Robert Plant has a new trophy in his collection.
In conjunction with Record Store Day on April 18th, he has been named Record Store Legend, which recognizes his "lasting impact on music around the world, as well as his ongoing dedication to supporting both new artists and record shops. Robert Plant has been a familiar face in record shops worldwide, and they have remained central to his musical life, cementing his status as a true Record Store Legend."
"I'm absolutely charmed to be Record Store Day director of organizations and prosecutions or whatever it is. I support this thing properly, because it's always been a part of my life."
And Plant will have a special release on Record Store Day, April 18th, a four-song EP with his band Saving Grace titled All That Glitters. However, there's been a slight change.
The song “She Cried,” which has been recorded by Del Shannon, Billy Fury, Jay and the Americans, actor David Hasselhoff and others, has been replaced on the UK version with a cover of the traditional song, “Two Coats,” while the U.S. track list still contains "She Cried."
The other songs are the traditional "Blackest Crow," "Poison," written by Bert Jansch, and "Orphan Girl," written by Gillian Welch.
All That Glitters is limited to 3,500 copies, and all the songs are new studio recordings originally intended for the next Saving Grace album.
Plant, in an interview in Record Collector magazine, commented on the new songs, saying, “I thought, wait a minute, I really want to expand and show where I’ve ended up now at last. I just want people to know that everything’s not about just puffing your chest out. It’s gotta be where you say ‘Hey, listen to this. We’ve done this. It could’ve been the next project,’ and all that stuff. Instead of that, let’s just do this as a contribution to a day when we want to try and encourage people to switch on again. They are switching on more and more, so that’s good to know.”
Watch Plant on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.