Led Zeppelin singer was not happy to see his fellow guitarist forming a band alongside one of his “imitators”
David Coverdale starred in some surprising moments in the first half of the 1990s. At the beginning of the decade, the vocalist put an end to Whitesnakewhich was experiencing one of its best commercial moments. He officially resumed his career in 1993, with a project alongside none other than Jimmy Page — in an initiative that left the guitarist’s former colleague in Led Zeppelinthe singer Robert Plantbitten by jealousy.
The project was named Coverdale/Page and resulted in an album of the same name, released in March of the aforementioned year. The recordings, however, took place much earlier: between 1991 and 1992, in a long process that encompassed four studios in three different countries: the United States, Canada and England.
Despite its success — it went platinum in the United States and Britain and reached the top 10 of the charts in six countries — the partnership had its critics. One of them was Plant, who did not hold back on provocations both during and after the end of the project.
According to the book No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Pageby Martin Power, Robert made two types of comments at the time of its release. The singer praised Page’s work as a guitarist, but said he didn’t understand Coverdale’s choice. The reason? In his opinion, the leader of the then-deceased Whitesnake copied him too much. He came to define it as “David Cover Version”in yet another provocation.
It really sounded like jealousy — and the continuity of the story seems to show that. Until 1993, Plant refused to work with Page to avoid fueling a possible Led Zeppelin reunion. But soon after the end of Coverdale/Page, he agreed to work with the guitarist on the project that would become known as Page/Plant.
In a 1998 interview with Chicago Tribune (via Far Out), Robert revealed why he had a negative reaction to his former partner’s collaboration with David. The argument revolved around the same point: it looked like second-rate Led Zeppelin.
“I think he’s a good man [em referência a David]but I feel like your integrity is now questionable. If Whitesnake were a really young band who had just seen [o filme-concerto] The Song Remains the Same and decided ‘ok, that’s it, let’s imitate them” I could understand. There was a time, many years ago, when I tried to imitate Elvis Presley. It’s acceptable. But David Coverdale is almost my age. He’s in my genre of music, even though he was in a lot of substandard groups. Seriously, you shouldn’t do this to your own gang. When I imitated someone, they were artists so remote, it was as if they were a million miles away.”
David Coverdale’s reactions to Robert Plant’s criticism
David Coverdale is not made of iron and, of course, countered some of Robert Plant’s provocations. In an interview, for example, he said he had no “lost love” for the Led Zeppelin singer and even joked: “I wouldn’t send him food if he was starving.”
Nothing like time to ease things. In a 2013 interview with Uncutthe Whitesnake frontman revealed that he would like to “buy Robert a drink”said to have it “in the highest esteem as a human being and artist” and asked Jimmy Page: “When you talk to him, offer my sincerest apologies for any negative things I’ve ever said, which were mostly defensive.”.
John Kalodnerrecord label A&R executive Geffen Records — and responsible for suggesting the partnership with Coverdale to Page —, even wrote a letter to Plant with an apology. The revelation was made in an interview with Martin Popoff reproduced in the book Whitesnake: The Fantastic Journey of David Coverdale (via Igor Miranda website).
“I had to write a letter of apology to Robert. Page told me that Robert was very upset with me, and I wanted to tell him that it would never be my place to disrespect him. He was offended that I had David Coverdale sing with Jimmy Page. If that offended you, it was not my intention.”
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Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
