Old-Time Rock ‘n’ Roll:
How The 1980s Embraced 1950s and 1960s Oldies Music
The Honeydrippers
Photo: "Bruce Burns Honey Drips" by Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin, formed The Honeydrippers in the early 1980s. In 1984, the band released The Honeydrippers, Volume One, an extended play record featuring five songs. The band covered Phil Phillips 1959 number one hit Sea of Love.
The Honeydrippers version, a top ten hit, sounds orchestral, whereas the original version is sheer blues. Other songs on this record are rhythm and blues tunes, with horns playing in the background, and guitar solos mixed in. Another song from the album that received airplay on radio and MTV is Roy Brown’s Rockin’ at Midnight,
with Jeff Beck playing guitar. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page contributed to I Get a Thrill.
Brian Setzer later joined the group at live performances. The Honeydrippers, Volume One actually sounds like future Brian Setzer Orchestra albums. Like Setzer, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent influenced Robert Plant. In a 1984 interview, Plant held the opinion that people enjoy vintage rock ‘n’ roll because it’s dance-able. He also stated that it was a shame record companies don’t promote such albums well.
Robert Plant declared that The Honeydrippers don’t exist. The band comes together when the time is right. Unfortunately, the band hasn’t reformed, remaining non-existent.