Rolling Stone Called Him The Greatest Lead Singer Ever — He Was Born 78 Years Ago Today

To have Rolling Stone readers vote you as the best ever is quite the compliment. Yet that's something that Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant can carry with him for the rest of his life. The golden god of rock who could out-wail a banshee was born on August 20, 1948.

If we look back at the history of Plant, it's crystal clear he was destined for greatness. Call it destiny, fate, or whatever you want, but the point is that before he had even turned 20, his reputation preceded him in Birmingham, England, where people from the music industry shared stories about the power of his voice. However, it was when Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 that Plant truly started to write his name into legend.

Despite Led Zeppelin becoming one of the most influential rock bands of all time and leaving behind a catalog of classics, they were only together for just over a decade. Plant continued to perform after the split, choosing to chart his own musical path and refusing to be pigeonholed by the past. It's an adventure that Plant doesn't ever feel is complete. "This is what you do when you've got some time and you've still got some empty pages in your passport; you can keep moving," he told Esquire in September 2025.

In 2011, Rolling Stone opened the floor to its readers, asking them to vote for the greatest vocalists ever. While the publication never revealed the actual number of votes it received, it did mention it was "enormous." Considering the size of its readership and how much people love to give their opinion on such matters, there's no reason to dispute this claim that this was a sizable sample.

To be fair, the Top 10 features many names that most people may have expected to see, especially for a rock magazine. The final four include the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, U2's Bono, Queen's Freddie Mercury, and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant — who sits on his throne at No. 1.

You'd be hard pressed to find people who disagree with this sentiment that he's the greatest of all time, since many of Robert Plant's bandmates think the same of his abilities. In fact, even Mercury — who's in contention to be called the best too — paid the ultimate compliment to Plant in the past. "Led Zeppelin is the greatest," he said (via American Songwriter). "Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time." Happy Birthday, Robert Plant!