What Robert Plant's Bandmates Really Think Of Him

Led Zeppelin quickly became one of the biggest rock acts in the world after emerging in 1969 with a pair of self-titled albums. Their sound was raw and primal but musically accomplished. It pushed rock music itself in a new direction that laid the groundwork for heavy metal and countless guitar acts in the 1970s and beyond.

And their sound wouldn't have been complete if it weren't for vocalist Robert Plant, whose wail elevated the blues-inspired compositions of their early work to the realm of the ethereal. Led Zeppelin was originally the outfit of guitarist Jimmy Page, who had continued to perform as The New Yardbirds after inheriting the name for one final tour before changing it. Plant was recruited for that final New Yardbirds tour, but whereas other bands such as AC/DC and Van Halen were able to replace their lead singer when circumstances called for it, Plant — who very nearly wasn't a part of Led Zeppelin — soon established himself as integral to the band's identity. Here is what his bandmates down the years have said about him.

When Jimmy Page first auditioned for the New Yardbirds, he recalled how Robert Plant, who had sung for a number of bands over several years, blew him away with his ability. "When I auditioned him and heard him sing, I immediately thought there must be something wrong with him personality-wise or that he had to be impossible to work with, because I just could not understand why, after he told me he'd been singing for a few years already, he hadn't become a big name yet," he told The Trouser Press (per Teach Rock). "So I had him down to my place for a little while, just to sort of check him out, and we got along great. No problems."

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page became friends, and they quickly established a creative bond, one that lasted beyond the breakup of Led Zeppelin in 1980 following the death of John Bonham. The band reunited for Live Aid in 1985, and Plant and Page collaborated again in the mid-1990s for the live album "No Quarter." It featured Zeppelin classics alongside new compositions, and the pair toured frequently during the period. 

The pair reunited once more in 2007 for the one-off Led Zeppelin reunion "Celebration Day." However, recent years have shown Plant to be hesitant to reform Led Zeppelin once again, bringing him into conflict with his former bandmates — Page in particular. "Everyone would love to play more concerts for the band," Page told The New York Times in 2014. "He's just playing games, and I'm fed up with it, to be honest with you. I don't sing, so I can't do much about it. It just looks so unlikely, doesn't it?" 

Bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones was another integral part of Led Zeppelin. Though arguably not as well known as either Robert Plant or Jimmy Page, he is credited with co-writing some of the band's biggest tracks including "Black Dog" and "No Quarter." Jones first met Jimmy Page while working as a session musician before joining the New Yardbirds on tour and becoming a permanent member of Led Zeppelin. Speaking of his early days with Plant, Jones claimed the singer was "slightly in awe" of the musicians Page had recruited. "He never knew what to make of me and to an extent still doesn't," the bassist said in an interview published in "Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World's Greatest Rock Band."

Jones has, however, admitted in interviews that he and his fellow Led Zeppelin bandmates didn't have a friendship that extended to spending time together when they weren't on the road or in the studio. "We get along fine," he told Q magazine in 2007 (per Far Out Magazine). "The thing is, we have never socialized. As soon as we left the road, we never saw each other, which I always thought contributed to the longevity and harmony of the band. We weren't friends."

Though Jones was present at the Led Zeppelin reunions in 1985, 1988, and 2007, he has been vocal about his surprise at being left out of Plant and Page's musical collaboration in the mid-1990s. Particularly that Plant and Page used the title "No Quarter," for their live album, and he appeared to take credit for the song in an interview including in "The Oral History." "I always reckoned it was one of my best tunes," he said.

Drummer John Bonham first played with Robert Plant in The Crawling King Snakes, one of many short-lived outfits the pair belonged to before joining The New Yardbirds on the way to becoming Led Zeppelin. As Plant recalled, before forming the band that made them famous, Bonham was insistent on joining the singer's other group, Band of Joy. "You're all right, but you're no good without me," Bonham said (per "Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World's Greatest Rock Band"). 

The two developed a very close friendship, one which was nevertheless fiery enough for them to descend into physical confrontations. On one occasion, Bonham punched Plant in the mouth during an argument over gas. However, Bonham reportedly told Zeppelin tour manager Richard Cole that it was nothing to worry about. "Robert and I have known each other for so long that there's never any maliciousness in these fights," he said (per "Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin"). "We just lose our tempers sometimes." Plant's respect for Bonham's talents as a drummer is clear — the singer has admitted his friend's death was the decisive reason for not doing a Led Zeppelin reunion. Plant has even claimed that he has regular dreams about his former bandmate.

John Bonham's son, Jason, has established himself as a talented and much-in-demand drummer in his own right since he first picked up the sticks at the age of 5. His career began at the age of 17, and he has since played with some of the biggest names in the business, including members of Van Halen, Jeff Beck, and, of course, Led Zeppelin. The band's surviving members chose Jason to take his father's vacant drum stool for their reunion in 1988. 

The stakes were high: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones had last returned to the stage together in 1985 with Genesis' Phil Collins filling in, and the performance was widely considered a disaster. The follow-up wasn't much better, though critics generally agreed Jason had performed admirably despite technical issues around the performance. He was disappointed, therefore, not to be chosen to tour with Plant and Page in the mid-1990s, telling the "The Eddie Trunk Podcast": "It was having to explain myself to people, 'Why didn't they get you, aren't you good enough?', and I had a good conversation with Robert about that many years later. I said that was a really tough time for me to understand. And he had a very good reason why they did what they did."

Jason was brought back into the fold for the 2007 Celebration Day reunion show. Nevertheless, he confirmed on "The Howard Stern Show" that despite his abilities arguably rivalling those of his father, Plant informed him that it would not be right to tour under the Zeppelin name without John. It was Plant who first broke the news of John's death to Jason back in 1980, and the two families seemingly remain close.

The other major artistic collaborator of Robert Plant's long career is Alison Krauss, the talented bluegrass vocalist and violinist from Illinois. Krauss already had a distinguished career before she met the former Led Zeppelin frontman. She made her recording debut at the age of just 14 and released her debut album with her band Union Station, "Too Late to Cry," two years later. Their sophomore effort earned a Grammy nomination in 1989, and in the years that followed, Krauss cemented her position as one of bluegrass' biggest ever stars.

Her collaboration with Robert Plant came in the form of a 2007 album titled "Raising Sand," which was overseen by producer T Bone Burnette. The work was a roaring success — it went multiplatinum, won the pair five Grammys, and prompted several tours. Their follow-up, "Raise the Roof," came out in 2021. Krauss told Billboard in 2024 that she and Plant are "yin and yang" in many ways. And despite the rumors, she told People that while they share great musical chemistry, they have never had a romantic connection.

Krauss, who is known for the high standards of musical performance she sets for herself, is effusive about Plant's vocal style. She told Variety in 2021 that he is "so free with everything that he sings." "If someone's going to play a teeny little thing different in the studio, he's going to sing it differently," she continued. "And that's part of why that's so magical, because he's always on the edge, and it's a beautiful thing."