Robert Plant was a spry 23-year-old when Led Zeppelin released Led Zeppelin IV. Now, at age 73, the rock legend aligns himself more with the old man on the album’s cover.
Looking back at the making of Led Zeppelin III on his Digging Deep with Robert Plant podcast, the singer recalled moving to the Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Snowdonia, Wales to write in isolation. The band would return there when it came time to write new material for their fourth studio album.
“It was fine; it was really good. It was a beautiful place and all those things were part of the bargain,” Plant said, referring to the cottage’s lack of electricity and running water. “You’re there for a reason and you’re just in it, so all that actually adds to it — the idea of going outside and bringing in kindling.”
“In fact, the old guy with the sticks on his back on Zeppelin IV — I’m now that guy!” Plant joked. “I pick up kindling everywhere I go and wrap it around with a piece of baling twine and shunt it on my back just in case anyone’s driving by and they go, ‘There’s that bloke from the Led Zeppelin IV album cover!'”
Listen to the full podcast episode below. Plant’s quote begins around the 9:33 mark.
Given that Plant previously said legacy bands look “sadly decrepit” if they stay together and perform into old age, perhaps it’s good he seems to have a sense of humor about his own golden years. Of course, Plant is no longer performing with Led Zeppelin; instead, he’s hitting the road with Allison Krauss, promoting the duo’s second collaborative album, Raise the Roof. Tickets to those dates are on sale now via Ticketmaster.
