Robert Plant

Plant married Maureen Wilson on 9 November 1968. The couple had three children together: daughter Carmen Jane, and sons Karac Pendragon and Logan Romero. In August 1975, Plant and Maureen were severely injured in a car collision while vacationing on the Greek island of Rhodes, which forced the cancellation of planned tour dates. In July 1977, their five-year-old son Karac passed away from a viral stomach infection while Led Zeppelin was touring North America. Plant later co-wrote the track "All My Love" as a tribute to Karac. Plant and Maureen divorced in August 1983.

In 1991, Plant had a son, Jesse Lee, with Shirley Wilson, the sister of his former wife. From 1993 to 1995, he was in a relationship with British-Indian vocalist Najma Akhtar, who contributed guest vocals during his touring projects. Plant later entered a relationship with American singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, dividing his time between Austin, Texas, and England before they separated around 2014.

Outside music, Plant has maintained an active interest in Welsh history and heritage, funding civic projects commemorating Welsh historical figures such as Owain Glyndwr. A lifelong supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since childhood, he was appointed as the club's third vice-president in August 2009. He makes his home in Shatterford, Worcestershire.

Robert Anthony Plant was born on 20 August 1948 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, to civil engineer Robert C. Plant and Annie Celia Plant. Raised in the Hayley Green area of Halesowen, Worcestershire, he showed a passion for rock and roll as a young boy, often mimicking Elvis Presley. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys in Stourbridge, where he developed an affinity for Delta blues artists, including Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Bukka White, and Sleepy John Estes.

To the disappointment of his parents, Plant abandoned training as a chartered accountant after only two weeks. Leaving home at age 16, he immersed himself in the West Midlands blues and psychedelic club circuit. He supported himself through various odd jobs, including working at Woolworths and laying tarmac on roads for construction firm George Wimpey. During this era, he cut three singles for CBS Records and fronted bands such as the Crawling King Snakes and the Band of Joy, both of which featured drummer John Bonham.

In 1968, guitarist Jimmy Page sought a vocalist to form a new incarnation of the Yardbirds. Following a recommendation from singer Terry Reid, Page visited Walsall to watch Plant perform with his group Obs-Tweedle and invited him to collaborate. Plant subsequently brought drummer John Bonham into the fold alongside bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones. After briefly performing as the New Yardbirds, the quartet renamed themselves Led Zeppelin.

Plant served as the frontman and primary lyricist for Led Zeppelin, whose multi-platinum studio releases, including Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), and Physical Graffiti (1975), redefined hard rock. His writing drew from Norse legend, Welsh history, and the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, while his high register, vocal power, and flamboyant stage persona helped establish the archetypal rock frontman. The band disbanded in late 1980 following the sudden death of John Bonham.

Following the dissolution of Led Zeppelin, Plant launched his solo career with encouragement from drummer Phil Collins, who played on his debut album, Pictures at Eleven (1982), and its 1983 follow-up, The Principle of Moments. These albums yielded mainstream rock hits such as "Big Log" and "In the Mood." In 1984, Plant formed the roots-rock side project the Honeydrippers, earning a major hit with a cover of Phil Phillips' "Sea of Love," which featured guitar work by Jimmy Page.

Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Plant explored diverse production styles, releasing the triple-platinum solo record Now and Zen (1988), Manic Nirvana (1990), and the folk-influenced Fate of Nations (1993). In the 2000s, he recorded Dreamland (2002) and Mighty ReArranger (2005) with his backing band Strange Sensation, blending blues, acoustic arrangements, and North African musical influences.

Plant and Jimmy Page periodically reunited for one-off performances, including Live Aid in 1985 and the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988. In 1994, the duo formally reunited as Page and Plant, recording the MTV acoustic special No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded with Middle Eastern orchestrations. They subsequently toured arenas internationally and released an album of original material, Walking into Clarksdale, in 1998.

In 2007, Plant partnered with American bluegrass musician Alison Krauss and producer T Bone Burnett on the collaborative album Raising Sand. The album achieved multi-platinum sales and won five Grammy Awards in 2009, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Please Read the Letter." Plant and Krauss reunited over a decade later to release Raise the Roof in 2021, supporting it with extensive international touring.

In December 2007, Plant joined Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and drummer Jason Bonham for a full Led Zeppelin reunion show at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London. Despite significant commercial offers to launch a full-scale reunion tour, Plant declined in order to pursue newer musical directions. He revived the name Band of Joy in 2010 for an Americana album and tour featuring Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller.

In 2012, Plant assembled the Sensational Space Shifters, recording the studio albums Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar (2014) and Carry Fire (2017). By 2019, he formed the acoustic-focused group Saving Grace alongside vocalist Suzi Dian, touring regularly and recording new collaborative material.