The rock duo Robert Plant volunteered to play bass for: “I’d love to”
For decades now, Robert Plant has admirably done whatever he pleases in a musical sense, regardless of what anybody else wants him to do.
While there were likely hundreds of millions on the table for him to reunite with Led Zeppelin permanently following their one-off show at The O2 in 2008, Plant doesn’t get seduced by the amount of zeroes on a cheque. If he finds a project stimulating, that’s all that matters.
Plant could easily sell out arenas across the world if he belted out their biggest hits with the backing of world-class session musicians imitating his former bandmates. Instead, he’s content playing regional theatres across with Saving Grace, and while he may play the occasional Led Zeppelin song, don’t expect to hear ‘Stairway to Heaven’.
The rock icon is a rare breed, a soul unmotivated by money who stays true to his creative desires. He also knows that, as a traditional rock ‘n’ roll frontman, those days are firmly behind him. But now and then, a great blues band will come along that reminds him of why he fell in love with the genre in the first place.
During an interview in 2005 with Rolling Stone, Plant expressed his adoration for The Black Keys, who were yet to become the stars they are today. At the time, the duo, comprised of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, had released three records, but were still firmly under the radar of the masses. However, they had won the attention of Plant, who recognised himself in their sound.
The singer remarked: “I’m very happy listening to the Black Keys. They’re Akron’s most feted sons, and they owe a lot to Skip James, as do I. So I listen to a lot of desert stuff, some very old blues like Lemon Jefferson, and the Black Keys.”
If you watch The Black Keys on tour this summer, Carney and Auerbach are joined by an army of musicians who give them a full-bodied sound that can fill arenas; it was just the two of them back in 2005. But, if Plant had his way, they could have been a trio.
He shared, “I’d love to play bass with them for a bit. In truth, I was an occasional bass player. It says so on Zeppelin I, next to my name: vocals, harmonica and occasional bass. Very occasionally — once, I think, since 1968. How in God’s name that ended up on the cover is so funny. I’m sure Jonesy [John Paul Jones] didn’t like it [laughs]. But I suppose every time he fucked up he could say it was me.”
While the idea of Plant playing bass with The Black Keys is tantalising, it would have overshadowed their act if it had happened in 2005. All the attention would have been on him, rather than Auerbach and Carney, who had worked from the ground up to even get on the radar of people like him. Saying that, seeing them rip up a Led Zeppelin favourite like ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ with Plant on bass is the stuff of dreams, if it was a one-off.
Unsurprisingly, Led Zeppelin were a formative act for The Black Keys. In 2019, Carney curated a playlist on Spotify celebrating Led Zeppelin’s 50th anniversary and explained the pivotal impact they had on his existence, noting, “In 1991, my dad checked out LED ZEPPELIN II from the Akron Public Library and asked me to take a listen. It changed my life.”
Although it’s been more than two decades since Plant declared he wanted to join The Black Keys and they’ve now filled the void on bass, here’s hoping that someday they shred it up together, even if only for one song.
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