I arrived at the guest entrance of McNichols
Arena in Denver about an hour before the show. The security guard
said there was no pass for me. I was getting panicky, and then
I saw Robert walking thru the lobby area. I noticed he was with
a DJ from M-TV and they were in a rush. I looked at him and we
made eye contact. To my suprise he stopped dead in his tracks
and called out my name. I immediately seized the opportunity to
point out to the security guard that Robert was indicating for
him to let me in. The guard looked at Robert who was waving me
thru. He then handed me a pass. Then Robert did something I will
never forget. He came over to me with this entourage surrounding
him. He reached out and touched my hair. "I remember this",
he said to me as he smiled. He was refering to my long hair, as
his was cut short at the time. "I have to do an interview
right now, but I'll only be a few minutes," he said. "Would
you wait for me in the VIP area". I said yes and
went there, but they wouldn't let me in. The pass I had been given
was for 'Backstage' but did not include the 'VIP' area, so now
I was in limbo.
I just stood outside in the hallway, looking in at the party.
It seemed like a long time (about fifteen minutes), but Robert
finally showed up. He came ambling down the hallway, looking me
up and down. Then he asked a question that really broke the ice.
"So...you can sing the high notes at the end of 'Stairway'
every night?", he asked. I was taken back a step or two before
my reply. "Yeah", I said. "You're a lucky man",
he said, "I could only do it once."
We stood in the doorway and talked about the LZ convention
(Feathers in the wind) that 'The White' was playing at the following
day. He questioned me thoroughly regarding 'The White', i.e. where
and how often we played, how we traveled, etc... I figured he
was trying to find out if my intentions were good. Satisfied with
my answers, he asked me if I enjoyed singing Led Zeppelin songs.
I told him I really love it, especially the long jams. I told
him I got alot of ideas from listening to LZ bootlegs and that
I loved the spontaneity and ability to create different arrangements
on any given night. Robert told me, "A few weeks ago someone
came around with some bootleg tapes from 1969-70 and I had a listen
and I couldn't believe how bad it sounded. I am healthy now and
my voice is in great shape. I have never felt better". Finally,
he walked into the VIP room with me beside him. He signed some
autographs and posed with a few people for pics. Then he turned
to a crowd of reporters and photographers and said, "This
is Michael White, he does Led Zeppelin songs. That's O.K., I do
Robert Plant songs." This picture above was taken at that
time. I told him I was heading back home to Los Angeles right
after my show the following day. He told me he was playing at
the 'Forum' in a few days and that I was to be his guest once
again. He told me to call Atlantic Records in L.A. and ask for
Paul Cooper and he (Robert) would take care of the rest. I guess
he did. Not only was I backstage at the LA show, I also attended
his after party in North Hollywood. Within a matter of months
I was recording demos for Atlantic Records at Sunset Sound recording
studios in LA with Andy Johns as my Producer. It took a couple
of years of negotiations, but I eventually signed a deal with
Atlantic to record my first album 'Michael White'.
I arrived at the guest entrance of McNichols
Arena in Denver about an hour before the show. The security guard
said there was no pass for me. I was getting panicky, and then
I saw Robert walking thru the lobby area. I noticed he was with
a DJ from M-TV and they were in a rush. I looked at him and we
made eye contact. To my suprise he stopped dead in his tracks
and called out my name. I immediately seized the opportunity to
point out to the security guard that Robert was indicating for
him to let me in. The guard looked at Robert who was waving me
thru. He then handed me a pass. Then Robert did something I will
never forget. He came over to me with this entourage surrounding
him. He reached out and touched my hair. "I remember this",
he said to me as he smiled. He was refering to my long hair, as
his was cut short at the time. "I have to do an interview
right now, but I'll only be a few minutes," he said. "Would
you wait for me 
in the VIP area". I said yes and
went there, but they wouldn't let me in. The pass I had been given
was for 'Backstage' but did not include the 'VIP' area, so now
I was in limbo.