Robert Plant named Record Store Legend
Ahead of Record Store Day on April 18, Robert Plant has been named this year’s “Record Store Legend” and will release a four‑track EP called Saving Grace: All That Glitters with the act Saving Grace and singer Suzi Dian. The honor joins a lineage that included Elton John (2017) and Johnny Marr (2025), and Record Store Day events promise limited releases and in‑store performances worldwide. (everettpost.com, faroutmagazine.co.uk)
Robert Plant is not just getting another lifetime-achievement trophy this month; he is being turned into the face of Record Store Day 2026, with Record Store Day US and Record Store Day UK naming him this year’s “Record Store Legend” ahead of the April 18 event. The honor comes with a new exclusive release, not a greatest-hits package: Plant is putting out a four-track 12-inch vinyl extended play record called *Saving Grace: All That Glitters… with Suzi Dian* through Nonesuch on April 18, with 3,500 copies listed for the event. The four songs are not Led Zeppelin songs at all; the Record Store Day listing names “Blackest Crow,” “Poison” by Bert Jansch, “Orphan Girl” by Gillian Welch, and “She Cried” by Ted Daryll and Greg Richards. That track list tells you what Plant has been doing lately: *Saving Grace* is the name of the band he formed during the lockdown years, and Record Store Day says this new extended play record continues that project with singer Suzi Dian rather than revisiting his 1970s catalog. Record Store Day itself is built around exactly this kind of release. The organization says the event began with a meeting of record-store owners in 2007, held its first official day on April 19, 2008, and now centers on exclusive vinyl and compact disc titles sold through independent brick-and-mortar shops. Plant’s award is also being tied to a real shop, not just a press release. Record Store Day UK says a plaque marking his Legend status has been unveiled at Spillers Records in Cardiff, Wales, which it describes as the world’s oldest record shop and a place connected to Plant’s long relationship with Wales. This “Record Store Legend” title is still rare enough to count names on one hand. Record Store Day said Johnny Marr was only the second recipient when he got the honor in 2025, following Elton John as the first recipient in 2017 for the event’s 10th birthday. The scale of the day is much bigger than one Plant release. Record Store Day’s 2025 announcement said thousands of independent shops worldwide were taking part with parties, in-store performances, and limited editions from more than 300 artists, and the 2026 site now carries a full official release list for April 18. So the Robert Plant news is really two moves at once: a ceremonial one, with a plaque and a title, and a retail one, with a scarce vinyl release aimed straight at the people who still line up outside record stores before opening time.
