Robert Plant, the frontman of Led Zeppelin, has witnessed several musical zeitgeists come and go. He has observed most of this from the highest echelons of the industry. Thus, he has a greater insider understanding of the historical significance of particular periods than most.
Throughout his career, Plant has witnessed the emergence of underground genres such as rock, euphoria, and blues. He is also known for taking rock music as a whole and pushing it further with Led Zeppelin. As the most exciting band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the quartet took over from The Beatles. They blasted into the decade with an abundance of enormously successful hits.
However, with the rise of punk, a movement that attacked the status quo and condemned the outdated behavior of established bands like Led Zeppelin outside of music. The cultural relevance of well-known acts like them began to drastically decline by the second half of the 1970s. Nonetheless, Zeppelin’s ability to largely weather the rise of punk is a testament to them.
They were to tour America to herald their second coming following a period of both internal and commercial floundering. They were also set to release a new album following what is now their final studio effort, 1979’s In Through the Out Door. But when John Bonham passed away in 1980, the remaining members realized they couldn’t continue, marking the tragic end.
Since then, Plant has maintained his musical career, being successful both as a solo artist and with a variety of groups. These include Page and Plant, a collaboration with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and the reformed Band of Joy. Apart from these adventures, the frontman has always had his pulse on the music scene. His taste runs to the most electrifying sounds, such as the early Faith No More sound. He is among the greatest people to offer commentary on the history of music because of his stature as a musical genius with impeccable taste.
Robert Plant witnessed the emergence of grunge, a hugely influential movement, firsthand in 1991. It was led by Nirvana and included the Seattle-based bands Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. It completely altered the course of popular culture and music. The music industry exploited the genre’s brief popularity by signing a multitude of imitators, diminishing its authenticity. Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994 marked the official end of the phenomenon.
Plant discussed grunge and controversially claimed that Nirvana and the genre gave America its “own punk” in an interview conducted in the 1990s after Cobain passed away. The American fans of the scene will no doubt take offense at this. They ardently maintain that the genre originated there in the 1970s rather than in Britain.
Plant said: “You know what happened in England when punk emerged? That was the last significant event to occur in England or originate from England that had an impact on anyone. Punk, you know, said, “We’re tired of Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, the kind of skeleton of the Beatles, let’s have some street music.” That’s how you finally got your punk in America between 1991 and 1990.
