The Honeydrippers#Discography

{{about|the 1980s rock and roll supergroup|other bands of a similar name|The Honey Drippers (disambiguation){{!}}The Honey Drippers}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = The Honeydrippers

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| background = group_or_band

| genre = {{Flatlist|

}}

| origin = England

| years_active = 1981–1985, 2006

| label = Es Paranza/Atlantic

| associated_acts = {{Flatlist|

}}

| past_members = *Robert Plant

Andy Silvester
Kevin O'Neill
Ricky Cool
Jim Hickman
Keith Evans
Wayne Terry
Robbie Blunt
Jimmy Page
Jeff Beck
Paul Shaffer
Nile Rodgers
Wayne Pedzwater
Dave Weckl
Brian Setzer
Keith "Bev" Smith
Ernest Chataway

}}

The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal of having a rock band with a heavy rhythm and blues basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire from an existing cover band, it has had many members come and go, including fellow former Led Zeppelin member Jimmy Page; Jeff Beck (a former Yardbirds member like Page); and other friends and well-known studio musicians including original Judas Priest guitarist Ernest Chataway.{{Cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/first-priest-guitarist-chataway-dies |title=First Priest guitarist Chataway dies |last=Kielty |first=Martin |date=14 May 2014 |website=Loudersound.com |language=en |access-date=2 March 2019}} The band released only one recording, an EP titled The Honeydrippers: Volume One, on 12 November 1984.{{cite web |first=Steve |last=Huey |year=2011 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-honeydrippers-mn0000075473/biography |title=The Honeydrippers Biography, Songs, & Albums |website=AllMusic |access-date=2 June 2015}}

The Honeydrippers peaked at number 3{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1985-01-05/hot-100 |title=Week of January 05, 1985 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=13 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728164829/http://www.billboard.com/charts/1985-01-05/hot-100 |archive-date=28 July 2013}} in early 1985 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a remake of the Phil Phillips' tune "Sea of Love",{{cite book |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music |editor-first=Colin |editor-last=Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=Virgin Books |date=1997 |edition=Concise |isbn=1-85227-745-9 |page=618}} and hit number 25 with "Rockin' at Midnight",{{cite magazine |title=Reviews: Pop - Picks |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DiUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT101 |date=12 January 1985 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |page=60 |issn=0006-2510}} originally a Roy Brown recording and a rewrite of "Good Rockin' Tonight." With the EP's success, Plant stated that a full album would be recorded, but it never was.

Origins

There are a number of views on the origin(s) of the name Honeydrippers. Paul Stenning (2008) says Plant joined a Midlands blues cover band called "The Honeydrippers". In this telling, the band and its name existed prior to Plant: it is unstated who came up with the name and what it means.{{cite book |title=Robert Plant: Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page and the Solo Years |publisher=Independent Music |location=Church Stretton |first=Paul |last=Stenning |author-link=Paul Stenning |year=2008 |chapter=The Honeydrippers |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/robertplantledze0000sten/page/98/mode/2up?view=theater |page=99|isbn=978-0-9552822-7-0 }} In Paul Rees's 2013 biography, Plant joined a "makeshift" cover band, and Plant gave the band its name, inspired by Roosevelt Sykes, an American blues singer known as "Honeydripper".{{cite book |title=Robert Plant: A Life |publisher=It Books |first=Paul |last=Rees |year=2013 |page=[https://archive.org/details/robertplantlife0000rees/page/202/mode/2up?view=theater 203] }} Jean-Michael Guesdon in his 2018 book Led Zeppelin, All the Songs says the name is an allusion to the Led Zeppelin song "Black Dog", which contains the lyric "Watch your honey drip, can't keep away".{{cite book |title=Led Zeppelin, All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |location=New York |first1=Jean-Michael |last1=Guesdon |first2=Philippe |last2=Margotin |year=2018 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ledzeppelinallso0000gues/page/244/mode/2up?view=theater 244] }} Another theory is that it is derived from 1940s R&B star Joe Liggins, his most popular song was "The Honeydripper", and it was also the name of his backing band.{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/robert-plant-honeydrippers-debut/ |title=Revisiting the Day Robert Plant Debuted the Honeydrippers |work=Ultimate Classic Rock |first=Jim |last=Allen |date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=2023-12-18}} The term "honeydripper" is black slang for the vagina or a female lover; it can also mean a male lover who frequently says ("drips") sweet nothings to his female lover.{{cite web |url=https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/7gzazci#DjAlA60nQdlHtb0rr_kAAA09jDhNB2aJ |title=Bumblebee n. (2) |work=Green's Dictionary of Slang |first=Jonathon |last=Green |author-link=Jonathon Green |date=2023 |access-date=2023-12-18}}

Members

Original lineup (1981)

Robert Plant – vocals
Andy Silvester – guitar
Kevin O'Neill – drums
Ricky Cool – harmonica
Jim Hickman – bass
Keith Evans – saxophone
Wayne Terry – bass
Robbie Blunt – guitar

The Honeydrippers: Volume One lineup (1984)

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
Jeff Beck – guitars
Paul Shaffer – keyboards
Nile Rodgers – guitars, co-producer
Wayne Pedzwater – bass
Dave Weckl – drums
Brian Setzer – guitar (guest appearance)
Keith "Bev" Smith – drums{{cite web |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/live/bev-smith-memorial-concert-aura-billy-bowel-the-movements |title=Bev Smith Memorial Concert: Aura, Billy Bowel & The Movements | Kidderminster King & Castle | Live Review | |website=Record Collector |date=28 September 2007 |access-date=13 October 2012}}