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Jimmy Page arrives at the airport during Led Zeppelin's second American tour. Taken in Boston by Charles Bonnay on May 26, 1969.

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Robert Plant with Sandy Denny after receiving his Melody Maker Award for Best Male Singer in London. September 16, 1970.  

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Led Zeppelin in 1969 by Ron Raffaelli.

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Jimmy Page and Cindy Wells photographed by Ron Raffaelli in December 1969.

After touring with the band I became very close to them, and on a long flight from London to New York, Jimmy Page told me about a recurring dream he had. In this dream Jimmy falls from the concert stage into the flailing arms of a sea of screaming fans. he is stripped of his clothes and forced to have sex with many beautiful groupies. I had an assistant go down to the butcher and get these entrails, and they smelled like crazy! So I insisted they be kept in a can out on the back porch of my studio for the early morning shooting, and we weren’t going to bring them in until we had to because of the smell. Page came in with this model, some groupie that was hanging on to him at the moment. I don’t remember her name, it was ‘Moonbeam’ or something… And I had the private set ready so there was no one there but him and me and this model. They stripped down and I got them all posed and everything and I said ‘ok, I am going to bring in the…uh..entrails,’ and by now the sun had come up and and it was heating them up so they were warm, I put them on him and got it all posed, but I’m looking through the camera and I’m thinking, ‘it just looks like I poured those entrails on his stomach, it doesn’t look like there’s a gash or anything.’ It just didn’t look convincing. And he’s laying there and she’s laying there and the stuff is beginning to get ripe and I’m thinking, ‘I’ve gotta think quick.’ So I run out to the kitchen and look in the refridgerator and there was my answer. I had a nice jar of strawberry preserves! I quick grabbed a long spoon and mixed ‘em up and they had the right redness and consistency, with little specks and everything. It had the right look to it like it might be the inside of a turned-out open wound. So I took these cold, cold preserves -and I give Jimmy a lot of credit, he must really have wanted the picture- and put them all around the entrails on his stomach. And I know from the expression on his face and the contortions that his body was going through that this was not a comfortable situation! 

My agent met Jimmy in New York last year and explained that we have this material and that we were intending to sell it and he didn’t have any objections to it. It’s bizarre, but I would never consider it a controversial picture by any means, it’s just bizarre and reflects a bizarre state of mind that he was in at the time. I’m sure he looks back at it and goes, ‘Oh my God, what was I thinking?!’

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Stephen Davis interviewing Robert Plant at the Continental Hyatt House in March 1975. 

© Peter Simon

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Robert Plant surfing in Honolulu, Hawaii. May 1969.

© Richard Knight

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Robert Plant looks at Sunset Strip from a balcony at the Continental Hyatt House in March 1975. Photo by Peter Simon.

I was on assignment for The Atlantic Monthly in March 1975 with rock biographer Stephen Davis. We had unprecedented access to the group for four days, and traveled to shows along the West Coast. I had been snapping shots of Plant while he was being interviewed by Stephen in his room at the (Hyatt House) hotel. Once the interview concluded, I casually asked him to step onto to the balcony for a few shots in better light. Back in those days, I never used artificial lighting in any form. Once he stepped onto the balcony, he noticed a huge billboard to his right advertising the release of Zeppelin's new album, "Physical Graffiti." He was probably a bit amazed and humbled by this massive structure, and the general sway of public acclaim that was finally coming their way in the USA. He very spontaneously spread out his arms and exclaimed, 'I am a Golden God!' Fortunately, I did have film in the camera and managed this one shot for the few seconds he held that pose. I never used to ask my subjects to do anything special or artificial for me, and usually still don't. I also didn't have the use of a motor drive back then, so this iconic shot is the only one I have from that classic move. Everything just seemed to 'click.'

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Happy 68th Birthday Robert Plant! 

Music means communication to me. I say 'listen you people out there, listen to my music, let's be one.' Music is a friend to me when I am lonely, when I am blue. You can't define music 'cause music is cosmos and it knows no barrier or definition. You have to feel music to dig it.

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Robert Plant attends to the award ceremony at London's Savoy Hotel for the U.S. sales in excess of one million copies of Whole Lotta Love and European sales of Led Zeppelin II equivalent to two gold records. October 16, 1970. © Chris Walter. 

color by zeppelinmajesty

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im pretty sure your new pic of jimmy with the double neck is actually from 1972, not 71. in 71 he was deep into his beard-phase and had way longer hair (look at the pics of him in japan from 71) just want you to know!

Hi anon, you were right. I knew that picture was taken in Inglewood, but I wasn’t completely sure if it was from 1971 or 1972. Thanks for correcting me!

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Jimmy Page backstage at The Forum in Inglewood, California. June 25, 1972. 

© Jim Marshall.

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Jimmy Page and Robert Plant at Later... with Jools Holland. May 8, 1998.

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Robert Plant on stage at the Tucson Community Center, June 28, 1972. © Chris Walter.

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Robert Plant photographed by Mark Sullivan at the hotel Continental Hyatt House in Hollywood, California. May 1974.

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Robert Plant poses for some portraits with Peter Grant at his hotel room in New York. May 7, 1974. 

© David Gahr.

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Led Zeppelin performing Black Dog in his first night at the Knebworth festival. August 4, 1979.

[babazy6070]