Did You Know Steven Tyler Nearly Joined Led Zeppelin?

There is certainly a resemblance between Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. In addition to their raspy vocals and ear-piercing crescendos, the two manage the stage in the same way and dress similarly. That being so, Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin believed Steven Tyler to be the perfect replacement for Robert Plant.

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By the early ‘2000s, Led Zeppelin had broken up and gotten back together on several occasions. Consequently, the band members started to seriously consider a reunion. The only catch was that Robert Plant refused to participate for a multitude of undisclosed reasons. Thus, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones went searching for a replacement.

The Fleeting Professional Relationship Between Steven Tyler & Led Zeppelin

Given that Plant wanted nothing to do with the mismatched version of Led Zeppelin, Page and Jones put their heads together to find a replacement. As a result, they invited Steven Tyler to come by the studio, sing a few songs, and audition as the new lead singer of the acclaimed, Led Zeppelin.

Neither Page nor Jones have ever spoken about the audition or if Steven Tyler was the right fit. However, in an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Tyler spoke freely about his brief time with the band and the prospect it entailed. In the interview, Tyler stated, “I went and played with them while I was in outs with Aerosmith” and “It was f—.” Tyler didn’t finish his sentence, though, by his facial expression you can tell he’s articulating a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Despite the overcoming joy Tyler received from playing with Zeppelin, he couldn’t take their offer. And he didn’t take their offer due to the allegiance he had with Aerosmith. “As angry as I was at Aerosmith, I still said ‘I’m in a band that’s as relevant as Led Zeppelin,’” said Tyler.

Even though Steven Tyler didn’t bite, he still had only nice things to say about Robert Plant and the band. He told Stern, “[Plant] is such a great artist” and “He’s taken his voice and gone in so many different directions. I love that.”

Props to Tyler for staying loyal in light of his personal conflicts with Aerosmith. However, the potential collaboration makes one dream about the one-of-a-kind sound they would have produced. Though, there is sadly no way to surely know what it would have been. So in the words of Steven Tyler and Aerosmith, all the super fans can do is “Dream On.”

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