robert plant
The birthday boy in his hey day

Happy Birthday to Robert Plant, who turns 64 today. While the legendary voice of Led Zeppelin has a nice history of vocal accomplishments that should be lauded, he has not aged well [in this fan’s opinion]. Hope that doesn’t sound mean, but check this recent (2010) photo of him:

robert plant
Original photo found over on Billboard.com

Compared to this in the drug-induced 70’s:

robert plant
Looking good in the 70’s


Does Anybody Remember Laughter?

Ok… let’s focus on his vocals. Here’s a performance from the movie “The Song Remains The Same”

Favorites

While his days in Led Zeppelin have cemented his outstanding vocal range, after the band disbanded, I quickly followed his early solo career. His first solo album “Pictures at Eleven” in 1982 still had that Zeppelin like sound, which made it easy to make the transition. It was the next album “The Principle of Moments” that had a more subdued and mellower sound, with songs like “Big Log” and the more well known “In The Mood” below.


Robert Plant “In The Mood”

I’ve not followed much since those first two albums, but know he continues to make music with the likes of Allison Krauss and his latest venture Band of Joy [which I have heard and enjoyed]. And of course, we have the last reunion performance back in December 2007 that may very well stand out as his “Swan Song” with the mighty LedZep.

Happy Birthday, Robert!