Reid had already signed with high-profile producer Mickie Most, who'd gone ahead and attached Reid's career-long nickname of Superlungs to the gifted singer.The collaboration between Robert Plant and Jimmy Page began in 1968, when the guitarist was looking for a singer for his band, the Yardbirds. At that time, he met Robert Plant who sang "Somebody To Love" by Jefferson Airplane to him.
However, Reid turned down the offer and suggested Robert Plant instead. Incidentally, Reid also turned down Ritchie Blackmore's offer to become the lead singer of Deep Purple. Plant accepted the position and recommended John Bonham as a drummer. The three were then joined by bassist John Paul Jones and thus the New Yardbirds were formed, then transformed into Led Zeppelin.
Rodgers recalled that Plant went to their hotel to have a cup of tea before joining Led Zeppelin. During their conversation, Plant told Rodgers about meeting Jimmy Page and asked if he had ever heard of him. Plant revealed that they offered him a job playing in a band for £ 30 a week, which equates to £ 650 a week in 2021. "He went back to our hotel for a cup of tea and said, 'Oh, I met this guitarist in London named Jimmy Page. Have you heard of him?' I said to him, 'Yeah, a lot of people talk about him.
He's a great session man down in London.' He said, "They offered me a job. They want to put a band together. They offered me £ 30 a week or a percentage. What do you think?" I said, 'Well, you know what I'd do? I'd take the percentage.' " After all these years Robert Plant now has assets valued at around $ 200 million.
That would be Plant. Page did just that and obviously liked what he saw. When joining The New Yardbirds, Plant brought along his buddy John Bonham to play the drums, and the rest is rock 'n' roll history.
In 1968, the then 19-year-old Reid was one of the first names approached by Jimmy Page. His sweet, shimmery voice, whose strength contains an intriguing delicacy, had made him a force to be reckoned with from the age of 16. As a vocalist and guitarist he joined a band called Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, and was praised by Aretha Franklin, no less
Led Zeppelin's private jet, the Starship, was the the first Boeing 720-022 ever manufactured, and no expense was spared on the band's behalf.
The main cabin featured seats, tables, revolving arm chairs, a 30-foot-long couch, a fully-stocked bar with an attached electronic organ, a TV, and a video cassette player. In the back of the plane was a den furnished with a couch and floor pillows as well as a bedroom decked out with a fur bedspread and a shower.
The plane was also reportedly home to some of Led Zeppelin's darker debauchery. Robert Plant said his favorite memory from the Starship was receiving "oral sex during turbulence," and John Bonham — in addition to playing co-pilot — allegedly had the tendency to get drunk and force himself upon the stewardesses. Band manager Peter Grant once brandished a gun on a flight to Pittsburgh, while other passengers sniffed line after line of cocaine. Though the atmosphere on the plane was sometimes dark and sketchy, it seemed to impress journalists lucky enough to tag alo
ng for the ride.
Though Zeppelin was the first band to lease the Starship, it wasn't the last to party like crazy aboard the "flying gin palace." The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, The Allman Brothers, The Bee Gees, Elton John, Peter Frampton, and Alice Cooper also took their chances on the big jet plane — often stirring up the same equally ridiculous tales of drug-and-sex-fueled mayhem.
