The truth behind Robert Plant’s iconic stage pose
Concerning the greatest rock music frontmen, few can claim to be as emphatic as Robert Plant. The vocalist of expansive rock leviathan Led Zeppelin, Plant’s wailing dynamism was the perfect foil to the collective mastery of his bandmates and provided many highlights.
Regardless of the fact that Plant is widely hailed as one of the finest rock figureheads of his generation, according to former Twister Sister vocalist Dee Snider, that is simply not the case. Snider, dissecting the finer details, made a distinction between singing and stagecraft when examining the best in the business.
In a tweet posted in 2022, Snider told a fan: “I’m a HUGE Plant fan vocally…but he showed me nothing as a performer. Looked amazing, great hair…stood on stage with one hand raised and sang his ass off. Not a frontman, in my opinion… many great frontmen are not great singers.”
Whilst there is undoubtedly veracity to Snider’s point, it’s hard to believe that Plant was not a great frontman in his prime. He might not have been as outlandish as Iggy Pop or as theatrical as Freddie Mercury, but it’s a testament to him that as soon as Zeppelin walked on stage, the audience stood with bated breath. A mesmerising stage presence who commanded attention, Plant’s otherworldly aura, augmented by the esoteric proportions of the music, was finalised as soon as the first bewitching notes rang out from his mouth.
Furthermore, if Robert Plant weren’t a great frontman, he wouldn’t have an iconic pose inextricable from his tale. Dramatically arching his back before belting out his words, often with his finger pointing in the air, this was a fitting way to mirror the essence of Led Zeppelin’s music aesthetically. However, according to Plant, there was a reason behind him cutting such a figure, and it’s not as spectacular as people believe. For some, this might even chip away at his status as an iconic frontman à la Dee Snider.
When appearing on his Digging Deep podcast in 2022, Plant explained why he would so famously arch his back when belting out Led Zep numbers. Although he acknowledged that most singers do it to open their chests, he clarified that primarily, he entered the position because of the fear of messing up his notes. “I often did it like that because I didn’t really know whether I could hit the right peckin’ note,” he said.
Because of this anxiety, Plant decided to protect himself by positioning his mouth as far away from the microphone as possible. This meant that if he did indeed flub his harmonies, it might not have been as noticeable as if the microphone was held conventionally. Even then, given the size of the PAs that he was singing through, it seems a somewhat wishful endeavour.
“I’ll go as far away from the microphone just in case it’s not very good,” Plant added. “Because you don’t know sometimes.”
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