Robert Plant

Robert Plant, in full Robert Anthony Plant, (born August 20, 1948, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England), British singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Plant’s dynamic vocal range and flamboyant stage presence has distinguished him as a popular and influential rock and roll front man. Since the dissolution of Led Zeppelin, he has pursued an adventurous solo career, including forays into bluegrass music and early rock and roll.

Early life

Plant was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England, to Robert C. Plant, a civil engineer, and Annie Celia (née Cain) Plant, who was of Romany descent. Young Plant grew up in nearby Worcestershire and came of age amid a vibrant music scene. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School, though he dropped out before graduating. As a teenager, he sang in a number of bands, and he cites musicians Elvis Presley, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson as early influences.

Under pressure from his parents to pursue a career as a chartered accountant, Plant left his childhood home at age 16. After staying with various friends, he moved to Walsall, Staffordshire, with his girlfriend Maureen Wilson. While working a day job in road construction, he founded (1966) the rock group Band of Joy, which included his friend and future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. The band had fizzled by the spring of 1968. That same year, Plant and Wilson married and had their first child; they would have two more children before divorcing in 1983.

While a member of a rock band called Obs-Tweedle, Plant received an invitation from music manager Peter Grant to audition for the British rock group the Yardbirds. Plant was not the first choice of Grant or of Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page, but after traveling from London to hear Plant perform with Obs-Tweedle at a small venue in Walsall, Page invited Plant to his home, where the two bonded over their shared taste in music. In 1968 Plant joined the Yardbirds and suggested that they add Bonham as the group’s drummer.

Led Zeppelin

Shortly after Plant became the front man, the band was renamed Led Zeppelin. In addition to him, the band comprised guitarist Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer Bonham. Led Zeppelin gained traction with the release of its self-titled debut album and successful tours of the United Kingdom and the United States. Plant’s vocal style earned praise for its raw power and wide range, and his growls, shrieks, and unearthly wails punctuated Led Zeppelin’s music. Though Page and Jones composed much of the band’s music, Plant wrote most of the lyrics, which were often informed by references to Norse mythology and the works of English author J.R.R. Tolkien. Plant came into his own as a lyricist on the album Led Zeppelin III (1970) with songs such as “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” and “That’s the Way,” which Page considered to be Plant’s breakthrough as a songwriter.

The band’s popularity peaked after the release of its fourth album, untitled but commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV (1971). Featuring the hard rock classics “Stairway to Heaven,” “Rock and Roll,” and “Misty Mountain Hop,” it sold more than 37 million copies worldwide. The band remained popular throughout the 1970s, but from 1975 to 1980 its success was tempered by hardship and tragedy. Plant and Wilson were seriously injured in a car accident while vacationing in Rhodes, Greece, in 1975. While touring the United States in 1977, Plant learned that his five-year-old son, Karac, had died from a stomach virus. As the band prepared for a 1980 U.S. tour, Bonham died from pulmonary aspiration after a bout of heavy drinking. Shortly after his death, the remaining members of Led Zeppelin announced that they would not continue as a band.

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Solo career

After the band’s dissolution, Plant began his career as a solo artist and collaborator with other musicians. Encouraged by English musician Phil Collins, who backed Plant on drums, he recorded the solo albums Pictures at Eleven (1982) and The Principle of Moments (1983). The Honeydrippers: Volume One (1984), which included contributions from Page and guitarists Jeff Beck and Brian Setzer, constituted a return to Plant’s focus on early rock and roll. In 1985 Plant released the experimental album Shaken ’n’ Stirred, which received praise for its eclectic style.

That same year, Plant, Page, and Jones reunited, along with Collins on the drums, to perform at the Live Aid benefit concert. In 1994 Plant and Page recorded the live album No Quarter and embarked on a world tour. In addition, Plant, Page, and Jones played concerts to commemorate occasions that were significant to Led Zeppelin, including its acceptance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Plant collaborated with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and producer T Bone Burnett on the critically acclaimed album Raising Sand (2007), which effortlessly blended American country music, blues, and folk and tied together beautiful lead vocals and harmonies from both singers. Plant and Krauss subsequently toured together, and they eventually released a second collaborative album, Raise the Roof (2021).

Plant and Page won a Grammy Award for best hard rock performance for the song “Most High” in 1999. Moreover, Plant and Krauss garnered five Grammy Awards in 2009 for their work on Raising Sand, including one for record of the year for the song “Please Read the Letter.” That same year, Plant was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.