Paul Stanley from the band KISS recently talked about how much he respects Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. He said Plant is one of the best rock singers ever, especially in the early days of Led Zeppelin. In an interview with Billy Corgan, Stanley shared how amazed he was when he saw Plant perform in 1969.
“You only had to see Robert Plant in 1969 to bear witness to something,” Stanley said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “You’re gobsmacked, but you’re also just trying to figure out how in the world is he doing that. And exuding this sexuality. But his voice was insane. Over the years, obviously, like everybody, the voice either deteriorates or changes. But at that, that pinnacle, it was…”
Stanley said watching Plant sing and perform was shocking in a good way. He couldn’t believe how powerful and emotional Plant’s voice was. He also said Plant had a strong stage presence and made singing look easy. At that time, Stanley didn’t have a wide vocal range and didn’t understand how Plant could hit such high and strong notes so naturally.
Billy Corgan agreed and said that in the first four or five years of Led Zeppelin, Plant’s voice stood out both live and in the studio. Even in early recordings, he sounded great without needing to fix anything in editing.
Stanley said Plant’s voice was so good it was hard to understand how he did it so effortlessly. It made a big impression on him, especially since Stanley was still learning how to use his own voice.
He also mentioned other singers who inspired him, like Steve Marriott from Humble Pie and Noddy Holder from Slade. He liked their loud, powerful voices and the way they performed like preachers talking to the crowd.
Even though KISS had big stage shows, Stanley saw himself more like Marriott because he played guitar and spoke to the audience. He said he always wanted to connect with everyone in the crowd, even the people sitting far in the back.
“Those kind of first four years, five versus, his voice is almost without peer. And live. I mean, not just ‘live,’ live in the studio. You hear some of the outtakes and it’s the same. It’s not like he fixed it in the mix.
What he was doing effortlessly was mind-boggling to me. Because at that point, my voice didn’t have a lot of range. And I couldn’t figure out how he was opening that door in the back to get to that voice.”
And while Plant was probably rock’s top vocalist during the early ’70s, Stanley added a few other names from this period that tickled his fancy, and, proved to be incredibly influential for him.
“Robert Plant was very, very important. As was [Humble Pie’s] Steve Marriott as a performer and as a conduit, as a preacher. [Slade’s] Noddy Holder.”
“Just those, those ‘foghorn voices.’ And the way I wasn’t going to be out there…although we did it with Kiss, so I got a chance to do, you know, with just a microphone and swinging the mic. But I was going to be I guess more Steve Marriott: I played a guitar, so I’m going to be the guy talking. But yeah, I wanted to preach. I wanted to talk to the people in the very back row.
