Random Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Robert Plant (12 items)

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  (#7) Paul Rodgers Helped Him Join Led Zeppelin

  Without Paul Rodgers, there might not have been a Led Zeppelin. The Bad Company singer was a friend of Plant's in the early days of his career, and one night Plant told Rodgers he had received an offer to join a band Page was putting together. 

  "They've offered me 30 quid a week or a percentage. What do you think?" Rodgers recalled Plant asking him. "I said, 'Well, you know what I would do? I'd take the percentage.'" 

  Years later, when Rodgers disbanded his original group Free and formed Bad Company, he signed with Zeppelin's record label and hired their manager, Peter Grant. He told Grant the story of how he convinced Plant to join Zeppelin, and the manager was completely surprised that his now-client had played a role in kickstarting his own career. 
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  (#11) He Bought A Struggling Music Venue

  Plant was part of a community effort to buy the Bell Inn, a popular music venue in Bath, England. His contribution helped save the struggling venue and keep it running.

  "For the last 10 years or so many of my musical adventures have been with friends from Bristol and Bath, so I'm fully aware of the Bell and its legacy and its contribution to the musicians and audience in the surrounding area," he said in a statement. 

  Peter Gabriel was another renowned rocker to donate to the cause, saying that the Bell Inn "has always been a key part of Bath's live music scene, often giving musicians their first break and always providing music that is vibrant, diverse and free."
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  (#4) He Paid A Radio Station $10,000 To Never Play 'Stairway To Heaven' Again

  Once, while driving through Portland, Oregon, Plant overheard an offer on a local radio station. The DJ announced that the station needed donations to stay on the air, and in exchange they promised to never again play "Stairway To Heaven."

  Plant pulled his car over, called the station, and pledged $10,000 - effectively saving the station while removing his own music from their catalog.

  "It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I've heard it before," he later said. 
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  (#1) He Wasn't The First Choice For Led Zeppelin

  British singer Terry Reid, a longtime friend of the band, is a cult singer-songwriter in his own right. He might be best known, however, for being Jimmy Page's first choice of singers for Led Zeppelin. He's also the man who recommended Robert Plant and John Bonham for the group.

  Reid said Jimmy Page approached him about forming band while the singer was still a teen. "I was asked by Jimmy if I was interested and I said, 'Yes, but I'm about to go on tour with the Stones,'" he recalled. "I was 16 and I had signed a tour contract which I was going to stick to. That was when I mentioned Robert and John. I knew them."

  Reid said Page was initially curious about Plant's looks, but he assured him that all that mattered was his voice.

  "I phoned up Jimmy. and he asked me, 'What does this singer look like?' I said, 'What do you mean, what does he look like? He looks like a Greek god, but that doesn't matter. I'm talking about the way he sings, and the drummer is awesome," Reid said.

  Reid went on to have a modest career in music, while Zeppelin became worldwide icons. 

   
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  (#12) He Likes To Iron Clothes Before Going On Stage

  Before he takes the stage, Plant has a ritual just like any other performer - though it doesn't involve much warming up. Leading up to the now-legendary 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion in London, Plant made it known that he required an ironing board in his dressing room before the show because it helped him "get in the mood."

  "They are much older now obviously and are very low maintenance," promoter Henry Goldsmith said at the time of Plant and the band's simple pre-show demands. "They've asked for cups of tea and coffee. We'll have some beer and a bottle of wine for them backstage but they have said they require very little."
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  (#3) He Was Supposed To Be An Accountant

  Plant's parents were adamant about him becoming an accountant, but the singer was having none of it. He attended school for two weeks before dropping out and joining a band. He even took a job at a paving company to help make ends meet while he launched his musical career. However, he ended up getting steady musical work before joining Led Zeppelin. 

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