While Led Zeppelin was a defining chapter in Robert Plant’s life, he doesn’t often dwell on his time with the band. Plant prefers to look forward rather than reminisce about his days fronting one of the biggest rock groups in the world.
Still, as Led Zeppelin is a massive part of his legacy, there are moments when he can’t help but reflect on his career with them.
Like many artists who have spent their entire adult lives in music, Plant has mixed feelings about his past work. While he takes pride in what Led Zeppelin achieved, he’s also aware of some missteps—be it the Tolkien references or the now-controversial lyrics of “Stairway to Heaven.” Despite this, Plant generally looks back with a sense of accomplishment.
During his live performances, Plant doesn’t rely heavily on Zeppelin’s catalog, and when he does revisit their songs, he avoids mimicking the original recordings. While acknowledging the cultural impact of Led Zeppelin, Plant believes his artistry goes beyond his time with the band.
However, if given the chance, Plant would change one significant part of Led Zeppelin’s legacy. Like many artists, he has grown frustrated with a specific song—”Stairway to Heaven.”
Though the track is widely considered one of rock’s greatest, Plant wishes Led Zeppelin were remembered more for “Kashmir.” To him, Physical Graffiti’s “Kashmir” is their finest work, a song that better represents their artistry and evolution as a band.
“Stairway to Heaven” may be the first song many associate with Led Zeppelin, but it’s “Kashmir” that Plant sees as the band’s pinnacle. In his eyes, “Kashmir” perfectly captures the band’s musical maturity, as it was a track they couldn’t have created earlier in their career.
Plant once told Q Magazine, “I wish we were remembered more for ‘Kashmir’ than ‘Stairway to Heaven’. It’s so right. There’s nothing overblown, no vocal hysterics. Perfect Zeppelin.”
Plant has expressed admiration for “Kashmir” in multiple interviews, including a 2018 conversation with Dan Rather. Reflecting on the song, he said, “It was a great achievement to take such a monstrously dramatic musical piece and find a lyric that was ambiguous enough and a delivery that was not over-pumped.”
One of the key aspects of “Kashmir” that Plant appreciates is John Bonham’s drumming. While Bonham is often celebrated for his power and intensity, it’s the subtlety and restraint in his playing on “Kashmir” that Plant finds so remarkable.
“It was what he didn’t do that made it work,” Plant noted, emphasizing Bonham’s delicate touch in shaping the song’s magic. “This lyric and this vocal delivery were just enough to get in there,” he added.
Jimmy Page, the mastermind behind Zeppelin’s riffs, also recognized the uniqueness of “Kashmir.” He recalled how the band instantly knew they had created something special. “The intensity of ‘Kashmir’ was such that when we had it completed, we knew there was something really hypnotic to it,” Page said. “We couldn’t even describe it—such a quality.”
Page further explained that the song’s development began with him and Bonham working at Headley Grange. “Bonzo played the rhythm, and I found the riff and overdubs, which were later mirrored by an orchestra to give more life to the track. It sounded frightening at first.”
Once John Paul Jones and Plant added their layers to the composition, “Kashmir” became the track that defined Led Zeppelin’s peak. For Plant, it remains a minor frustration that “Kashmir” isn’t more widely appreciated compared to “Stairway to Heaven.”
Still, its impeccable legacy and status as a testament to the band’s brilliance give him more than enough reason to celebrate.
