Meta Description: Explore Robert Plant’s early musical influences and how rock ‘n’ roll icons like Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Bill Haley inspired the Led Zeppelin frontman.
Robert Plant’s Early Musical Influences: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Icons Who Shaped His Career
Anyone who was not alive at the time cannot possibly comprehend the full scope of the rock ‘n’ roll explosion. Today, we have access to a wide variety of sounds and content at all times. However, when the genre first appeared in the 1950s as a quicker, more playful take on the blues, people were unable to understand what was happening. Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley may seem a little childish to us now, but to Robert Plant and others of his generation, they represented a much-needed escape from the postwar era.
The Impact of Early Rock ‘n’ Roll on Robert Plant’s Musical Journey
Back then, technology was still in its infancy. The main way to listen to music was on the radio, with occasional black-and-white TV shows illuminating the stars. Music provided an escape for celebrities like Robert Plant and his generation from their stuffy upbringing. They rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when self-expression was not a formal subject in their families. Music opened doors to a world beyond their constrictive surroundings, one that was livelier and more freeing. It gave young people a voice, a way to express themselves, and challenged social norms, paving the way for cultural revolutions.
Robert Plant’s Early Musical Influences: Discovering Rock ‘n’ Roll
After seeing the horrors of full-scale war less than 20 years earlier, most fathers turned inward towards their careers. Most mothers held menial jobs and were too exhausted and unaccustomed to discussing their feelings or thoughts about their place in the world with their children. The birth of new technology and philosophical ideas opened the eyes and minds of the baby-boomer generation. The rock ‘n’ roll explosion in America naturally enthralled them, as America was emerging as the world’s new superpower.
A youth culture began to emerge due to the popularity of celebrities like Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, and Chuck Berry. People began to view the arts as a way to escape their parents’ mundane lives and jobs. No one, not even their elders, was going to stop them. The elders could not comprehend or approve of this novel expression. They were determined to keep shaking, rattling, and rolling.
The Moment That Defined Robert Plant’s Musical Path
The moment that opened Robert Plant’s eyes was when he heard Elvis Presley cover “Hound Dog” on the BBC. He discovered “Heartbreak Hotel” out of a desire to learn more, and there was no turning back after that. It was hip, sultry, and exciting, signaling a new age.
When Plant’s son decided to pursue his musical dreams and grow out his hair, Plant’s father couldn’t disguise his disappointment. This bland attitude allowed the younger generation to relax and abandon the maudlin monochrome of Vera Lynn and Bing Crosby. Instead, they embraced a more colorful world in their own image. The older generation’s refusal to part with anything sparked the urge to express oneself fully.
Influential Rock ‘n’ Roll Icons for Robert Plant
Of the rock ‘n’ roll pioneers, Elvis Presley was unquestionably the most well-known worldwide. However, others were more influential in their impact on music and philosophy. Plant told Dan Rather that Little Richard and Bill Haley were the two rock ‘n’ roll icons he had always wanted to copy. Known for his intensely sexual themes, Little Richard was by far the most puckish of the musicians of this era. Bill Haley helped establish the genre as a cultural movement, using “Rock Around the Clock” in the popular movie Blackboard Jungle.
Robert Plant went on to say that, despite not realizing the extent of what their parents’ generation had gone through during the war, there was a “grim determination” among them to move on. They relished the vivacity of Bill Haley and The Comets, as well as the pompadour-clad Little Richard.
“We were just going, ‘Hey, let’s go, what’s happening?’” he recalled. “Whoa! Little Richard, Little Richard!” This guy, with his pompadour and piano banging, was driving us crazy. Additionally, during these tours, Bill Haley and the Comets were setting the world on fire. And I looked at them and thought, ‘That’s what I want, I want to be like that.’”
Even though they might not seem like much nowadays, the rock ‘n’ rollers of the 1950s were far more influential than anyone else. They initiated everything, and when they surfaced, it was sheer inventiveness of a kind we will never comprehend.
