Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant’s five favourite singers
There were a ton of different influences that bled into the voice of Robert Plant. The Led Zeppelin frontman managed to combine the high shrieks of Little Richard with the down-and-dirty blues of Muddy Waters, creating the ideal formula that generations of rock frontmen would borrow from.
The roots of Led Zeppelin were firmly planted in the blues, but Plant had a wide and diverse array of favourite artists that helped shape his own personal sound. From folk to psychedelic pop, Plant always made sure to stay on top of the latest trends when he wasn’t digging through crates of vinyl to find hidden gems and forgotten classics.
Everyone from blues legend Howlin’ Wolf to post-punk icon Robert Smith made their way into Plant’s record collection over the years. By the time he was established as one of rock music’s greatest singers, Plant had decades of artists from which to pull influence.
Here are five of Robert Plant’s favourite singers from across the world of music.
Robert Plant’s five favourite singers:
Elvis Presley
Everyone has to have a first love, and for Plant, that was Elvis Presley. Led Zeppelin frequently performed Elvis covers and medleys during their live shows, and Plant’s initial leanings toward singing were based on Presley’s voice.
“When I was a kid I used to hide behind the curtains at home at Christmas and I used to try and be Elvis,” Plant explained. “There was a certain ambience between the curtains and the French windows, there was a certain sound there for a ten-year-old. That was all the ambience I got at ten years old … And I always wanted to be … a bit similar to that.”
Robert Smith
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Plant had stopped listening to contemporary music by the 1980s. Led Zeppelin was officially over, and Plant himself was beginning the transition into a forefather of the rock scene. But as he kickstarted his solo career, Plant made sure to keep his ears sharp for new artists. One of his more surprising favourites is The Cure, whose haunted single ‘Lullaby’ remains a favourite of Plant’s.
“I love Robert Smith’s beckoning you into his vulnerability,” Plant told Q Magazine. “It’s an interesting little world, like H.G. Wells’s History Of Mr Polly.”
Maddy Prior and June Tabor
Plant’s favourites often went beyond the standard fare. Deeper cuts and lesser-known artists helped Plant flesh out his musical identity, and while he was conquering the world with Led Zeppelin, Plant was still keeping his ear to the ground. That’s how he came across the British folk duo of Maddy Prior and June Tabor, also known as the Silly Sisters.
“Two remarkable British singers: June Tabor and Maddy Prior taken from the album Silly Sisters. An album that covers the subjects: work, religion, sexual relations, humour, tragedy, and the absurd,” Plant told the BBC Radio 6 show ‘6 Music’s Festive Takeover’ back in 2021. “But ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ is the name of the song, it relates to the life of a sailor in the royal navy, the battleship, just incredible singers.”
Betty Harris
American R&B and soul had a major impact on Plant. If you ever wondered where the various caterwauls and yelps that makeup Plant’s signature vocal style came from, all you have to do is look at classic artists like Betty Harris.
“Get that, that’s the amazing Betty Harris. Along with Lee Dorsey and Aaron Neville and so on, all working around, I guess the mixing desk, most probably of the New Orleans studios down there,” he once said. “Ironically, it’s a very contemporary sound for Betty, she quit singing the following year after that.”
Howlin’ Wolf
It wouldn’t be appropriate for Plant not to include some classic blues. Of all of his heroes, the gravelly-voiced menace of Howlin’ Wolf wound up being the most impactful for Plant. Plant actually got the opportunity to see Wolf perform as a teenager when the Mississippi bluesman made his way to England.
“Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Forty-Four’ recorded in 1954, insane,” he once said. “The bands I’ve been around, everybody just marvels about the cross-timing of that stuff. I saw the Wolf when I was 16, he was on tour for about five or six years. Two German promoters brought over a remarkable collection of musicians: Skip James, Bukka White, Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Hound Dog Taylor.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.