Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to play Led Zeppelin’s 1969 song “Ramble On.” The former Led Zeppelin singer also led a roots version of “Higher Rock” from his 2025 album Saving Grace, and sat down for a pre-show interview with Colbert about traditional folk music and sea shanties. Watch a replay of each moment below.
In the interview, which took place before the Colbert episode aired, the two figures talked about traditional folk music, Plant’s dislike of sea shanties, and the differences between English and American music. “What I like about the American thing is it’s a lot more bloodthirsty and there’s a lot more treachery. It’s broken hearts, love doesn’t work quite so well,” said Plant. “It’s quite remarkable, the difference in the nationalities that make up the United States, the change in attitude in different places, which manifests itself in local music.”
It’s fitting that Plant picked “Ramble On” for last night’s performance, out of all of Led Zeppelin’s songs; the track features lyrics inspired by The Lord of the Rings, and Colbert is a massive J.R.R. Tolkien fan, even being tapped to helm a new movie. Last year, Plant stopped by the show to chat with Colbert about their mutual love of all things Tolkien.
Plant started playing with Saving Grace in 2019 after playing a handful of shows in small English theaters. Their first proper album together, Saving Grace, was recorded primarily in a field, and they toured the record in the United States last fall. Plant also gave a recent performance at the music festival Big Ears in March. In 2021, he linked up with Alison Krauss to record the collaborative full-length Raise the Roof.
Revisit Pitchfork’s interview Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on the Music That Means the Most to Them and read about Led Zeppelin’s first and second albums in The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.
English (US) · 