Chris Robinson discusses the praise from Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant
There are plenty of similarities between Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant and The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson. Both are fundamentally blues singers, taking inspiration from the wealth of black musicians that occupied the American south in the early 20th century. Had Robinson been born 20 years earlier, there’s a chance that he could have been a direct competitor of Plant’s rather than a disciple.
Robinson got the unique chance to step into Plant’s shoes in 1999 when The Black Crowes were joined by Jimmy Page for a series of concerts. The shows were a bit chaotic, and Robinson was vocal about some of his displeasure in 2002. “I didn’t really have that much fun doing it,” Robinson told Classic Rock. “It was alright, and Jimmy’s a phenomenal guitarist, but to me it was just a job. I’m not a big fan of Robert Plant’s lyrics or his singing, so that part of it was a little boring for me.”
While being interviewed by journalist Matt Wake, Robinson elaborated. “When Jimmy picks up the guitar, and he just kkrr, krrr, it’s electric you know? It’s alive. And that’s the thing: it’s not a reproduction. Even though he’s playing ‘I Should Have Quit You’ [sic] or whatever, every time you hear that kabow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, kabow. He’s on fire when he plays. And of course, that’s why I’m up there, that’s why he asked me to come sing those songs because I’m not preening and prancing around thinking I’m something I’m not. I want to be on fire as well, in that kind of music.”
Inevitably, talk soon turned to Robinson’s opinion on Plant. Robinson was more gracious in the latter interview, even sharing some memories of opening up for Plant during The Black Crowes early tours. “But think about it. I got to open for Robert (Plant) when I was 23 years old,” Robinson shared. “I spent two tours, back-to-back opening for Aerosmith and Robert Plant as a little frontman, so ultimately Robert has my great respect and I had to find some way to sing those songs that people who love Led Zeppelin would still like them but I can’t sing like Robert Plant. No one can.”
“So it was cool that Jimmy also, Jimmy’s like, ‘Do your thing. Do your thing.’ I hear it occasionally when we’re driving around, Earle Bailey will play it on Deep Tracks on Sirius XM, and he’ll play like ‘Custard Pie’ like you said, and I’ll say, ‘Huh, that’s pretty rad, man. We did a good job’. And Robert told me that I did a good job so he gave me his blessing so that’s all that I needed.”
Check out Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes doing ‘Custard Pie’ down below.
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