Many of the musicians in the rock music scene were influenced by another artist at some point. Moreover, some of them even start making music after watching their favorite acts perform or listening to their album. Throughout the years, these artists sometimes end up becoming influences on others.
Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant is a musician inspired by various blues artists. His early influences included Bukka White, Jerry Miller, Sleepy John Ester, and Skip James when he was young. However, AC/DC’s Angus Young once revealed another important music figure’s name that influenced the singer.
Angus Young Claimed Elvis Presley Is Among Robert Plant’s Influences
In 2014, AC/DC members Angus Young and Brian Johnson gave an interview to VH1. The interviewer asked Young the artists he would suggest young rock musicians listen to before embarking on their careers during the conversation. He said that one should listen to Elvis Presley if they want a Led Zeppelin-type sound.
Moreover, Young argued early Presley songs carry some Led Zeppelin elements, and one can hear Robert Plant in Presley’s vocals. Following that, Young addressed AC/DC’s music and said their sound is similar to Little Richards’.
In the interview, VH1 asked Angus Young the following:
“Your sound has always been so timeless and referenced back to the earliest rock n’ roll. Who are some artists that every young rock musician should listen to?”
As a response, Young said:
“I guess I’d just say if you want somebody looking for a Led Zeppelin type, plug into Elvis Presley. A lot of the early Presley, there’s a bit of Led Zeppelin, you know? I mean, in Presley, you’re definitely hearing Robert Plant.
And in our case, you could probably plug into something like Little Richard because he always just went for it. He just had power-packed vocals and power-packed songs. If I still hear those early Little Richard tracks, it’s like a hurricane. My hair goes up, you know?”
As it turns out, Angus Young believed that Elvis Presley’s singing voice had lots of elements resembling Robert Plant’s vocals. Moreover, Young implied that Elvis Presley’s musicianship highly influenced Plant.
