Report: Led Zeppelin closes in on new singer. Are we excited?

Bringing credence to a rumor started a few weeks ago by Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Billboard.com is reporting this afternoon that the band is ready to make Myles Kennedy the new Robert Plant. Billboard's anonymous sources don't make it sound like it's a done deal, saying only that Kennedy is "first in line" (a negotiating tactic, perhaps?), but it seems to bring a Plant-less Zep one step closer to reality.

While not a household name, Kennedy isn't an unknown, either. He's been gainfully employed as the lead singer of Alter Bridge, which is Creed-minus-Scott Stapp. Excited yet? The move would bolt Kennedy up the tribute band ladder, and all the Zep die-hards across the pond can get a look at Kennedy next week, as Alter Bridge has a string of dates in the U.K. beginning Tuesday in Sheffield, England.

Here's a glimpse at one of Alter Bridge's biggest hits, "Open Your Eyes."

While Pop & Hiss won't pre-judge Zep 2.0 until there's some new music, the move doesn't exactly entice excitement. It would seem to imply the band is looking for someone to simply step in and sing, rather than help remake and shape a new band.

A few weeks back, Snider told Canada's MuchMoreMusic that a Plant-less Zeppelin was rehearsing with Kennedy. Snider was quoted as saying, "he can sing the ... out of Zeppelin." And they're gonna, like, hope that Robert, at the last minute, will go, "OK," and step in, before having the lead singer of Alter Bridge out with John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Jason Bonham.

It remains to be seen if the new band would actually be called Led Zeppelin. Earlier this week, in a post Pop & Hiss titled "Zeppelin Without Plant? Five Ways to Avert Disaster," it was urged that the band be given a new name, and go in a new direction. Most commenters seemed to be in agreement. Reader Sandy wrote that a Plant-less Zep "could break so so so many hearts," and Paul Morgan called a Plant-less Zep "a joke."

Others, however, said I was idealistic and missed the point. Reader "zorro" commented that "as long as it sounds and feels like Zeppelin, it is Zeppelin," arguing that the corporate brand is greater than any individual artist.

One side-effect: If this Kennedy report turns out to be true, Billboard notes that it also brings Creed closer to reuniting with Stapp, which Idolator has called the "scariest piece of music news" one will hear this Halloween.

Pop & Hiss invites you to share your thoughts below, or simply vote:

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, courtesy Reuters

Comments

[Jordan]

Terry Reid might be a good choice - considering that he was considered for the gig before Plant even was

[Monroe Wheel]

Is this a joke?
That guy? No offense, he's probably nice - but NOT for Led Zeppelin.

[No no no]

NO. ZEPPELIN WITHOUT PLANT IS NOT ZEPPELIN. PLANT SHOULD REALIZE THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE LAST CHANCE HE HAS TO GO OUT WITH HIS BAND BEFORE SOMEONE BITES THE DUST.

[Seed of Memory]

Another vote for Terry Reid!
Can you imagine a Led Zeppelin as it might have been - two guitarists and the singer Jimmy Page originally tapped for the spot? And the only reason Terry turned him down was Terry was on tour opening for Cream and landed the gig to open for the Stones on their American tour that year.
Nothing against Robert, obviously! And he and Terry are still friends, as are Jimmy and Terry.

[Tony]

I have been a Led Zep fan since 1970, but it is time Jimmy Page dumps Plant, who has been stonewalling a Zep reunion for decades. Plant has become an insufferable diva and anyway his best singing days are behind him. Give Myles Kennedy a chance and if he doesn't work out, they can replace him with someone else. Obviously if Plant stopped thinking of himself and thought of the fans, it would be the ideal situation. But enough is enough - either he joins the Zep reunion or they replace him before Page dies of old age.

[Brian Thompson]

Can we PLEASE drop the Creed association already? Kennedy has and had nothing to do with that band, and the rest of the musicians have left the past in the past. It's time for the media to follow suit.

That said... Myles is one of the single most amazing voices in the rock world today. Alter Bridge has covered some Zeppelin in their live shows, and I like their version of Kashmir better than the original. It's going to be an incredible honor for him, and I just hope the hardcore Zeppelin fans don't crap all over him before taking the time to listen to just how good he is.

[Lora Neumann]

I am in total agreement with Brian Thompson above. Myles Kennedy is an unbelievable singer who has not gotten the recognition he deserves. The US needs to get it's head out of it's ass and take a good listen to him. Buy the "Blackbird" CD and discover one of the best newer rock bands with one of the the best singers of this decade. I say hook 'em up with MYLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[John]

Seems to me that if they want the guy with the pipes, style, creativity and credibility to take the band in a new direction, Chris Cornell would be the best choice out there. He's diverse, unmistakably original and has the range to pull off Zeppelin's demanding style of heavy rock without being a slavish Plant imitator. In addition, he's a fine songwriter in his own right, Thoughts?