Another incredible singer departs us. He was asked by Jimmy Page to join Led Zeppelin but had to turn it down due to contract issues. He recommended a guy name Robert Plant.
RIP Terry Reid (could have been Robert Plant)
- Thread starter Grant Green
- Start date
Not so much about death, but honoring fallen greats.
There’s no fascination with death. What you see is just a celebration of how an artist has impacted our lives. Greatness makes a difference.
A question I've pondered on occasion. Could Led Zeppelin have been as good with Terry Reid instead of Plant?
The knee jerk reaction is going to be no way, but I'm not so sure. Much of the music would have been the same or similar (Jimmy Page is still the biggest part of the band to me) and I do think Terry Reid's vocal power would have measured up to Plant's. A lot of people may have like it better as some find Plant to be a bit screechy. Would the melodies and lyrics have been as good? Dunno.
Also, without Plant, there may not have been Bonham. That is a big wild card.
The knee jerk reaction is going to be no way, but I'm not so sure. Much of the music would have been the same or similar (Jimmy Page is still the biggest part of the band to me) and I do think Terry Reid's vocal power would have measured up to Plant's. A lot of people may have like it better as some find Plant to be a bit screechy. Would the melodies and lyrics have been as good? Dunno.
Also, without Plant, there may not have been Bonham. That is a big wild card.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but you can’t argue with this. When a painter dies, even a so so one, the price of their paintings goes up astronomically.
But greatness sells more than death sells, is my final word!
That is what I was thinking. Happens in movies all the time.
Not due to contract but remember Eric stolz was original Marty mc fly.
These actors turned it down or contract got in the way. At least 40 roles of great movies. Some listed here
Jack Nicholson the godfather
John travolta Forrest Gump
Robin Williams one flew over the cuckoos next.
will smith as neo. Made wild Wild West instead. Etc.
Led Zepplin caught lighting in a bottle exactly as they were.
"Caught Lightning In a bottle" to me means that they got very lucky. I can't agree with that. They were set up to be a super group by one of the best rock guitarist in the world. Page knew exactly what he was doing when he formed the group. Luck didn't play into it that much.
At the time, Terry Reid was a more accomplished singer than Plant. There is good reason to think that Zep could have been just as good with Reid.
I know people love to debate it, but I consider Led Zeppelin the greatest rock and roll band of all time, and IMO not even close. You could make the argument that every member at least deserves mention with the greatest ever at their craft. Don't know much about Reid, not even judging his skill, but I do think Plant's monstrous stage presence and persona have to be considered when looking at the band as a whole.
As for the idiom "caught lightning in a bottle", it can mean luck, but more commonly it's used to describe a sequence of circumstances that lined up to create something extraordinary, not likely ever to happen again. Or at least that's how I intended it to be taken.
Then you don't trust Jimmy Page's eye for talent. There is a reason that Terry was the first singer he asked to join.