Despite Robert Plant having been consecrated as one of the legends of Heavy Metal for his contribution to the iconic Led Zeppelinthe musician has a past (and a present) that justifies the choice of music that changed his life.
Before leading one of the most acclaimed bands in the history of Rock, the British star was part of Band of Joywhere he explored sounds closer to Folk Rock in his tracks.
The group, which initially also had John Bonham (drummer of Zeppelin) in his formation, did not hide that among his strong references were the works of the North American band Buffalo Springfield.
Plant and his partners even released a cover of the song “For What It’s Worth”, which was recorded in 1966 and was included on the second edition of the band’s first album, Buffalo Springfield Againfrom 1967. But that wasn’t the song that changed Plant’s life.
Robert Plant and the music that changed his life
When he was called up to join Led Zeppelin alongside Jimmy PageRobert even took some of his influences from Folk, psychedelic and Blues music to the band’s works, but the genre that was highlighted in Band of Joy was not the new group’s priority.
Even so, in 1970, Robert Plant revealed in an interview with Melody Maker (via Far Out) that his admiration for Californian Country Rock arose after saturating himself with Beatles.
The musician admitted that his fascination with Buffalo Springfield didn’t come at first, but he explained how the track “Flying on the Ground is Wrong” came to have an important meaning in his life after he was able to truly understand it:
I remember the first time I heard Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Flying on the Ground is Wrong’. I thought, ‘This doesn’t sound like anything,’ and then I listened to it again and thought, ‘There’s something more to this.’ The lyrics at the time weren’t surprising, but there was something there. So I bought the album, and it was great because it was the kind of music you could listen to or sit back and enjoy, and I thought, ‘This is what the public wants – this is what I want to hear.’
You can listen to that song below, as well as Band of Joy’s version of “For What It’s Worth.”
