A young Robert Plant was all in for making new music and joining a band, no matter the challenges he had to face. It wasn’t easy to find the right act to join since, although forming a blues rock band seemed to be the latest trend among the British youth in the 60s, only a few successfully made it to the prominent scene.
Still, Robert had set his eyes on the prize and was determined to ‘make it.’ So, when he met aspiring guitarist Jimmy Page, who was freshly out of the Yardbirds, it was perhaps fate that brought the pair together. As the young rockers quickly bonded over their shared interest in musical favorites, it wasn’t much later that Jimmy sought out a bassist and drummer.
The rest came down quickly after the duo, Page and Plant, recruited a session musician, John Paul Jones, and successfully convinced a popular touring drummer, John Bonham, to join the newly-formed band. That was how Led Zeppelin was born, and there’s no need to tell you all about what the act accomplished and how they owned the rock scene.
However, it all came to a halt when Bonham passed away after a long day of drinking due to simply downing too many shots. His bandmates then famously and honorably disbanded, leaving the name Led Zeppelin behind and taking on solo roads. So, that was how a young Robert Plant looking for a band, became the middle-aged Robert who was left to his own devices as a solo act.
It wasn’t easy for the frontman to leave the glorious days of Zeppelin behind, although he enjoyed a mostly commercially successful solo career of his own. Still, there were times he felt rather lonely, realizing how he was on his own, and there was no Page, Jones or Bonham on stage, playing alongside him and working together at the studio.
That was probably how he decided to give Jimmy a call while recording what would be ‘Now and Zen,’ a three times platinum album that was considered an enormous success in Plant’s discography. Jimmy would quickly take on his old friend’s offer of joining him in the studio, as the guitarist played on two tracks, easily impressed the entire studio.
So, although Robert was insistent on not looking back and moving forward from Led Zeppelin, the rocker couldn’t help but admit how much he missed Page, seeking out for him at the studio while chatting with Creem Magazine in the late 80s. As Robert dismissed all questions regarding his former band, the host decided to ask the singer why he had invited Jimmy; the frontman had to get honest.
Robert on why he featured Jimmy on his then-upcoming album if he wanted to move on from the shadow of his former act:
“I just wanted some of that stagger. And, really, I just wanted my old partner around then. I wanted to see him hanging around with his head dangling on the floor. He was only in the control room of the studio playing, and everybody is saying, ‘God, can that man play.'”
So, there’s no doubt that although Robert wanted to move on and look ahead from his days with Led Zep, he still missed and sought his old bandmates in the studio. This was evident when he called Page to come back and play a song or two for his then-new album and became even more apparent when the duo formed the band, ‘Page and Plant.’
