Editing Robert Plant (section)

==Led Zeppelin (1968–1980)==

===Early years===
{{expand section | '''information on the years between their 1968 founding, and their 7th album in 1975 (that is, complete the section, to uniform coverage)''' | small = no|date=June 2016}}

In 1968, guitarist [[Jimmy Page]] was in search of a lead singer for his new band and met Plant after being turned down by his first choice, [[Terry Reid]], who referred him to a show at a teacher training college in [[Birmingham]] (where Plant was singing in a band named Hobbstweedle).<ref name=RS2006>{{cite magazine | author = Gilmore, Mikal | date = 10 August 2006 | title=The Long Shadow of Led Zeppelin | magazine = [[Rolling Stone]] | issue=1006 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-long-shadow-of-led-zeppelin-20060810 | access-date=16 June 2016 }}</ref> In front of Page, Plant sang [[Jefferson Airplane]]'s "[[Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane song)|Somebody to Love]]", leading Page to end his search.<ref name=RS2006/> As recalled by Plant and Page:
{{blockquote|Plant:  I was appearing at this college when <nowiki>[</nowiki>manager [[Peter Grant (music manager)|Peter Grant]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> and Jimmy turned up and asked me if I'd like to join [[the Yardbirds]]. I knew the Yardbirds had done a lot of work in America&nbsp;– which to me meant audiences who would want to know what I might have to offer&nbsp;– so naturally I was very interested.<ref>Fortnam, Ian (2008). "Dazed & Confused", ''[[Classic Rock Magazine]]: Classic Rock Presents Led Zeppelin'', p. 39.{{full citation needed|date=July 2022}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote|Page:  When I auditioned him and heard him sing, I immediately thought there must be something wrong with him personality-wise or that he had to be impossible to work with, because I just could not understand why, after he told me he'd been singing for a few years already, he hadn't become a big name yet. So I had him down to my place for a little while, just to sort of check him out, and we got along great. No problems.<ref>Schulps, Dave (October 1977). "Jimmy Page: Paging the Yardbirds", ''[[Trouser Press]]'' 22.</ref>|sign=|source=}}

[[File:Zoso Robert Plant feather symbol.svg|thumb|left|upright|Derivative of Plant's feather [[Sigil (magic)|sigil]] used in the ''[[Led Zeppelin IV]]'' album]]

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.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Initially dubbed the "New Yardbirds" in 1968, the band soon came to be known as [[Led Zeppelin]]. The band's [[Eponym#Other eponyms|eponymous]] [[Led Zeppelin (album)|debut album]] hit the charts in 1969 and is widely credited as a catalyst for the [[Heavy metal music|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.<ref>''The History of Rock 'n' Roll: The '70s: Have a Nice Decade''.{{full citation needed|date=June 2016}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2016}}

In 1975, Plant and his wife Maureen (now divorced)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1324734/Robert-Plant-wife-how-many-times-married-Led-Zeppelin|title=Robert Plant wife: How many times has Led Zeppelin star been married?|first=Jenny|last=Desborough|date=13 March 2021|website=Express.co.uk}}</ref> were seriously injured in a car crash in [[Rhodes]], Greece.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ledzeppelin.com/event/august-8-1975 |title=Plant Car Accident, Tour Postponed (Press Release)|website=Led Zeppelin – Official Website|date=8 August 1975 |language=en|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> This significantly affected the production of Led Zeppelin's seventh album ''[[Presence (album)|Presence]]'' for a few months while he recovered, and forced the band to cancel the remaining tour dates for the year.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzgDAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT68|page=68|author=Dave Lewis|title=Led Zeppelin: A Celebration|publisher=Omnibus Press|date= 10 Apr 2012|isbn=978-0-85712-819-5 }}</ref>

In July 1977, his son Karac died at the age of five while Plant was on Led Zeppelin's [[Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977|concert tour of the United States]]. Plant retreated to his home in the Midlands of England and, for months afterward, questioned his future.<ref name="CelebrationII">Lewis, Dave (2003). ''Led Zeppelin: Celebration II: The 'Tight But Loose' Files'', London: Omnibus Press. {{ISBN|1844490564}}, p. 54.</ref>

===Lyrics===
[[File:Robert-Plant.jpg|thumb|Plant with Led Zeppelin, 1973]]

Plant began writing song lyrics with Led Zeppelin during the making of ''[[Led Zeppelin II]]'', in 1969. According to Jimmy Page:

{{blockquote|The most important thing about ''[[Led Zeppelin II]]'' is that up to that point I'd contributed lyrics. Robert hadn't written before, and it took a lot of ribbing to get him into writing, which was funny. And then, on the second LP, he wrote the words of Thank You. He said, "I'd like to have a crack at this and write it for my wife."<ref>Kent, Nick. "Led Zeppelin: Eyewitness." '' Mojo Magazine: Classic Rock Special Issue'' (2009, Volume 2, 1ssue 6), p. 104.</ref>}}

Plant's lyrics with Led Zeppelin were often mystical, philosophical and spiritual, alluding to events in classical and [[Norse mythology]], such as "[[Immigrant Song]]", which refers to [[Valhalla]] and [[Viking]] conquests.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ffcpop/led_zeppelin/0 |title=Led Zeppelin {{!}} The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music – Credo Reference |website=search.credoreference.com |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> However, the song "[[No Quarter (song)|No Quarter]]" is often misunderstood to refer to the god [[Thor]]; the song actually refers to [[Mount Thor]] (which is named after the god). Another example is "[[The Rain Song]]".{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Plant was influenced by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]],<ref>Robert Plant himself, in ''[[Vox (magazine)|Vox]]'', May 1993, page 18, stated, "The self-indulgence, the silly over-the-top Tolkien-esque stuff ... [[John Bonham|John]] made it everlasting.".</ref><ref>Helen Armstrong (1993), 'The Singer, not the Song', in ''Amon Hen'' (the bulletin of [[The Tolkien Society]], U.K.), no. 123 p..4-5.</ref> whose book series inspired lyrics in some early Led Zeppelin songs. Most notably, "[[The Battle of Evermore]]", "[[Misty Mountain Hop]]", "[[No Quarter (song)|No Quarter]]", "[[Ramble On]]" and "[[Over the Hills and Far Away (Led Zeppelin song)|Over the Hills and Far Away]]" contain verses referencing Tolkien's ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Hobbit]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Conversely, Plant sometimes used more straightforward blues themes dealing with sex, as in "[[The Lemon Song]]", "[[Trampled Under Foot]]" about giving in to sexual temptation,<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Robert |last= Godwin |author-link= Robert Godwin |title= Led Zeppelin: Alchemists of the '70s |magazine= [[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]] |date= 24 August 1990 |page= 13}}</ref> and "[[Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)|Black Dog]]" narrated by a man obsessed with a woman.<ref>{{cite book |title=Led Zeppelin, All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |location=New York |first1=Jean-Michael |last1=Guesdon |first2=Philippe |last2=Margotin |year=2018 |chapter=Ch. Black Dog|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ledzeppelinallso0000gues/page/244/mode/2up?view=theater |page=244 |isbn=978-0-316-44867-3 }}</ref>

[[Welsh mythology]] 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 [[Eryri]]. 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]], [[Book of Taliesin]], etc.) Plant's first son, Karac, was named after the Welsh warrior [[Caratacus]]. The song "[[Bron-Y-Aur Stomp]]" is named after the 18th-century Welsh cottage [[Bron-Yr-Aur]], owned by a friend of his father; it later inspired the song "[[Bron-Yr-Aur (instrumental)|Bron-Yr-Aur]]".<ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=The Life and Times of Led Zeppelin |last=Morris |first=Robin |publisher=Assegai Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=9781620957936 |location=Jeffreys Bay, South Africa |pages=50}}</ref> The songs "Misty Mountain Hop", "[[That's the Way (Led Zeppelin song)|That's the Way]]", and early dabblings in what would become "[[Stairway to Heaven]]" 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).<ref>"Stairway to Heaven, Paved with Gold: Led Zeppelin's Snowdonia", ''The Independent'', 6 April 1991.</ref>

Page's passion for diverse musical experiences influenced Plant to explore Africa, specifically [[Marrakesh]] in Morocco, where he encountered [[Umm Kulthum]]:

{{blockquote|I was intrigued by the scales, initially, and obviously the vocal work. The way she sang, the way she could hold a note, you could feel the tension, you could tell that everybody, the whole orchestra, would hold a note until she wanted to change.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/robert-plant-i-feel-so-far-away-from-heavy-rock-2063017.html |title=Robert Plant: 'I feel so far away from heavy rock' |work=The Independent |location=UK |access-date=30 August 2010 |date=27 August 2010 |author=Andy Gill}}</ref>}}

Both he and Jimmy Page revisited these influences during their reunion album ''[[No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded]]'' in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/people/robert-plant-12103147 |title=Robert Plant |website=Biography |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-date=26 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326064330/https://www.biography.com/people/robert-plant-12103147 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During his solo career Plant tapped into these influences many times, most notably on the 2002 album ''[[Dreamland (Robert Plant album)|Dreamland]]''.

Most of the lyrics of "[[Stairway to Heaven]]" from ''[[Led Zeppelin IV]]'' were written spontaneously by Plant in 1970 at [[Headley Grange]] while the track was being recorded. While never released as a single, the song has topped polls as the greatest song of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272083.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309135735/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272083.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2005 |title=Rockers still climbing 'Stairway to heaven' |date=25 December 2004|website=ABC News Online |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>

===Stage persona===
[[File:Jimmy Page with Robert Plant 2 - Led Zeppelin - 1977.jpg|thumb|Plant (left) with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in concert in Chicago, Illinois, 1977]]

Plant enjoyed great success with Led Zeppelin throughout the 1970s and developed a compelling image as the [[charisma]]tic rock-and-roll front man, similar to his contemporaries [[the Who]]'s singer [[Roger Daltrey]], [[Mick Jagger]] of the [[Rolling Stones]], and [[Jim Morrison]] of [[the Doors]].<ref name=theirtime>"Their Time is Gonna Come", ''[[Classic Rock Magazine]]: Classic Rock Presents Led Zeppelin'', 2008.</ref> 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 (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' 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."<ref>Fortnam, Ian (2008). "Dazed & Confused", ''[[Classic Rock Magazine]]: Classic Rock Presents Led Zeppelin'', p. 43.{{full citation needed|date=July 2022}}</ref> In 1994, during his "Unledded" tour with Jimmy Page, Plant himself reflected tongue-in-cheek upon his Led Zeppelin showmanship:

{{blockquote|I can't take my whole persona as a singer back then very seriously. It's not some great work of beauty and love to be a [[rock-and-roll]] singer. So I got a few moves from [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]] and one or two from [[Sonny Boy Williamson II]] and [[Howlin' Wolf]] and threw them all together.<ref>{{cite news |last=Strauss |first=Neil |title=Getting the Led Out of Led Zeppelin |newspaper=New York Times |date=30 October 1994 |page=H30 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/30/arts/pop-music-getting-the-led-out-of-led-zeppelin.html }}</ref>}}

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."<ref>''Rock Scene'', June 1974, Four Seasons Publications, Inc. 59287-4</ref>