Led Zeppelin Singer Robert Plant Once Explained How ‘Fortunate’ He Was to Stop Using Drugs
When Led Zeppelin took over the world, they did it in style. The classic rock legends released a string of No. 1 albums, played sold-out shows that broke records set by The Beatles, and chartered an airplane that cost $2,500 an hour. Led Zeppelin lived the rock star lifestyle, which included heavy drug use. Singer Robert Plant said he was fortunate to stop using drugs after having a frank conversation with himself.
Robert Plant joined Led Zeppelin as they indulged in the rock star lifestyle
Led Zeppelin wasn’t alone in imbibing substances, both legal and illegal, during their career. The Rolling Stones made headlines with a famous drug bust, and The Beatles never shied away from talking about their extracurriculars.
Still, Led Zeppelin didn’t do themselves any favors with their intake.
Jimmy Page said his drug use never got out of hand, but his contributions (or lack of them) to the 1979 album In Through the Out Door tell a different story. John Bonham died in his sleep after a day of heavy drinking, which effectively ended the band when the surviving members decided they couldn’t replace their drummer.
Plant said the band broke into two distinct camps by the end of Led Zeppelin’s run — sober and not sober. The singer said he and John Paul Jones were the relatively clean pair, though Plant once admitted he was fortunate to stop using drugs.
Plant stopped using drugs after having a frank discussion with himself
Robert Plant wasn’t alone in using drugs during Led Zeppelin’s peak in the early- to mid-1970s. However, he had a wake-up call and very frank talk with himself that led him to stop using drugs. During a 1988 New York radio appearance (via YouTube), Plant said he stopped using drugs 11 years earlier.
“I had a big affair with drugs. I stopped taking drugs 11 years ago and one day [in 1977]. I found my personality had really changed. I had become quite paranoid about things and very possessive. I was taking cocaine, and I found the high wasn’t that high; I was so possessive and holding [onto] all this crap.
“I finally just stopped. I said, ‘Stop! Don’t do this. Don’t do it to yourself. See what you’ve become.’ I just stopped. It was a psychological addiction [for me], not a physical addiction, I think, [but] it poisons your system. But I stopped and walked away from it. I was very fortunate to do that.”
Robert Plant describes how he stopped using drugs
During the same interview, Plant said he also stopped smoking cigarettes, which seemed to be a big part of his lifestyle based on pictures from his Led Zeppelin days. He was fortunate to be able to stop using drugs on his own without assistance. Many people don’t have that luxury. Still, a tragic life event might have shocked Plant and set him on the path to stop using drugs.
Plant’s son died suddenly in 1977
He considered quitting music after his son’s tragic and sudden death in 1977, but Robert Plant might have used the shock of that situation to stop using drugs instead.
As one user commented on the video edition of his radio appearance, “A little research shows Robert was in NYC on May 18, 1988, for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary/LZ reunion. [He] was also there on July 29, 1988, with the Now and Zen tour. Robert’s son, Karac, died July 26, 1977. So, as some have mentioned, that sounds like a likely time he may have quit his drug use.”
Plant said he stopped using drugs 11 years and one day before his radio interview. If he appeared in late July 1988, the timeline leads back to the singer walking away from drugs at the time of his son’s tragic death.
Whatever triggered Plant to stop using drugs, he was fortunate not to become a rock ‘n’ roll casualty. He avoided that fate, and it allowed him to play with Page again years after Led Zeppelin broke up.
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
