album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-oriente ...
stations), " Tall Cool One" (a No. 25 hit from 1988's ''Now and Zen
''Now and Zen'' is the fourth solo album by Robert Plant, released 29 February 1988 by Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The album made the top 10 in the US (No. 6) and UK (No. 10). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on 7 Septe ...
'') and later " I Believe" (from 1993's ''Fate of Nations
''Fate of Nations'' is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all so ...
''). This last track, like Led Zeppelin's " All My Love", was written for and dedicated to his late son, Karac. Whilst Plant avoided performing Led Zeppelin songs through much of this period (although he would occasionally improvise his unique Zeppelin screams into his set), his tours in 1983 (with Phil Collins on drums) and in 1985 were very successful, often performing to sold-out arena-sized venues. In 1986 Plant performed at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert with other famous Midlands musicians.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Plant co-wrote three solo albums with keyboardist/songwriter Phil Johnstone
Phil Johnstone (1 September 1957 – 31 May 2021) was an English songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and record producer, best known for his work with singer Robert Plant. His songwriting credits include Plant's number-one Mainstream Rock hits ...
. These were: ''Now and Zen
''Now and Zen'' is the fourth solo album by Robert Plant, released 29 February 1988 by Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The album made the top 10 in the US (No. 6) and UK (No. 10). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on 7 Septe ...
'' in 1988, ''Manic Nirvana
''Manic Nirvana'' is the fifth studio album by former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, released 19 March 1990 on Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The lead single, "Big Love", reached #35 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and its follow ...
'' in 1990, and the 1993 ''Fate of Nations
''Fate of Nations'' is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all so ...
'' (which features Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...
of Clannad
Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...
and former Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut album ''Broadcast'' and hit single, " (I Just) Died in Your Arms".
History 1985–1986: Formation
While still in his teens, Nick Van Eede (b ...
guitarist Kevin Scott MacMichael). Songs from this third album, plus a smattering of Led Zeppelin classics, made up the set-list for Plant's acclaimed sunset performance on the Main Stage at Glastonbury Festival, in 1993. It was Johnstone who talked Plant into playing Led Zeppelin songs in his live shows, something Plant had always previously resisted, not wanting to be forever known as "the former Led Zeppelin vocalist".
Although Led Zeppelin split in 1980, Plant occasionally collaborated with Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
on various projects through this period, including forming a short-lived all-star group with Page and Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
in 1984, called the Honeydrippers
The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s, deriving their name from Roosevelt Sykes, an American blues singer also known as "Honeydripper". Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to sati ...
. They released an EP called '' The Honeydrippers: Volume One'', and the band had a No. 3 hit with a remake of the Phil Phillips
John Philip Baptiste (March 14, 1926 – March 14, 2020), known as Phil Phillips, was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 song, " Sea of Love".
Biography
Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a scho ...
' tune "Sea of Love Sea of Love may refer to
* ''Sea of Love'' (film), a 1989 American thriller film
* "Sea of Love" (Phil Phillips song), a 1959 song by Phil Phillips and The Twilights, covered by many performers
* "Sea of Love" (The National song), 2013
* ''The S ...
", plus a follow-up hit with a cover of Roy Brown's " Rockin' at Midnight". The pair again worked together in the studio on the 1988 Page solo effort '' Outrider'', and in the same year Page contributed to Plant's album ''Now and Zen''. Also, on 15 May 1988 Plant appeared with Page as a member of Led Zeppelin, at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
On May 14, 1988, the Atlantic Records label held its 40th Anniversary Celebration by staging a non-stop concert lasting almost 13 hours starting at noon and ending just shortly before 1am the following morning at Madison Square Garden, New York. Th ...
concert (where he also performed in his own right as a solo artist). Plant's live collaborations with other well-known musicians continued when he took to the stage with Queen at Wembley Stadium, for 1992's "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" for AIDS Awareness; where he sang Queen's "Innuendo
An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album '' The Game'', and also appears on the band's compilation album ''Greatest Hits'' in 1981 ...
", and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
" and "Thank You
"''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...
".
Page and Plant (1994–1998)
Page and Plant
Page and Plant (also known as Jimmy Page & Robert Plant) was an English rock band active between 1994 and 1998. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant (both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin), accompanied ...
became a full-fledged performing act from 1994 through 1998, releasing the '' No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded'' album in 1994 and following with an enormously successful tour in 1995, including a return to the Glastonbury limelight. Fourteen years of speculation from their fans and occasional sniping between the two former members ended when they reconvened their former musical partnership to produce ''No Quarter''. Having long resisted offers from MTV to reform to do an ''Unplugged'' show, they finally accepted as part of a deal that also allowed them to visit Morocco to record new material. The album combines the results of both of these projects. The Led Zeppelin material features new arrangements and new instrumentation, including strings, Egyptian musicians and the vocals of British-Asian star Najma Akhtar
Najma Akhtar also known as Najma (born 18 September 1962) is a British singer of Indian ancestry. She was born in Chelmsford, England.
She is noted for jazz modification of the traditional Urdu Indian ghazal (love songs and spiritual songs). ...
.
Page and Plant recorded their only post-Zeppelin album of original material on the 1998 album '' Walking into Clarksdale'', an effort that was unsuccessful commercially, leading Plant to return to his solo career after another world tour. A song from this album, "Please Read the Letter
"Please Read the Letter" is a song originally written and recorded by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as Page and Plant) for their 1998 album '' Walking into Clarksdale''.
Plant and Alison Krauss later recorded a version of the song for their colla ...
", was re-recorded by Plant with Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...
, and was featured on their 2007 album which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
.
Priory of Brion and reunion with Page (1999–2001)
Starting in mid-1999, Plant performed until the end of 2000 at several small venues with his folk-rock band, named Priory of Brion. This band consisted of the original Band of Joy guitarist Kevyn Gammond alongside Andy Edwards (drums), Paul Timothy (keyboards), and Paul Wetton (bass). The Priory of Brion played around one hundred concerts across Europe at various small clubs and festivals. The band performed cover versions of songs that had influenced Plant in his formative years. Many of these cover versions would crop up later on his ''Dreamland'' album.
In 1999, Plant contributed to the tribute album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
for Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...
co-founder Skip Spence
Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence (April 18, 1946 – April 16, 1999) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year, he released his only s ...
, who was terminally ill. The album, '' More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album'' ( Birdman, 1999), with the album title referring to Spence's only solo album, ''Oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.
The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
'' ( Columbia, 1969), contained Plant's version of Spence's "Little Hands". Plant had been an admirer of Spence and Moby Grape since the release of Moby Grape's eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
1967 debut album.
In 2001, Plant appeared on Afro Celt Sound System
Afro Celt Sound System is a British musical group who fuse electronic music with traditional Gaelic and West African music. Afro Celt Sound System was formed in 1995 by producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and feature a wide range of guest artists. ...
's album '' Volume 3: Further in Time''. The song "Life Begin Again" features a duet with Welsh folksinger Julie Murphy, emphasising Plant's recurring interest in Welsh culture (Murphy would also tour in support of Plant).
In the summer of 2001, Plant reunited with Page for both a cover of "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" for a Sun Records tribute album and an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the last time they worked outside of Led Zeppelin together.
Strange Sensation and further collaborations (2002–2009)
In 2002, with his then newly formed band Strange Sensation, Plant released a widely acclaimed collection of mostly blues and folk remakes, '' Dreamland''. Contrasting with this lush collection of often relatively obscure remakes, the second album with Strange Sensation, ''Mighty ReArranger
''Mighty ReArranger'' is English rock singer Robert Plant's eighth solo album and the second with his band " Strange Sensation". It was released internationally on 25 April 2005, on 9 May in the United Kingdom and 10 May in the United States.
...
'' (2005), contains new, original songs. Both have received some of the most favourable reviews of Plant's solo career and four Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nominations, two in 2003 and two in 2006.
As a former member of Led Zeppelin, along with Page and John Paul Jones, Plant received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and the Polar Music Prize in 2006.
From 2001 to 2007, Plant actively toured the US and Europe with Strange Sensation. His sets typically included recent, but not only, solo material and plenty of Led Zeppelin favourites, often with new and expanded arrangements. A DVD titled ''Soundstage: Robert Plant and Strange Sensation'', featuring his ''Soundstage
A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...
'' performance (filmed at the Soundstage studios in Chicago on 16 September 2005), was released in October 2006.
With Strange Sensation's Justin Adams he appeared at the 2003 '' Festival au Desert'' held in Essakane in the North of Mali, captured in a French-language documentary film entitled ''Le Festival au Désert'' (2004).
On 23 June 2006, Plant was the headliner (backed by Ian Hunter's band) at the Benefit For Arthur Lee concert at New York's Beacon Theatre, a show which raised money for Lee's medical expenses from his bout with leukaemia. Plant and band performed thirteen songs – five by Arthur Lee & Love, five Led Zeppelin songs and three others, including a duet with Ian Hunter. At the show, Plant told the audience of his great admiration for Arthur Lee dating back to the mid-'60s. Lee died of his illness six weeks after the concert.
An expansive box set of his solo work, '' Nine Lives'', was released in November 2006, which expanded all of his albums with various B-sides, demos, and live cuts. It was accompanied by a DVD. All his solo works were re-released with these extra tracks individually.
In 2007, Plant contributed two tracks to the Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
tribute album '' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'', "It Keeps Rainin'" with the Lil' Band o' Gold and "Valley of Tears
The Valley of Tears ( he, עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא, ''Emek HaBakha'') is the name given to an area in the Golan Heights after it became the site of a major battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, known as the Valley (or Vale) of Tears Battle, w ...
" with the Soweto Gospel Choir
The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group.
History
The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30- ...
.
In 2007 and 2008, Plant recorded and performed with bluegrass star Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...
. A duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
album, ''Raising Sand
''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Hon ...
'', was released on 23 October 2007 on Rounder Records. The album, recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles and produced by T Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...
, includes performances of lesser-known material from R&B, blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
and country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
songwriters including Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...
, Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter. , Gene Clark
Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...
, Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
, Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...
, Little Milton
James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love ...
and the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
. In February 2008 the song " Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" from ''Raising Sand'' won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...
. In February 2009 at the 51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...
, ''Raising Sand'' won 5 Grammys, for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, and Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. The album has been successful critically and commercially, and was certified platinum on 4 March 2008.
Plant and Krauss began an extended tour of the US and Europe in April 2008, playing music from ''Raising Sand'' and other American roots music as well as reworked Led Zeppelin tunes. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
in July 2008. Also in 2008, Plant performed with bluegrass musicians at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...
and Bonnaroo
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...
Music & Arts Festival. He appeared as a surprise guest during Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
's set at the 2008 Cropredy Festival
Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festi ...
, performing Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore
"The Battle of Evermore" is a folk duet sung by Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, featured on Led Zeppelin's untitled 1971 album, commonly known as '' Led Zeppelin IV''. The song's instrumentation features acoustic guitar and mandolin playing, ...
" with Kristina Donahue as a tribute to Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer".
After briefly w ...
.
Plant performed with Strange Sensation guitarist Justin Adams
Justin Alexander Adams (born 22 July 1961) is an English guitarist and composer who works in blues and African styles.
Biography
Born in London, the son of a diplomat, Adams spent some of his early childhood growing up in Egypt, before return ...
and the West African riti (a one-string violin) master Juldeh Camara for the finale of the three day World of Music, Arts and Dance
WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.
History
WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...
Festival in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
. Approximately 50,000 attended each of the free Womad concerts, which took place on the Corniche public beach from 23–25 April 2009.
Band of Joy (2010–2011)
In July 2010, Plant embarked on a twelve-date summer tour in the United States with his newly formed group called Band of Joy
Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...
(reprising the name of his first band in the 1960s). The group included singer Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
, singer-guitarist Buddy Miller
Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller. ...
, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Darrell Scott
James Darrell Scott, known as Darrell Scott (born August 6, 1959), is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The son of musician Wayne Scott, he moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana (known today as Lake Station, Indiana). ...
, bassist-vocalist Byron House, and drummer-percussionist-vocalist Marco Giovino.
A one-off show in the United States on 12 September 2010 at the Bowery Ballroom
The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...
in New York City, was followed by an eleven-date autumn 2010 tour in Europe and a North America tour in 2011.
A new studio album called ''Band of Joy
Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...
'' was released on 13 September 2010 on the Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...
label. The album was nominated for Best Americana Album in the 2011 Grammy Awards, and Plant's performance of "Silver Rider" on the album (a cover from the Low album ''The Great Destroyer
''The Great Destroyer'' is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on January 25, 2005, as their first recording on Sub Pop Records.
"California", a song about Sparhawk's mother, was released as the album's ...
'') was nominated for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
The band played their final scheduled show together at the Big Chill Festival at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
on 7 August 2011. The show ended with Plant bidding his bandmates "a fond farewell".
September 2011 - Plant played in Marfa, TX
Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population as of the 2010 United States Census was 1,981. The city ...
at El Cosmic Trans - Pecos Festival as part of a band called Crown Vic consisting of Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
, Dony Wynn, David Grissom
David Grissom is an American guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists. He is best known for his work with John Mellencamp. He has released four solo albums: ''Loud Music'', ''10,000 Feet ...
, Glenn Fukunaga, Michael Ramos.
On 30 September 2011, Plant and Band of Joy played in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, as part of the 11th Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (HSB), originally Strictly Bluegrass, is an annual free and non-commercial music festival held the first weekend of October in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. Conceived and subsidized by San Francisco ve ...
festival.
Released in October 2011, Plant duetted with Alfie Boe
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre.
He is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre in Lo ...
on " Song to the Siren" for Alfie's sixth album, Alfie
Alfie may refer to:
Theatre and film
* ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton
* ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine
* ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film
* ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...
, which he also recorded himself on 2002's ''Dreamland''.
Sensational Space Shifters (2012–2018)
It was first reported that Robert Plant's new band, the Sensational Space Shifters, would be debuting at 2012's WOMAD
WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.
History
WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...
festival in Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England. An intimate warm up gig was then announced in Gloucester on 8 May 2012 to a crowd of 400. Although it was initially reported that there were 10 members of the band, along with Plant the band consists of former Strange Sensation members, Cast
Cast may refer to:
Music
* Cast (band), an English alternative rock band
* Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band
* The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
* ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William
* ...
guitarist Liam "Skin" Tyson, Justin Adams
Justin Alexander Adams (born 22 July 1961) is an English guitarist and composer who works in blues and African styles.
Biography
Born in London, the son of a diplomat, Adams spent some of his early childhood growing up in Egypt, before return ...
, Billy Fuller and John Baggott along with Dave Smith and Juldeh Camara. Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
was the special guest on the first few shows prior to her new album release and subsequent tour.
On 13 July 2012, the band released a download live album called '' Sensational Space Shifters (Live in London July '12)''. This album featured a mix of Strange Sensation and Led Zeppelin reinterpretations as well as covers and a spot by Patty Griffin. In addition to WOMAD and the Gloucester show, the Sensational Space Shifters were scheduled for the free Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival's 25th anniversary in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...
on 10–12 August 2012.
Released in 2014, '' Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar'' is Plant's tenth solo album and the first studio recording with his band the Sensational Space Shifters.
On 28 June 2014, Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters played at the Glastonbury Extravaganza. The band featured West African musician Juldeh Camara, guitarists Skin Tyson and Justin Adams
Justin Alexander Adams (born 22 July 1961) is an English guitarist and composer who works in blues and African styles.
Biography
Born in London, the son of a diplomat, Adams spent some of his early childhood growing up in Egypt, before return ...
, drummer Dave Smith, Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
keyboardist John Baggott, and bassist Billy Fuller. On 7 August 2014, Plant announced an autumn 2014 7-date North American tour from 25 September (in Port Chester, NY) to 7 October 2014 (in Los Angeles, CA).
To celebrate Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
2015 (Saturday 18 April), Plant released a special 10-inch live EP titled ''More Roar'', which was limited to 10,000 copies. During a concert at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on 19 September 2015, Plant hinted at plans for a new album with the Sensational Space Shifters, stating, "We'll go make another record and then we'll come see you guys even more."
On April 25, 2015, Plant headlined a special event, "Lead Belly at 125" - a tribute to American Folk Legend Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...
at Kennedy Centre
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in conjunction with the Grammy Museum The Grammy Museum is any of a group of museums containing exhibits relating to winners of the Grammy Award for achievement in recording.
The museums in this group include:
*The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, which opened in 2008 in Los Angeles, Califo ...
and performed with Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...
, Viktor Krauss
Viktor Krauss is an American musician who plays acoustic and electric bass. He has released solo albums and has worked as a sideman with many musicians, including his sister, singer and fiddler Alison Krauss.
Music career
Krauss was born to Fre ...
, Buddy Miller
Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller. ...
.
Plant covered Elbow
The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...
's track, "Blanket of Night", featured on the British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
' compilation LP "The Long Road", released on March 4, 2016. The LP aimed to raise awareness of the "struggles faced by refugees and asylum seekers at a time of increased global conflict and migration". ''"We have a worldwide international catastrophe,"'' says Plant. ''"Talking about it is one thing, doing something about it is another. The position we are in, it’s paramount we all do our best one way or another to help."'' Plant later confirmed that in October he would join artists including Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...
, Steve Earle
Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...
, Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
, for select dates on the Lampedusa
Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ''comune'' of L ...
Concerts for Refugees tour. The tour across 11 North American cities was a series of acoustic concerts intended to raise awareness of the worldwide refugee crisis and funds to support educational programs for refugees.
Plant's eleventh solo album, '' Carry Fire,'' was released on 13 October 2017 and was the second studio album to be supported by his band the Sensational Space Shifters. In 2018, Plant received the AMA Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK Americana Honors & Awards. Plant headlined the Sunday night of Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
's Secret Solstice Festival in Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
on 23 June 2019.
John Blease joined the Sensational Space Shifters in June 2018 and replaced Dave Smith on drums.
Saving Grace and Alison Krauss reunion (2019–present)
On March 7, 2019, Plant performed at the Third Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC, a benefit concert for God's Love We Deliver at the Beacon Theatre in NYC, hosted by Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
, Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He ...
and Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
amongst others, featuring an all-star line up including Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...
, Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...
, Hozier, Billy F Gibbons, Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...
. The concert was presented by John Varvatos
John Varvatos (born 1954) is an American menswear designer.
Early life
The Varvatos family is originally from the village of Poulata on the island of Kefalonia, Greece. Varvatos was born in Detroit and grew up in Allen Park, Michigan.
He ...
and Greg Williamson.
Released via Plant's own Es Paranza label, a remastered version (with updated artwork) of ''Fate of Nations
''Fate of Nations'' is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all so ...
'' as part of 2019 Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
with proceeds going to Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
.
In 2019, Plant formed a low-key acoustic band called Saving Grace and performed support slots in February 2019 for Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
and Seth Lakeman
Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. Ac ...
In March 2020, Saving Grace announced a US tour scheduled for May 2020 that was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On 19 July 2021, Plant appeared onstage for his first post-pandemic show in Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, performing with his band Saving Grace for the first time since 2019. He went on to tour the UK with Saving Grace for their rescheduled shows.
In 2021, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...
released the 12-track studio album '' Raise the Roof'', produced by T Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...
, as a follow-up to ''Raising Sand
''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Hon ...
.'' Accompanying the album's launch, Plant and Krauss performed a globally live-streamed set, broadcast from Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios.
Led Zeppelin-related projects and reunion rumours
Plant performed with living members of Led Zeppelin both on 13 July 1985 for Live Aid
Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
(with Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
and Tony Thompson on drums) and on 15 May 1988 for Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
On May 14, 1988, the Atlantic Records label held its 40th Anniversary Celebration by staging a non-stop concert lasting almost 13 hours starting at noon and ending just shortly before 1am the following morning at Madison Square Garden, New York. Th ...
. At the 1988 reunion, Jason Bonham
Jason John Bonham (born 15 July 1966) is an English drummer. He is the son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Since his father's death in September 1980, he has performed with the surviving three members of Led Zeppelin on several occasi ...
, the son of Led Zeppelin's late drummer John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...
, played drums. Both sets featured only a few songs, performed with minimal rehearsal. Plant was unhappy with both performances, saying that "it was like sleeping with your ex-wife but not making love." At the 1990 Silver Clef Award
The O2 Silver Clef Awards is an annual UK Popular music, music awards lunch which has been running since 1976.
History
The Silver Clef fundraising committee was founded in 1976 by musicians and managers from across the British music industry, who ...
Winners Concert at Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Hert ...
, Plant was joined by Jimmy Page. Some of their set was released on the subsequent live album and video. In 1995, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
and Plant performed at the induction show with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham, Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, performing spirited versions of "Bring It On Home", "Honeybee" and "When the Levee Breaks".
After years of reunion rumours, Led Zeppelin performed a full two-hour set on 10 December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at the O2 Arena in London on 10 December 2007. The headline act was the English rock band Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full- ...
, with Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
again filling in on drums. Despite enormous public demand, Plant declined a $200 million offer to tour with Led Zeppelin after the 2007 show. In interviews following the 2007 show, Plant left the door open to possible future performances with Led Zeppelin, saying that he enjoyed the reunion and felt that the show was strong musically. Although Page and Jones have expressed the strong desire to tour as Led Zeppelin, Plant has consistently opposed a full tour and has responded negatively to questions about another reunion. In a January 2008 interview, he stated that he does not want to "tour like a bunch of bored old men following the Rolling Stones around." In a statement on his web site in late 2008, Plant stated, "I will not be touring with Led Zeppelin or anyone else for the next two years. Anyone buying Led Zeppelin tickets will be buying bogus tickets."
In February 2013, Plant hinted that he was open to a Led Zeppelin reunion in 2014, stating that he was not the reason for Led Zeppelin's dormancy for the Capricorns (Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones) "are quite contained in their own worlds and leave it to im, adding that he was "not the bad guy" and that he had "got nothing to do in 2014".
In a spring 2014 interview with the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
about the then forthcoming reissue of Led Zeppelin's first three albums, Page said he was sure fans would be keen on another reunion show, but Plant later replied that "the chances of it happening
erezero". Page then told ''The New York Times'' that he was "fed up" with Plant's refusal to play, stating: "I was told last year that Plant said he is doing nothing in 2014, and what do the other two guys think? Well, he knows what the other guys think. Everyone would love to play more concerts for the band. He's just playing games, and I'm fed up with it, to be honest with you. I don't sing, so I can't do much about it", adding: "I definitely want to play live. Because, you know, I've still got a twinkle in my eye. I can still play. So, yeah, I'll just get myself into musical shape, just concentrating on the guitar."
On 30 July 2014,
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
revealed that Plant was "slightly disappointed and baffled" by Page in an ongoing Led Zeppelin dispute during which Page declared he was "fed up" with Plant delaying Led Zeppelin reunion plans. Instead, Plant offered Led Zeppelin's guitarist to write acoustically with him as he is interested in working with Page again but only in an unplugged way. Page responded:
Personal life
Plant married Maureen Wilson on 9 November 1968. The couple had three children: daughter Carmen Jane (1968), (who later married
Charlie Jones Charles, Charlie, Charley or Chuck Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Jones (1912–2002), American animator, director, and producer
* Charles Jones (c. 1889–1942), American actor better known as Buck Jones
* Charles Jones (pho ...
, Plant's bass player for solo tours); and sons Karac Pendragon (1972–1977), and Logan Romero (1979).
The couple divorced in August 1983. In 1977, during Led Zeppelin's US tour, their five-year-old son, Karac, died of a stomach illness. The song "
All My Love", co-written with
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
, is a tribute to him.
In 1991, Robert and Shirley Wilson (sister of ex-wife Maureen) had a son, Jesse Lee.
Plant is interested in Welsh history and donated money to the creation of a bronze statue of the Welsh prince
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...
, at
Pennal Church, near
Machynlleth
Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a popul ...
, in Wales, unveiled in September 2004. He is also understood to have contributed funds to a slate carving of Glyndŵr's coat of arms at the
Celtica museum in Machynlleth. Plant is part of a Glyndŵr network, and attends meetings about him in Wales.
In the
New Year Honours List 2009, Plant was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
"for services to music" and on 10 July 2009 invested by the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
.
On 14 August 2009 football club
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
announced that Plant was to become the club's third vice-president. Plant officially received the honour before
kick-off at the club's first match of the season against
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. Plant was five years old when he first visited
Molineux Stadium
Molineux Stadium ( ) in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, has been the home ground of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers since 1889. The first stadium built for use by a Football League club, it was one of the first British grounds ...
. He recalled in an interview with his local paper, the ''
Express & Star
The ''Express & Star'' is a regional evening newspaper in Britain. Founded in 1889, it is based in Wolverhampton, England, and covers the West Midlands county and Staffordshire.
Currently edited by Martin Wright, the ''Express & Star'' publish ...
'', in August 2010: "I was five when my dad took me down for the first time and
Billy Wright waved at me. Honest, he did. And that was it – I was hooked from that moment."
In late 2010
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
aired a documentary titled ''Robert Plant: By Myself''. It features Robert Plant discussing his journey with
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
and various projects since.
In a July 2012 interview with ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspaper, Plant stated he "eloped and ran off to Texas" with Band of Joy co-vocalist, American singer
Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
. Plant's UK-based manager told ''
E! News
''E! News'', previously known as ''E! News Daily'' and ''E! News Live'', is the entertainment news operation for the cable network E! in the United States. Its former on-air weekday newscast debuted on September 1, 1991, and primarily reports ...
'' later that Plant was apparently being cheeky when he used the word "eloped" to describe his home life, for "Robert has not married Patty Griffin," instead "He was just referring to the fact that he's been residing in Texas" with her. According to a July 2012 ''
Ultimate Classic Rock
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
'' article, Plant and Griffin had been dating for over a year, spending half of their time together in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. On 23 August 2014, ''The Independent'' indicated Plant had broken up with Griffin: ""Patty and I tried a sort of zig-zag across the Atlantic," Plant told the publication, "but she didn't share my penchant for cider and she used to marvel at the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
character I became after four pints of
Thatchers. My feelings are very much ones of sadness and regret."
In early 2013, Plant contributed to a community buyout scheme to save the
Bath music venue, the Bell Inn.
He currently resides at
Shatterford
Shatterford is a village in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, located north-west of Bewdley.
The Bewdley School and Sixth Form Centre provides secondary education for pupils from the area.
The village hall always has local e ...
, near
Bewdley
Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the Riv ...
in the
Wyre Forest District
Wyre Forest is a local government district in Worcestershire, England, covering the towns of Kidderminster, Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley, and several civil parishes and their villages. Its council was previously based in Stourport-on-Seve ...
of Worcestershire.
In 2020, Plant donated money towards frontline medical supplies during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The money went to the
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
page of a small clothing manufacturer in
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...
, England that makes scrubs for local hospitals.
Legacy
Plant has influenced the style of many of his contemporaries, including
Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...
,
Ann Wilson
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...
,
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
, and later rock vocalists such as
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
and
Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...
who imitated his performing style.
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, and
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...
of
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
were influenced by Plant.
[ '']Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' notes that "Exaggerating the vocal style and expressive palette of blues singers such as Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...
and Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
, Plant created the sound that has defined much hard rock and heavy metal singing: a high range, an abundance of distortion, loud volume, and emotional excess".[Susan Fast,]
Led Zeppelin (British Rock Group)
, Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
Plant received the Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Hert ...
Silver Clef Award
The O2 Silver Clef Awards is an annual UK Popular music, music awards lunch which has been running since 1976.
History
The Silver Clef fundraising committee was founded in 1976 by musicians and managers from across the British music industry, who ...
in 1990.
In 2006, hard rock/heavy metal magazine ''Hit Parader
''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...
'' named Plant as No. 1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time, a list that included Rob Halford of Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
(No. 2), Steven Tyler (No. 3), Freddie Mercury (No. 6), Geddy Lee (No. 13) and Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...
(No. 18), all of whom were influenced by Plant.[ In 2008, '']Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' named Plant the 15th-greatest singer of all time on their list of ''100 Greatest Singers of All Time''.[ In 2009, he was voted the "greatest voice in rock" in a poll conducted by '' Planet Rock''.] He was included in the ''Q'' magazine's 2009 list of "Artists of the Century" and was ranked at number 8 in their list of "100 Greatest Singers" in 2007. In 2009, Plant also won the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize at the Q Awards
The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
. He was placed at No. 3 on ''SPIN
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
''s list of "The 50 Greatest Rock Frontmen of All Time".
On 20 September 2010 National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
(NPR) named Plant as one of the " 50 Great Voices" in the world.
In July 2018, Plant won the Silver Cleff Integro Outstanding Award, announced by music charity Nordoff Robbins.
On 15 March 2022 Plant was the guest on BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
''. His musical choices included "I Ain't Superstitious
"I Ain't Superstitious" is a song written by bluesman Willie Dixon and first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961.
It recounts various superstitions, including that of a black cat crossing the pathway. The song has been recorded by a number of arti ...
" by Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...
and "Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
. His book choice was ''The Earliest English Poems'', translated by Michael Alexander, his luxury item was a basket containing photos of homing pigeon
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selective breeding, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over e ...
s and his favourite musical piece was " Serenade" by Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
.
Tours
Discography
Studio albums
*'' Pictures at Eleven'' (1982)
*''The Principle of Moments
''The Principle of Moments'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Robert Plant, formerly of Led Zeppelin. It was Plant's second Top 10 album in the US and UK. It also gave him his first solo Top 40 hit with "Big Log". The most ...
'' (1983)
*''Shaken 'n' Stirred
''Shaken 'n' Stirred'' is the third solo studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released on 20 May 1985 by Es Paranza, his own label. Plant, Benji Le Fevre, and Tim Palmer produced the album. ''Shaken 'n' Stirred'' peaked at No. 19 on the U ...
'' (1985)
*''Now and Zen
''Now and Zen'' is the fourth solo album by Robert Plant, released 29 February 1988 by Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The album made the top 10 in the US (No. 6) and UK (No. 10). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on 7 Septe ...
'' (1988)
*''Manic Nirvana
''Manic Nirvana'' is the fifth studio album by former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, released 19 March 1990 on Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The lead single, "Big Love", reached #35 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and its follow ...
'' (1990)
*''Fate of Nations
''Fate of Nations'' is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all so ...
'' (1993)
*'' Dreamland'' (2002)
*''Mighty ReArranger
''Mighty ReArranger'' is English rock singer Robert Plant's eighth solo album and the second with his band " Strange Sensation". It was released internationally on 25 April 2005, on 9 May in the United Kingdom and 10 May in the United States.
...
'' (2005)
*''Band of Joy
Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...
'' (2010)
*'' Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar'' (2014)
*'' Carry Fire'' (2017)
Compilation albums
*''Sixty Six to Timbuktu
''Sixty Six to Timbuktu'' is a greatest hits/compilation album featuring the history of the career of ex-Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, from 1966 to a recording done at the Festival in the Desert in Mali. The album was released in 2003 and c ...
'' (2003)
*'' Nine Lives (Box Set)'' (2006)
*'' Digging Deep'' (2019)
*'' Digging Deep: Subterranea'' (2020)
Live albums
*'' Sensational Space Shifters (Live in London July '12)'' (2012)
Collaborative albums
*'' The Honeydrippers: Volume One'' (1984)
*'' No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded'' (1994)
*'' Walking into Clarksdale'' (1998)
*''Raising Sand
''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Hon ...
'' (2007)
*'' Raise the Roof'' (2021)
Notes
References
External links
Led Zeppelin Official Site
Official Robert Plant Homepage
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Official Site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plant, Robert
1948 births
English heavy metal singers
English rock singers
English male singer-songwriters
20th-century English male singers
21st-century English male singers
Blues rock musicians
Atlantic Records artists
British harmonica players
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Grammy Award winners
Kennedy Center honorees
Led Zeppelin members
Living people
Mercury Records artists
Musicians from Worcestershire
People educated at King Edward VI College, Stourbridge
People from Kidderminster
People from West Bromwich
Rounder Records artists
Swan Song Records artists
British people of Romani descent
English Romani people
Romani singers
Romani musicians
Musicians from the West Midlands (county)
The Honeydrippers members
Band of Joy members
Nonesuch Records artists
Sanctuary Records artists