Terry Reid was a deeply respected musician who released six albums over a long career, but he might be best known for the path he didn't take. The English singer, songwriter, and guitarist, who has died at age 75, turned down the lead role in the band that became Led Zeppelin, the Guardian reports. In 1968, when he was 18 years old, he told then-Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page that he couldn't join his new band because he was committed to being the opening act for the Rolling Stones' US tour. He told Page he should talk to Robert Plant and John Bonham, then the singer and drummer in a group called Band of Joy.
"I was intent on doing my own thing," Reid told the Guardian last year. "I contributed half the band—that's enough on my part!"
- Reid, who started opening for artists including the Stones and the Yardbirds when he was 16, also turned down Deep Purple. His mighty voice earned him the nickname "Superlungs." In 1968, Aretha Franklin said, "There are only three things happening in England: the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Terry Reid." As a solo artist, he earned "high praise from critics and esteem from his peers" but never scored a chart hit, Rolling Stone reports.
- His most acclaimed album was 1973's "River." "His voice, his range ... his songs capturing that carefree era. ... Superlungs indeed," Plant said in a post on Instagram. "He catapulted me into an intense new world he chose to decline ... I listen now to his album The River and shed a tear for my brother in arms."
In a 2015 piece at Louder, Simon Sessler called Reid "rock's forgotten genius," saying he should be known for much more than the Led Zeppelin connection. "Any mention of his work is prefixed by 'what could have been,'" he wrote. "Nobody talks of his triumphs. His songs, his live performances, his albums, which are now starting to be referred to as forgotten classics, and, of course, that incredible voice, with which he could effortlessly deliver any style, without compromising a drop of emotion."
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