Robert Plant Performed ‘Stairway To Heaven’: First Time In 16 years

Recently, Robert Plant performed a song he hadn’t sung publically since 2007, at Led Zeppelin’s one-off reunion concert. “Stairway to Heaven” is arguably the most iconic song of classic rock. But it’s not a song that Plant has revisited often since Zep’s demise in 1980. Our voices change over the years… that’s a part of life. How has Robert Plant’s voice changed? Reddit has a great piece on the vocal evolution of Robert Plant. As a tenor with a 3.5 octave range, Robert has a harder time holding notes these days. That doesn’t mean he isn’t still a tremendous performer. Scroll down to check out Robert Plant performing “Stairway To Heaven” or read on for notes on the performance.

Watching the performance is amazing. You see Robert cringe when he feels he hasn’t hit the notes the way he would have liked. You see his backing band ready to jump off the stage with joy over being a part of this moment. One band member says to the crowd after the performance, “I’ll bet that was better for me than it was for you.” I had the same thought watching! The guitarist that handled the solo: playing while knowing he was doing Jimmy Page’s solo with Robert Plant on stage! Can you imagine?

I enjoyed watching this performance as a celebration of the passage of time and a man who has more than enough money to retire but continues to perform and do projects that mean something to him. Much love and tremendous respect for Robert Plant.

You can watch the video here. You need to scroll to roughly the 55-minute mark to see the entire performance of “Stairway To Heaven.” After “Stairway,” Plant moves into covers of Donovan‘s “Season of the Witch” and Buffalo Springield’s “For What It’s Worth.”

Led Zepplin’s history is literally the stuff legends are made of. How much did the band do and how much was it people associated with them? If you want a very interesting read on the background of Led Zeppelin: lumps and all, I really enjoyed Lisa Robinson’s piece on Led Zeppelin’s history. You’ll find the article on VanityFair.com. As for post-Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant has had quite the career on his own. Scroll down to check out Robert’s best solo songs.

Robert Plant: His 41 Best Post-Led Zeppelin Songs, Ranked

Robert Plant’s post-Led Zeppelin career has been a wild series of adventures down different artistic and stylistic paths. The man does not rely on his history and he certainly doesn’t want to reproduce it.

Indeed, Plant has spent the past four decades exploring new sounds… and sometimes, some very old ones, often combining the past and present in surprising ways. It doesn’t always work, but you never feel like his albums are done on “cruise control.” There’s intent and vision behind every Robert Plant release. And give the man credit: he doesn’t just follow the money (hey, imagine how much he could have gotten for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour).

As he’s releasing his long-awaited second album with bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, we decided to look back at his entire post-Zeppelin career, including his collaborations with Ms. Krauss, Jimmy Page, as well as a few others. You may not be familiar with every song on this list, so consider yourself lucky: now you can go on YouTube and find some gems that you hadn’t heard before from one of the greatest singers rock and roll has ever known.