Terry Reid, British Musician Who Turned Down Frontman Role in Led Zeppelin, Dies at 75: Report

Terry Reid, the British musician who famously turned down offers to join Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, has died. He was 75.

Reid’s U.K. publicist confirmed the news to the The Guardian on Tuesday, Aug. 5, and said that the musician was undergoing treatment for cancer in recent months.

Reid — whose powerful vocals earned him the nickname “Superlungs” — was born in Cambridgeshire, England, on Nov. 13, 1949, and played for a local band called the Redbeats in his early teenage years. He then joined Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers and supported the Rolling Stones on tour along with Ike & Tina Turner and the Yardbirds by the time he was 16.

When he broke away as a solo artist, Reid once again supported the Stones on tour in 1969. Around the same time, Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page asked Reid if he wanted to join the band he was forming — but Reid wanted to remain on tour with the “Paint It, Black” band.

Instead, he recommended Robert Plant and John Bonham — and they formed Led Zeppelin.

“I was intent on doing my own thing,” Reid told The Guardian in 2024. “I contributed half the band – that’s enough on my part!”

After Rod Evans left Deep Purple in 1969, Reid also turned down Ritchie Blackmore’s offer to be lead singer.

After he went solo, Reid released his debut album Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid in 1968. The album featured a song he wrote when he was 14, titled “Without Expression.” It was covered by greats like John Mellencamp, REO Speedwagon and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Then, after taking a break from making music for a few years, Reid released three more albums, with 1973’s River as his comeback. In the 1980s, he focused on session work with artists like Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley and Jackson Browne.

During his career, Reid toured with Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull and more. He also befriended Jimi Hendrix.

“We’d hang out together, play guitar – he could play anything, without looking at his hands. Jimi was just the gentlest guy but he was surrounded by freeloaders so he’d come over to my apartment in Haverstock Hill to get some peace and quiet. I’d say ‘kick them out’ but he felt he couldn’t,” he told The Guardian.

Reid released his final album, The Driver, in 1991. He also played his final show in September of last year at the Half Moon in London.

In recent months, Reid had to cancel a run of shows amid his cancer treatment. A GoFundMe was set up to assist with medical costs. “Over the past several months, Terry has been courageously battling cancer as well as numerous other serious health issues,” the description read, in part. “Terry’s spirit remains strong, and he’s deeply grateful for the outpouring of care he’s already received.”

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Reid is survived by his wife Annette.