Robert Plant, who had spent much of the 1980s deliberately distancing his solo work from Led Zeppelin's sound, ended up embracing his old band's legacy on the 1988 hit "Tall Cool One." The track came about after he heard the Beastie Boys' 1986 debut album, which sampled Led Zeppelin extensively, including John Bonham's drumming on "When the Levee Breaks," and decided he could do something similar himself. Rather than object to the unlicensed sampling, Plant turned the idea into a creative device for his own music.

Co-written with Phil Johnstone, "Tall Cool One" weaves in snippets from Zeppelin classics such as "Black Dog" and "Whole Lotta Love," alongside Plant's own archived vocals, and features a new guitar solo from former bandmate Jimmy Page, who was reportedly surprised by the approach. The song became a rock radio staple and reached number 25 on the US pop charts, helping pave the way for further collaborations between Plant and Page in the years that followed.