Watch Robert Plant Sing “Stairway To Heaven” For The First Time In 16 Years
Former Led Zeppelin lead yowler Robert Plant has a famously conflicted relationship with the music that he made with his old band. Plant has left untold sums of money on the table, refusing to participate in virtually all invitations for Zeppelin reunions. And he’s said that he can no longer relate to the mythic lyrics that he wrote for Zep’s most famous song, the 1971 epic “Stairway To Heaven.” Over the weekend, however, Plant sang “Stairway To Heaven” live for the first time since the last Zeppelin show.
In 2007, Led Zeppelin played a one-off reunion show at London’s O2 Arena. Before this weekend, that was Robert Plant’s last time singing “Stairway To Heaven.” This past weekend, however, Plant took part in Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor’s benefit show at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire. Blabbermouth reports that the show, which raised money for the Cancer Platform, also featured appearances from people like Pink Floyd’s Guy Pratt and Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley. Plant, who was not on the bill, put in an appearance and sang the Zeppelin classics “Thank You” and “Black Dog,” as well as a medley that merged Donovan’s “Season Of The Witch” with the Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”
These days, Robert Plant is 75 years old, and he looks more like the old man with the sticks on the Led Zeppelin IV cover than like his 1971 self. But he’s still handsome, with tons of stage presence, and he still hit some of the “Stairway To Heaven” high notes without straining himself too hard. Maybe he can’t relate to those lyrics anymore, but he can still perform them. Watch it below.