Top 40 at 40 #12

#12 Led Zeppelin Misty Mountain Hop 1971

I remember the first time I realized that I wanted to be a singer. I was watching my friend Anthony's band Black Tie perform in a friends driveway on some sunny suburban day. Their lead singer John was not a very good singer but he was bursting with charisma, had great hair, a couple of moves and the chicks dug him.But something was off, besides his pitch.... I remember thinking that I could sing much better than him because I had been practicing in my room for years...singing along to Led Zeppelin IV, and dreaming of being Robert Plant.....tight jeans, flowing locks, white dove released from his hand onstage, participating in the mud shark incident......"Doe's anybody remember LAUGHTER????" Robert Plant and John Schofield are the two reasons I ever stepped behind a mic in the first place. And all these years later Robert and I are still singing, while John is a surgeon somewhere out there in the great unknown.

It was this song on Zeppelin IV that ripped me a new one back then ....a monster riff shared by Pagey and Jonesy, the titan John Bonham bludgeoning the drums into submission and the Golden God Himself hooting and hollering about getting busted for smoking weed in a park somewhere and seeking solace and Freedom in Tolkien's Misty Mountains.
"I-di-dn't-no-tice but it had got very dark and I was really.....REALLY OUT OF MY MIIINNNNDDDDDD!! " Holy Kneel at the rock altar, Batman!

I had a dream......crazy dream that I would someday meet Robert Plant and tell him how much the Mighty Zep meant to me, but then I realized he'd probably think I was a psycho fan boy and as the words spilled out of my mouth...".R, Robert, I j-j just want to th th thank you f-f-f-f-for ev-ev- ev-rything, man you you you really helped me, gave me I couldn't uh, have done.....its nice to m-m-m-meet you." , He'd just nod and say thank you in a high pitched british way and ignore me like he should.
Anthony did the right thing when He had a chance to meet Geddy Lee(Ant's a huge Rush Fan) at his workplace. He had a co-worker who had no idea whom Mr. Lee was follow him around and ask him for his autograph. This avoided a potentially tear soaked gushing hapless disaster. Fanboys are freaks. Starstruck rock nerds are worse.

I sung this song at my wedding reception and it was great to channel Robert Plant while looking out into the crowd and seeing Pamela. It was my first real chance to show her I was a singer. I felt like one at that moment.

This past year something weird happened. I make it fairly well known that Robert is my favorite singer. And the bluegrass legend Alison Krauss has long been Pamela's favorite singer. They just happened to put out one of the best albums of this past year called Raising Sand......phenomenal. Check it out if you know what's good for you. Raising Sand, Misty Mountain Hop and keeping your rock fantasies to yourself.