21 years ago today, the music world lost one of the most memorable managers in the history of rock ‘n’ roll: Peter Grant, whose work with Led Zeppelin remains the stuff of legend.
Grant got his start in the entertainment business as a stagehand at the Croydon Empire Theater in Croydon, England, but his progress up the ladder of success was halted by the need to fulfill his national service requirements. After wrapping up his stint in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Grant took work as a bouncer and doorman at The 2i’s Coffee Bar in London, soon scored some additional employment as a TV wrestler, stuntman, body double, and occasional actor. But in 1963, Grant pulled a gig with concert promoter Don Arden as a British tour manager for a veritable cornucopia of visiting rock musicians, including Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, and Gene Vincent, to name just a few.