By Greg Prato
More so than any other decade, the 1980's was seemingly overflowing with rock artists who were obviously influenced by Led Zeppelin. And since Zeppelin was out of commission by late 1980 – due to the tragic death of drummer John Bonham – countless others attempted to fill the void throughout the decade. Case in point, Billy Squier, Zebra, Whitesnake, Kingdom Come, and even Bonzo's son Jason, via the band Bonham.
And another '80s band that was often compared to Zeppelin was Great White – undoubtedly due to singer Jack Russell's uncanny ability to sound exactly like vintage Robert Plant, especially live when the band would break out a Zep cover.
And for my just-released book, Led Clones: The Led Zeppelin Imitator Craze of the '80s...and Beyond, the subject is thoroughly explored. And for the book, when I had the opportunity to ask Great White's former manager, Alan Niven, the question, "Which other Great White songs were influenced by Led Zeppelin?", he wound up flipping the question.
"That's a difficult one. Don't forget, you're talking to the main writer in the band. As part of the process, you're looking for a phrase, you're looking for a lick that speaks to you. And then, you form it into a rudimentary arrangement, and then you start to second guess – 'Is this something that I've heard before? Am I just paraphrasing something that I heard a long time ago?' And you spend a certain amount of time reassuring yourself that what you are working on was not something that somebody is going to walk up to you in three months' time and go, 'That's so-and-so's song!' And that was a major part of forming songs."
"So, in the compositional aspect of Great White, I worked really hard to make sure that I wasn't doing something that was a mimic of Zeppelin. I think it's fair to say that in the lyrical content, we were a fair bit away from Zeppelin. But the flip question is, 'Which Great White song would Led Zeppelin cover? And, could they do it…and could they be convincing doing it?' I think 'Maybe Someday' [off 1992's Psycho City] is a song that I can hear Plant really nailing and delivering. But it's an interesting thing, because the entire music is built brick upon brick."
Throughout their career, Great White offered spot-on covers of such Zep classics as "Since I've Been Loving You" during a concert at New York's the Ritz for an MTV concert special, as well as "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" for an MTV Unplugged episode. And let's not forget such releases as "Great Zeppelin: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin," which saw Great White cover 14 Zep classics.
Lastly, Niven also shared a story in the book, which would have taken place sometime during Great White's late '80s peak. "There was a moment at a party in Brazil, where [Def Leppard's] Joe Elliott was talking with [Led Zeppelin's] Robert Plant, and he said, 'Hey, Robert. Have you heard that person in Great White? He sounds a bit like you do, doesn't he?' And Plant looked at him and said, 'He sounds more like me than I do.'"
Led Clones: The Led Zeppelin Imitator Craze of the '80s...and Beyond can be purchased here.
(Photographs by Christopher Lee Helton)
