The Honeydrippers

The Honeydrippers were a post-<a href="spotify:artist:36QJpDe2go2KgaRleHCDTp">Led Zeppelin</a> side project for singer <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Robert Plant</a>, allowing him to indulge in his sincere love for vintage R&B. Though best known for the all-star aggregate that waxed the group's only recording in 1984, <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a> actually formed the Honeydrippers in 1981 as a way to return to his pre-<a href="spotify:artist:36QJpDe2go2KgaRleHCDTp">Zeppelin</a> roots in American blues and R&B; the group took its name from blues pianist <a href="spotify:artist:0K0qr72ojMFr5dMkUKgbW5">Roosevelt Sykes</a>' nickname. The original lineup featured guitarists Robbie Blunt and Andy Sylvester, saxophonist Keith Evans, saxophonist/harmonica player Ricky Cool, bassist Jim Wickman, and drummer Kevin O'Neil. However, when <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a> began collaborating with Blunt on original material, he deemed it more suited to his goals as a solo artist, and he accordingly formed a hard rock backing unit, putting the Honeydrippers on the back burner again.

After his second solo album, <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a> revived the Honeydrippers, this time with an impressive roster of studio guests including guitarists <a href="spotify:artist:55bGuHb50r5c0PeqqMeNBV">Jimmy Page</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0AD4odMWVQ2wUSlgxOB5Rl">Jeff Beck</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3yDIp0kaq9EFKe07X1X2rz">Nile Rodgers</a>, keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:2CAITNejdagAXH9Scdt97z">Paul Shaffer</a>, bassist Wayne Pedziwiatr, and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:6h0KtnUiBpkxxjvZZPvNSw">Dave Weckl</a>. Together they recorded the five-song EP The Honeydrippers, Vol. 1, which was released in 1984 and featured <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a>'s takes on '50s and '60s R&B numbers. The first single, a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:4RoSFlSfHkTux15j7kUIAc">Phil Phillips</a>' "Sea of Love," was a smash, peaking at number three on the American charts -- one spot better, in fact, than <a href="spotify:artist:36QJpDe2go2KgaRleHCDTp">Led Zeppelin</a>'s highest-charting single "Whole Lotta Love." The follow-up, "Rockin' at Midnight," a <a href="spotify:artist:1tawCzlbH40c30eztzufSu">Roy Brown</a> jump blues tune, was also fairly successful. <a href="spotify:artist:2ibPkysx2PXqWLmxFD7jSg">Stray Cats</a> guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:4xiBg5AwhlWtuxAJO9rO6f">Brian Setzer</a> joined the Honeydrippers' concert lineup, and performed with the group on Saturday Night Live. After touring with the Honeydrippers in 1985, <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a> resumed his solo career; there has never been a Honeydrippers, Vol. 2. In 2006, <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a> briefly revived the project under the name The Return of the Honeydrippers at a charity concert he held for a neighbor who was undergoing cancer treatment. <a href="spotify:artist:0AD4odMWVQ2wUSlgxOB5Rl">Jeff Beck</a>, one of <a href="spotify:artist:1OwarW4LEHnoep20ixRA0y">Plant</a>'s studio collaborators for the Honeydrippers, died on January 10, 2023 at a hospital in Southern England after contracting bacterial meningitis. He was 78 years old. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi