How immigration inspired Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin to create a new sound
Although he jokingly proclaimed himself “The Golden God”, a quote taken as an embodiment of the egotism once deemed a prerequisite for being a rockstar, former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant could not be further from this image.
He has maintained a level of geniality uncharacteristic for someone of his standing, despite the many tragedies he’s endured. In addition to his approachable nature, the West Midlands native has continued to produce artistically valid works. He’s never flogged a dead horse and strives to produce fresh music, which is remarkable at 74.
Since Led Zeppelin broke up following the death of drummer, and old friend, John Bonham in 1980, Plant has continued to find success with several acts, including The Band of Joy and The Honeydrippers. He also briefly reunited with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in the mid-1990s, delivering a small body of new songs with the 1998 album Walking into Clarksdale. Since then, some of his most acclaimed post-Zeppelin work has come alongside American musician Alison Krauss, with the pair releasing two records to date, 2007’s Raising Sand and 2021’s Raise the Roof.
Despite Plant demonstrating that his artistry extends much further than the days of classic rock, it is impossible to ignore his work with Led Zeppelin. They were innovators that pushed the boundaries of the established rock blueprint by imbuing real substance into their music. This manifested in various ways, from the instruments used to the lyrical dynamics of their creations.
Concentrating on the thematic side of Zeppelin’s work, for the most part, it wasn’t interested in picking up women and getting drunk as was the norm for rock at the time. Instead, it was deeply ensconced in culture, with everything from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien to various mythologies making their way into Plant’s lyrics.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2017, Plant looked back at the most memorable points in his back catalogue. He chose a lesser-known Led Zeppelin piece to demonstrate how ahead of the curve they were. The track in question is ‘Friends’, from 1970’s much-maligned Led Zeppelin III.
He explained how the song marked a departure for him, bridging the gap between the rudimentary rock of the band’s early years and the expansive style to come. He said: “I realised that tough, manly approach to singing I’d begun on ‘You Better Run’ wasn’t really what it was all about at all. Songs like [Led Zeppelin I‘s] ‘Babe I’m Going To Leave You’ …” Flinching, he continued, “I find my vocals on there horrific now. I really should have shut the fuck up!”
This is only one of the significant aspects of the track, though. ‘Friends’ was when Plant’s longstanding interest in Asian and Indian music started to make its way into his work. He reflected on the multicultural area he grew up in, Halesowen in the West Midlands, and how the vibrant community of immigrants inspired his musical journey.
The former Led Zeppelin frontman recalled: “My neighbours were Gujarati. Coming home, I would walk up the alley in-between our terraced houses, and turn left instead of right, and just sit on the lino with my neighbours, have a bowl of curry, listening to their music. At the top of the street, at the Fox and Dogs, there was Caribbean music, too: you’d hear Alton Ellis, the Skatalites, Delroy Wilson.”
Noting how he attempted to connect with these sounds through his music, Plant opined that this was because Led Zeppelin recognised there’s much more to life than “bars and chicks and all that crap”.
He said: “There’s something really splendid and otherworldly about trying to even touch those bigger ideas as a British rock group, to go past the idiom of singing about bars and chicks and all that crap, which unfortunately is the lingua franca of popular song. There are other dynamics of life, and we started to recognise that here.”
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