3 Led Zeppelin vocal parts Robert Plant listed as favorites

To millions of fans and many singers who were influenced by him, Robert Plant is one of the greatest singers in the world, especially revered for his work with Led Zeppelin. Although he has had a very diverse solo career since 1980, where he showed and continues to show how versatile he can be as a singer, his songwriting and voice continue to be discovered by younger generations. In interviews over the years, besides talking about his solo work, he has always had to answer questions about his former band, and he once listed three songs from their discography that feature three of his favorite vocal performances.

3 Led Zeppelin vocal parts Robert Plant listed as favorites

“The Ocean”

“I don’t know (which ones). I suppose ‘The Ocean’ was great. Because it was on one of those daft riffs, one of those silly time thingbobs. Jonesy submitted a vocal for it, which I actually looked at before I came down to do this interview. It’s still on a little spool by the side of my couch in my music room. It’s got Jonesy’s version of ‘Out On The Tiles,’ which is what we used to call it originally. There’s so many different ways of working a vocal across that kind of riff,” he said in an interview with Reverb in 2018.

The ocean is a metaphor for the “sea of heads” that Robert Plant saw in auditoriums and stadiums while performing with Led Zeppelin. The track, released on their fifth studio album, Houses of the Holy (1973), features an unusual time signature, and the classic intro, “We’ve done four already, and now we’re steady,” was spoken by the late drummer John Bonham, referring to the previous four takes they had done to record the track.

Led Zeppelin played the song only 25 times

During their career, Led Zeppelin played this song live only 25 times, all in 1973. On their 90s project Page & Plant, the musicians played the track only twice, both in the United States in 1995. It’s one of the few Zeppelin songs that all four members of the band shared the writing credit. Part of the track was sampled by Plant on his solo song “Tall Cool One” from “Now and Zen” (1988). The Beastie Boys also sampled part of the song in “She’s Crafty” (1986). Plant mentioned their song when talking about sampling “The Ocean”.

“I just picked what I thought was appropriate. In fact, onstage now, we finish “Tall Cool One” with about a minute of “Custard Pie” because it sounds so good. ‘The Ocean’ was an important one to use because it’s been a hit with “She’s Crafty,” by the Beastie Boys,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1988.

“The Rain Song”

“The Rain Song” was—well, it’s fodder for sarcasm now. Because, surely, you can’t look at all this too seriously. But looking at it now as some sweet little thing, which it was in its directness and its sincerity. It was a nice little vocal. But it’s very hard to sing it as the springtime of my loving at 39 in my manager’s kitchen,” he told Reverb.

Also released on the 1973 album “Houses of The Holy”, “The Rain Song” was a response to The Beatles’ George Harrison, who had complained to John Bonham that the band never wrote any ballads. “George was talking to Bonzo one evening. He said, ‘The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads.’ I said, ‘I’ll give him a ballad,’ and I wrote ‘Rain Song,’ which appears on ‘Houses of the Holy’.

In fact, you’ll notice I even quote ‘Something’ in the song’s first two chords,” Jimmy Page said in the book “Light & Shade” by Brad Tolinski. One of the main reasons why Plant likes this particular track is that he reached a point where he had to change the way he sang.

He said:

“I’d say that on ‘Rain Song’ I sounded best. I’d reached a point where I knew that to get good I couldn’t repeat myself. The high falsetto screams had become quite a kind of calling card. Nowadays, I learn new techniques on my trips to Mali and southern Morocco. I know about restraint and power and using my voice to insinuate,” he told Rolling Stone in 2005.

On this track, besides playing bass, John Paul Jones also played piano and Mellotron. Led Zeppelin performed the song 140 times during their live shows in the early ’70s and also during their final shows in 1980. The American band Heart, which has covered some of their songs live and received high praise from the band, has performed the track 131 times, including in 2026. Robert Plant also includes the track in his solo shows and has performed it recently.

“Immigrant Song”

During the same conversation with Reverb, Plant also said: “And maybe “Immigrant Song” I quite like.” The song was written during Led Zeppelin’s tour in Iceland, inspired by Norse mythology. The track was used by Jack Black in the classic movie “School of Rock” (2003) and Plant loved what he did with the song.

“My response is: Why not? (Let him use) Our songs didn’t come from Valhalla. It’s not a preferred destination, either. I like the idea of taking the hammer to another time. Jack Black made a magnificent meal of it. It’s a killer guitar riff. What a shame ‘Immigrant Song’ isn’t easy for kids to play, by the way. Everyone gets it, young and old. It’s a great song.”

“Not only slightly ridiculous but ridiculous. Considering that we wrote it in midair leaving Iceland, a fantastically inspiring gig and an adventure, beyond which there will be no books written. To give it to the kids is important. Send it up, send it down, and just keep sending it. Just dig it because there’s no hierarchy.”

Robert Plant continued:

“There are great risks. There are risks that are immediately attractive. Jimmy Page has got that thing down. I thought “Immigrant Song” was great because it goes back to the Dark Ages effect on my being. I’m sitting here looking out into the darkness in the building that was built in the 15th century,” Robert Plant told Vulture in 2023.

“Immigrant Song” was released as a single and featured on the album Led Zeppelin III. Heart performed the song live 405 times through 2016, much more than Led Zeppelin, which performed it 121 times, only through 1973. Robert Plant performed the track as a solo artist from 1988 to 1991. Then sang it again for the most recent time in 2019, performing it only once.