RE: Who is the defining member of Led Zeppelin?

["Caulfeild, John" <John.Caulfeild@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Is someone going to tabulate the responses?

In the early-Zep (pre-'71), I'd vote for Jimmy as the presenting the most
complete "image" of Led Zeppelin (see photo on Buckeye's page).
In the middle years, up to '77, I think Robert's charisma really shone
through, and his "golden mane" never failed to catch the stage spotlights.
In Zep's last years, I saw JPJ as taking more of a lead role in "defining"
the sight and sounds of the band, but he still avoided center stage.

Alas, poor Bonzo - his memory defines Zep as they are now - deceased.

In another vein, you could look at this question by seeing who could best
put forth Zep's music on their own.  Not meaning to demean any of the
member's individual talents, but using this approach, I think Robert Plant,
with his often-imitated-but-never-duplicated voice, remains standing as "the
defining member of Led Zeppelin".

My .02.

Cheers,
John