Does Robert sing with a American accent

[McSeven]

I was listening to a podcast interviewing Robert Plant. The interviewer was comparing Robert to David Bowie. He said that David retains his Anglophile, while Robert seemed to try to emulate Black singers like Howling Wolf. Robert agreed. I was wondering do you all think that Robert sounds American? When I first heard Zep. I thought they were American. I actually thought the Doors were english. Mind you this is when I just had limited exposure to the music and I was more of a kid in the late 80's.

MC7

[Aquamarine]

He definitely Americanizes his accent on a lot of songs (not all). I remember an article in which he was talking about how difficult it is for English singers not to Americanize, if I ever remember where I saw it I'll post it!

[Electrophile]

I think a lot of English singers try to "Americanize" their vocals, because some accents are a lot thicker or more difficult to understand than others, and if they sang the way they spoke, it would be hard to make out the lyrics. At least, that's why I think they do it.

[slave to zep]

i always thought robert would pronounce his surname as ' plaRnt", as most british people would when referring to a type of flora, but i realised he didn't when i got the 2003 DVD, and heard him introducing the band, and he said " and myself, robert plant" in the way an american ( or aussie ) would.

[SharPei_Ibuprofin]

I don't think it's a conscious thing. These guys use their voices like a guitarist uses a Les Paul, and the sound comes up from the gut so much more than in casual conversation. At times you can hear their accents but other times they are speaking with an inner voice. There are certain singers that sound particularly English, like Ian Hunter/Mott The Hoople, Ray Davies/the Kinks, Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd, and certainly all four of the Beatles hehe plus many many more, but at times their accents take a back seat to the music and we hear something else entirely.

Here are some choice pieces for example...

Edited March 15, 2011 by SharPei_Ibuprofin

[Aquamarine]

i always thought robert would pronounce his surname as ' plaRnt", as most british people would when referring to a type of flora, but i realised he didn't when i got the 2003 DVD, and heard him introducing the band, and he said " and myself, robert plant" in the way an american ( or aussie ) would.

A lot of areas of northern England and the Midlands pronounce it that way too.

It's very often the extended "r" sound that's where the Americanization comes in, and you hear Robert do that a lot. Many British singers do it when singing American blues songs, too--for one thing, I think it's easier to sing, in the sense that it then flows more easily into the next note.

[slave to zep]

A lot of areas of northern England and the Midlands pronounce it that way too.

It's very often the extended "r" sound that's where the Americanization comes in, and you hear Robert do that a lot. Many British singers do it when singing American blues songs, too--for one thing, I think it's easier to sing, in the sense that it then flows more easily into the next note.

thanks aqua, i thought that may have been the case.

[ZosoLuke]

Definitley. Most rock n' roll singers do I think. It sounds a lot better in my opinion, and I don't blame the guy. We wouldn't want him soundling like this My link