Tag: Led Zeppelin

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Robert Plant to Phil Collins: “My dear friend who gave me so much help…” – 2024

Robert Plant:

To my dear friend who gave me so much help at the beginning of life after John Bonham. I send love and birthday wishes.

Excerpt from Robert Plant’s 2023 interview w/ Vulture:

After John Bonham passed away and there was no Led Zeppelin, there had to be a way to go. I floundered around a lot because until I was 32, I was in some kind of wild and absurd adventure. I went through all that stuff. I’ll write with other people. It’s a very intimate thing to do. It’s hard for anybody to expose themselves musically. Other people with me, and me with other people. I have a lot of songs under my belt, which I co-wrote with the members of Zeppelin. It was a lot to live up to. I had a lot of people who gave me support and strength around that time, so I suppose the first two albums were driven by great friends.

Phil Collins especially was a driving force and had positive energy with the first record, Pictures at Eleven. It wasn’t a difficult job to get together with other people, it was just whether or not we could cook it properly. With Phil, it wasn’t so much advice as encouragement and consideration. He was taking no prisoners. He would only allow himself a short amount of time to come to the studio in Wales and make it work. Nobody was hiding behind the performance. Then he came on tour with me and basically said, “Robert, the guy that sat behind you for all those years was my hero.” That was it. He said, “Anything I can do to help you to get back into fighting shape again, I’m here.” That was at the time when “In the Air Tonight” came out. Yet he was still mixing and working with me while kicking off a particularly impressive and successful timeIndeed, Collins somehow made time to play drums on the majority of Pictures at Eleven’s tracks, as well as serve as Plant’s drummer for the subsequent tour. This was after Collins became an international sensation with Face Value and Genesis’s early-’80s output. for himself. He’s a great spirit, a good man.

You can read the entire interview @ this location.

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Robert Plant in the ’70s – “It takes a certain kind of man to play soccer in a banana hammock”

Super 70s Sports:

It takes a certain kind of man to play soccer in a banana hammock. Meet Robert Plant.

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Led Zeppelin “Since I’ve Been Loving You” Previously Unheard Recording – April 12, 1970 – Bloomington, Minnesota – LISTEN

Led Zeppelin News:

A previously unheard recording of Led Zeppelin playing “Since I’ve Been Loving You” in 1970 was posted online.

A previously unheard recording of Led Zeppelin performing “Since I’ve Been Loving You” on April 12, 1970 in Bloomington, Minnesota was published online.

The snippet is the second song to emerge from the show, and was published by Mark McFall following his interview with the song’s taper Michael Gillespie on his Zepfan podcast. You can listen to that episode on Spotify here and on Apple Podcasts here.

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Jimmy Page Pays Tribute to Wilko Johnson: “I really admired him” – Dr. Feelgood Guitarist Dies – 2022

Jimmy Page:

I’m sad to hear today of the passing of Wilko Johnson, the Dr Feelgood guitarist and singer/songwriter.

I saw Wilko perform at Koko in Camden in May 2013 and the atmosphere was electric. This show was originally billed as his farewell tour (followed by his album Going Back Home with Roger Daltry) but, thankfully, he continued performing and thrilling crowds until recently.

I really admired him, and we’ll all miss him. RIP Wilko.

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Cinderella’s Tom Keifer: NYC 1990… The Power Station studio working with John Paul Jones – VIDEO – Led Zeppelin

Tom Keifer:

Flashback ⚡️⚡️ NYC 1990…
The Power Station studio working with John Paul Jones. Very cool to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him. This video’s a little inside glimpse 🎥 ; )
#HBSNOV20th 1990 32 yrs 🎂

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Robert Plant Meets New Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Manager Julen Lopetegui – VIDEO – 2022 – Led Zeppelin News

Led Zeppelin News:

Robert Plant’s meeting with new Wolverhampton Wanderers’ manager Julen Lopetegui was filmed and posted online by the football club.

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Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin’s Presence: “You don’t make music like that in such a short amount time falling about in the street drunk”

Led Zeppelin
Presence
Released: March 31, 1976
Recorded: November–December 1975

Led Zeppelin’s seventh studio album Presence wasn’t the easiest to make. Robert Plant was recovering after the August 1975 car crash in Crete that had left him with a serious arm and leg injuries, and the band’s touring schedule had been pitched into turmoil.

The show had to keep rolling, and the following month the band gathered for writing sessions in Malibu Colony, 30 miles south of Los Angeles, before recording commenced at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany.

Over the years Presence has frequently been cited as Jimmy Page’s favorite album, presumably because, as with Led Zeppelin I, he was fully in control. With Plant’s input restricted, there were, as Tight But Loose editor Dave Lewis says, “no Mellotrons, acoustic guitars or keyboards of any kind – no Jonesy! It was all Jimmy. No one else really got a look in.”

Below, Jimmy Page recalls the recording of Presence.

A lot of people presume that Presence is your favorite album

Jimmy Page:

I don’t know why they think it’s my favorite album; I don’t have any one favorite album because they all mean different things from the whole journey of Led Zeppelin. Presence was recorded in real stressful circumstances; Robert was in plaster with his leg, and we didn’t know what the outcome was going to be of all that at the time.

It’s a very dark album, it’s really intense.

That’s the one where it took three weeks to record and do overdubs. We did it in the Musicland Studios, Munich and after us were the Rolling Stones. I called them up and asked if I could get a couple more days, because they were busy trying out various guitars, and they said OK. The tracks were done, and Robert’s vocals were done, and I was going to do what I had normally done and still do – the overdubs and production.

There was me and the engineer Keith Harwood, and whoever woke first would get the other up and we’d get straight into the studio and do the guitar overlays. It was the same with the mixing. Jagger was staying in the same hotel, and I went up to see him to say thanks for letting us use the studio in their downtime. He said, “What have you done?” I said, “I’ve done an album; do you want to hear some?” I put on Nobody’s Fault But Mine, which he sort of knew as a blues song and he was quite startled by it.

Although doing an album in three weeks was an exception, I never worked slowly, nor did anyone else. We were all very fast and to the point. If we were recording something and it wasn’t happening, we would stop that number and do something else, there was no point laboring it. That’s something I brought with me from the session days – you know when the spark’s there and you know when it’s gone and there’s no point proceeding, especially if you have other numbers to do.

When Presence came out, everyone thought it was the direction Zeppelin would be taking in the future.

Yeah, for example, Tea For One is exceptional. It was to the point, recorded in a couple of takes. Robert’s vocals are tremendous. He was doing that his leg was in a cast, miles away from home.

Weren’t you particularly out of it during the recording of Presence?

I was into it. [laughs] I was seriously focused. You don’t make music like that in such a short amount time falling about in the street drunk. You do it when you’re one hundred percent focused.

This interview originally appeared in Classic Rock‘s Led Zeppelin Special, in November 2007.

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Robert Plant Visits Waterloo Records in Austin, TX – 2022 – Captured in the Wild

Waterloo Records:

Not a bad day when Robert Plant drops by the shop. 😳🤯😮❤️😀

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Jimmy Page: “Led Zeppelin Began Their North American Tour…” – L.A. Forum August 21, 1971 – NIGHT 1 – VIDEO – COOL HISTORY

Jimmy Page:

Led Zeppelin began their North American tour in Vancouver, Canada on 19th August 1971 but started in the US at the LA Forum on this day (8/21/71) – this being the first of two nights.

I remember a standing ovation from a good percentage of the audience after Stairway to Heaven – this was quite remarkable as we were touring this material from an album not to be released until three months later.⁣

⁣
Photo © Chuck Boyd, 1971

August 21, 1971
Inglewood, CA
The Forum
Setlist

Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Celebration Day, That’s the Way, Going to California, What Is and What Should Never Be, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Moving On, That’s Alright Mama, Mess of Blues, Got a Lot of Living to Do, Honey Bee), Weekend, Rock and Roll, Communication Breakdown, Organ solo / Thank You.

Wikipedia:

Led Zeppelin’s 1971 North American Tour was the seventh concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour commenced on August 7 and concluded on 17 September 1971. It included two warm-up shows in Montreux, Switzerland.

This tour took place just prior to the release of the band’s fourth album. The band had hoped to release this album in time for the tour, but various delays prevented this from occurring.

This was the longest break that the band had from touring North America to date, with their last tour there having taken place almost a year previously. During the interim, the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad had asserted its influence on the American music market, and Led Zeppelin was keen to re-establish their live reputation through this stint of concert performances.

Before this tour, Robert Plant shaved off his beard, a style which he and the rest of his bandmates had adopted the year before. John Paul Jones followed suit a month later. However, Jones would later grow a beard in late 1972 and keep it until March 1973, and then have a mustache for part of the 1973 North American Tour, and also have a beard from late 1975 to early 1977.

It was on this tour that the notorious “Folding Chair Incident” took place. On August 26, at the show in Houston, several fans threw folding chairs at the stage in protest to what were perceived as overpriced tickets. No one was injured, and the show continued without any more interruptions.

On this tour, the band grossed $1 million.

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Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin & Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott: “He was making such a bloody noise” – 2022

Los Angeles Times: Robert Plant can still hit the falsetto of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” but he has no desire to return to Led Zeppelin. While the iconic rock singer doesn’t warm up his voice, he shared what happened when he came across Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott backstage.

You can read the entire feature @ this location. An excerpt from the interview can be found below.

INTERVIEW EXCERPT:

On Vocal Exercises & Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott:

Robert Plant:

I don’t. I just go out and sing. I know a guy from a famous band that Alison’s quite friendly with — he’s gonna pour some sugar on me or something — who creates a complete hullabaloo backstage. I was back there one time, and he was making such a bloody noise. I said, “Why are you doing that?” He said, “I’m warming up.” I said, “Well, you won’t have anything left by the time you get there.”

A voice changes over time.

I know that the full, open-throated falsetto that I was able to concoct in 1968 carried me through until I was tired of it. Then that sort of exaggerated personality of vocal performance morphed and went somewhere else. But as a matter of fact, I was playing in Reykjavík, in Iceland, about three years ago, just before COVID. It was Midsummer Night and there was a festival, and I got my band and I said, “OK, let’s do ‘Immigrant Song.’” They’d never done it before. We just hit it, and bang — there it was. I thought, “Oh, I didn’t think I could still do that.”

Plenty of fans would love to hear you do it with Led Zeppelin.

Going back to the font to get some kind of massive applause — it doesn’t really satisfy my need to be stimulated.

Does that make you feel like an outlier among your classic-rock peers?

I know there are people from my generation who don’t want to stay home and so they go out and play. If they’re enjoying it and doing what they need to do to pass the days, then that’s their business, really.

You can read the entire feature @ this location.

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Jimmy Page w/ Eddie Kramer: “There had been a robbery at the Drake Hotel” – Led Zeppelin Madison Square Garden 1973 – New York – VIDEO – Ticket Sales – Setlist – COOL HISTORY

Jimmy Page:

On July 29, 1973, Led Zeppelin played the last night of Madison Square Garden in New York. This was the final night of our American tour and here at MSG recording and filming the concert.

I was informed as we were on the side stage just before going on to perform that there had been a robbery at the Drake Hotel where the safety deposit box had been relieved of cash the previous night. Somehow all this manifested in even more passion in that night’s performance.

Here I am with Eddie Kramer, who handled the engineering on this and subsequent evenings.

July 29, 1973
New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Setlist

Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie), The Ocean, Organ solo ~ Thank You.

From an Eddie Kramer interview w/ Finding Zoso:

In 1973 you recorded the band at Madison Square Garden for the ultimate release of “The Song Remains the Same”. Do you recall that evening?

Eddie Kramer:

Ah yes! This was toward the end of their tour and Robert’s voice was not exactly perfect, and I think they had to go back in and punch in a couple of phrases here and there. But I thought the performance was bloody good. I think the filming was a bit of a problem for them. They had to go back in and recreate some of the shots that weren’t captured correctly. It was tough, it was a tough film for them to make. Certainly, I think the performances are great.

We ended up mixing it at Electric Lady Studios, and then we had to take it to California to do the postproduction for the film. It was very difficult because there were unions involved and I couldn’t touch the board, so it was never mixed quite the way I would have liked it to be.

We were going to do it in four-track surround sound, but the film company said “No, we can’t do that. It’s going to cost too much money.” Sure enough, The Who came out with their four-track surround sound film.

Variety (August 1973):

Led Zeppelin’s U.S. tour, which wound up at Madison Square Garden, N.Y. Sunday (29th), shattered attendance records, many previously held by the Beatles and grossed some $4,000,000. Latter figure for the 33 dates is unofficial as the British quartet began withholding such info after breaking Beatles marks to launch the tour in Atlanta and Tampa.

The Garden concert was the third consecutive sellout at the arena, where a $7.50 top usually means a $130,000 gross potential.

From LedZeppelin.com:

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Ritchie Blackmore: John Bonham would always tell Zeppelin, “I’m leaving the band. I can’t go back to America again.” – 2022 – VIDEO – Deep Purple – Led Zeppelin – Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore: John Bonham would always tell Zeppelin: “I’m leaving the band. I can’t go back to America again. I can’t do that.” So, Peter Grant (Led Zeppelin’s manager) used to go, “Hey, come to the garage, I want to show you something.” He’d go, “What?” They’d go to his garage and there’s a new Lamborghini, just what Bonzo wanted.

John Bonham:

“Wow, look at that.”

Peter Grant:

“That’s yours for coming to America.”

John Bonham:

“Well, yeah, alright.”

And that’s how he kept coming. But there were a couple of moments there where he ended up crying because he wanted to go home. He didn’t want to be in America, missed his wife, didn’t want to be in a big band. He wanted to be in a small band in Birmingham, just playing. He didn’t care about all that fame.

From John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin:

John Bonham:

“Sometimes touring gets a bit wearing, but that’s only because I’m married with kids at home. I’ve never gotten pissed off with the actual touring. I enjoy playing – I could play every night. It’s just being away that gets you down sometimes. I still enjoy going through different towns that we haven’t been to before. But you get fed up with places like New York because they’re not interesting anymore.”

“I’ve got worse. I have terribly bad nerves all the time. Once we start into ‘Rock And Roll’ I’m fine. I just can’t stand sitting around, and I worry about playing badly – and if I do then I’m really pissed off. If I play well, I feel fine.

Everybody in the band is the same, and each has some little thing they do before we go on, like pacing about or lighting a cigarette. It’s worse at festivals. You might have to sit around for a whole day and you daren’t drink because you’ll get tired and blow the gig. So you sit drinking tea in a caravan with everybody saying, “Far out, man.””

We once did six tours of America in 15 months.

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Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”: As time goes on, you may find another period of your life has got a little bit more substance – VIDEO – INTERVIEW

How does Robert Plant truly feel about Led Zeppelin’s iconic song, “Stairway to Heaven?”

 Robert Plant:

It’s not about it being my favorite or not. It has nothing to do with that, really. It belongs to a particular time. If I had been involved in the instrumentation, I would feel that it’s a magnificent piece of music, which has its own character and personality. It even speeds up in a similar way to pieces of more highbrow music.

My contribution was to write lyrics and to sing a song about fate and something very British, almost abstract, but coming out of the mind of a twenty-three-year-old guy. And it landed in the years and the era of twenty-three-year-old guys. I think as time goes on, you may find another period of your life has got a little bit more substance or is more relative later on down the line.

During an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show in 2019, Plant said the following about “Stairway to Heaven”:

Of course, it was a good song. The construction of the song, the actual musical construction is very, very good. It’s one of those moments that really can stand without a vocal – and, in fact, it will stand again without a vocal, I’m sure, because it’s a fine, fine piece of music.

Lyrically, now, I can’t relate to it, because it was so long ago. I would have no intention ever to write along those abstract lines anymore. I look at it and I tip my hat to it, and I think there are parts of it that are incredible. The way that Jimmy [Page] took the music through, and the way that the drums reached almost climaxed and then continued. It’s a very beautiful piece. But lyrically, now, and even vocally, I go, “I’m not sure about that.”

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2019 Sundragon Limited Amp Signed/Designed by Jimmy Page – Inspired by Led Zeppelin I – Perry Margouleff – Mitch Colby – 2022 Make Offer/Buy Now/Auction

Heritage Auctions: 2019 Sundragon Limited Edition Signed Jimmy Page Guitar Amplifier, Serial #15/50.

BUY NOW/MAKE OFFER

Limited Edition run of 50 hand-built amplifiers. This is number 15 of the 50 Sundragon amps signed by Jimmy Page. Designed by Jimmy Page and Perry Margouleff. Built by renowned amp builder Mitch Colby. This amp was inspired by the sounds heard on Led Zeppelin 1 and other songs. This is a new/mint condition example together with the footswitch, t-shirt, original packaging, and shipping box. This is a highly collectible amp. Original soft case and box included. Condition: Mint.

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Jimmy Page: “I really can’t put on record what the new record is” – 2022

Led Zeppelin News: Jimmy Page says he’s “working on various paths and routes of projects” –

Speaking to Classic Rock Magazine for its 300th issue, Page was asked how he has been occupying himself over the past couple of years.

Interviewer Ian Fortnam told Page that “online forums” show fans are missing Page’s output, adding that “a new record would be a great reward for living through the past few years of madness.”

Well, I really can’t put on record what the new record is,” Page said. “I’ll leave it to your imagination. The thing is there are so many ways I could present myself right now. Actually, not right now. I’ll rephrase that: within a space of time [laughs]. I’ve come across all these various projects I did. And one of the things I did recently is listen to a recording I made of the Marrakesh folk festival, with the tribes coming in from all over Morocco, in 1975. It’s fascinating. Tribal stuff passed on from father to son and kept alive because of the folk festivals, Essaouira, and all the rest. Where there are people who want to hear the Berbers. I certainly do, it’s good for the soul.”

The full interview with Page is available to read in the 300th issue of Classic Rock Magazine, which you can purchase through this link.

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Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Searching for My Love” – NEW SONG/VIDEO

Robert Plant: Watch the new video for ‘Searching For My Love,’ the fifth track taken from the Robert Plant & Alison Krauss album, ‘Raise The Roof.’

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