In many bands, a member might have more than one duty to handle. For instance, singers often play the guitar, and guitarists deliver backing vocals. In other cases, the vocalist might be responsible for all things as a solo artist: singing and playing guitar and supporting their sound with other instruments like harmonica/tambourine. This is because many artists became interested in music after playing an instrument like the guitar but didn’t settle on playing only one.
In Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page played the guitar, John Paul Jones played bass and keyboard, John Bonham was the drummer, and Robert Plant delivered the vocals while occasionally playing the harmonica. Although Plant was praised primarily for his unique singing talent, the harmonica wasn’t the only instrument he played occasionally. As it seems, Robert Plant also took care of the bass duties in a Zeppelin album.
When he was actively making music with Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant contributed to the creation of the rock god archetype with his charming looks and expressive wide-range vocals. Plant also played the harmonica in some of the band’s songs, but probably not many Led Zeppelin fans know that he also played bass. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2005, the singer revealed that he occasionally handled the bass duties on Zeppelin’s debut album.
After expressing his admiration for the Black Keys, Plant said, “I’d love to play bass with them for a bit. In truth, I was an occasional bass player. It says so on ‘Zeppelin I,’ next to my name: vocals, harmonica, and occasional bass. Very occasionally — once, I think, since 1968. How in God’s name that ended up on the cover is so funny. I’m sure Jonesy didn’t like it [laughs]. But I suppose every time he f*cked up, he could say it was me.”
So, in the liner notes of Led Zeppelin’s debut, Robert Plant is listed as the singer, harmonica player, and occasional bassist. According to the Zeppelin frontman, he didn’t really play the bass after that album. Moreover, he jokingly added that it helped John Paul Jones to blame him whenever he was criticized for his bass playing. As Zeppelin is now disbanded, fans cannot expect Plant to play bass with the band one more time — so this album remains the only effort he played bass in.
