When Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Bonham met Elvis Presley

May 11, 1974 Elvis Presley’s concert at the Forum Los Angeles

Elvis: “Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold it… If we can we start together, fellas, because, we’ve got Led Zeppelin out there, and Jimmy Darren, and uh, a whole bunch of people, and, let’s try to look like we know what we’re doing, whether we do or not… now, what were we doing?”

Photo of Jimmy Page wearing an “Elvis on Tour” show member ribbon, from 1975

When Led Zeppelin Met Elvis Presley

Robert Plant: “At that meeting, Jimmy Page joked with Elvis that we never sound-checked — but if we did, all I wanted to do was sing Elvis songs. Elvis thought that was funny and asked me, ‘Which songs do you sing?’ I told him I liked the ones with all the moods, like that great country song ‘Love Me’.

Robert Plant talks about meeting Elvis Presley

“When I met Elvis with Zeppelin, after one of his concerts in the early Seventies, I sized him up. He wasn’t quite as tall as me. But he had a singer’s build. He had a good chest — that resonator. And he was driven.”

Robert Plant: “So when we were leaving, after a most illuminating and funny 90 minutes with the guy, I was walking down the corridor. He swung ’round the door frame, looking quite pleased with himself, and started singing that song: “Treat me like a fool…” I turned around and did Elvis right back at him. We stood there, singing to each other.” (L.A. Times, Cameron Crowe, January 4, 1981)

Robert Plant Talks About Elvis Presley