Why The musicians Robert Plant called “immensely influential”
“Led Zeppelin… The greatest rock and roll band of all time,” said Jack Black when he was singing the band’s praises, “Better than the Beatles, better than The Stones. And if you don’t agree with me, that’s because you haven’t done the Zeppelin marathon. It’s when you sit your ass down and listen to all nine Zeppelin albums in a row. The jams of Led Zeppelin are second to none.”
A lot of people in the 1960s and ‘70s were convinced that Led Zeppelin was possessed by the devil. Mirroring Black’s comments, they thought that Led Zeppelin was musically one of the greatest bands in the world, but they refused to believe that this talent was the result of human endeavour alone. They simply couldn’t fathom that human beings could rock this hard.
The band’s potential was apparent as soon as they started playing together. Robert Plant recalled the first time they performed together in a small basement in Chinatown. Most bands need some time before their sound starts to come together in a way that they’re excited about; however, it was almost instantaneous for Led Zeppelin.
“I remember the little room, all I can remember it was hot and it sounded good – very exciting and very challenging,” said Plant, “Because I could feel that something was happening to myself and to everyone else in the room. It felt like we’d found something that we had to be very careful with because we might lose it.”
One of the most magical things about Led Zeppelin’s music is that all of the members come together to create a huge sound that no other band could replicate. Each member is an expert in their instrument and considered one of the very best in their field. It was incredibly exciting to witness, and at the forefront of everything, was Robert Plant’s outstanding vocals.
When Jimmy Page wrote songs for Led Zeppelin, he didn’t stick to one specific style of music. They had big choruses, but the songs were inspired by blues, R&B, rock, folk, acoustic and classical music. No matter what style Jimmy Page was working with, he needed the band to be right next to him, ready to rise to whatever way he wanted to push something. Plant was fantastic with adapting his vocals and is considered one of the best singers in the world because of his contributions to Led Zeppelin. Of course, there were a number of different artists who influenced him, and he tapped into them whenever he performed various styles of music.
“I was listening to Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, Tim Hardin, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Traffic: these musicians had been immensely influential on me when I was in my teens, in the original Band Of Joy before Led Zeppelin,” said Plant, “They have become a part of my life […] The beauty in the melodies in Moby Grape, they’re extraordinary singers, Peter Lewis, Bob Mosley, Skip Spence […] Each of them had a different style and that’s always stayed with me. They were telling the listener something, like they were on a journey.”