According to the Robert Plant Newswire, former LED ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant confirmed to the Birmingham Evening Mail on November 6 that he would not be joining guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer Jason Bonham on the road for the proposed ZEPPELIN reunion tour. He said it was partly because he'd be busy working on the follow-up to his awardwinning "Raising Sand" LP.

"In January, I'm starting to record a new album with Alison Krauss and T Bone Burnett," he revealed, before adding, "but I understand that everyone's got to eat," implying that the Plant-less LED ZEP has his blessing.

He also imparted one piece of significant information: "They won't be calling it LED ZEPPELIN!"

Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham recently confirmed that they are contemplating going on the road without Robert Plant, and have jammed witih several potential replacements. Sources have indicated that the leading candidate for the job is Myles Kennedy of the band ALTER BRIDGE.

When asked about the collaboration, an unnamed spokesperson for Page's management company, QPrime, told RollingStone.com, "Whatever this is, it is not LED ZEPPELIN. Not without the involvement of Robert Plant."

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that LED ZEPPELIN, minus Plant, have been rehearsing with other singers for a potential tour. ZEPPELIN reunited last December for a charity concert in London, and speculation about a full tour has been high ever since. But Plant has indicated that he has no desire to do any live work with anyone for at least the next two years.

John Paul Jones confirmed to the BBC that the band has been rehearsing with other vocalists, but he did not mention any names. AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford told a radio show that Steven Tyler had jammed with the group "for fun," while other names in the rumor mill have included Jack White, Sammy Hagar, Dave Grohl and Chris Cornell. White denied that he was approached, while Cornell said he has not been contacted either.