About Me
I AM NOT Jimmy Page . This page has no connection to Jimmy Page in any form or fashion. Just a fan page for the man!
My name is T-Bone and I'm a huge fan of Jimmy Page. His playing blows me away. Not the most technical or clean guitarist, but that just adds to the charm for me. I love that he'd get sloppy sometimes live. When a guitar hero can get a bit sloppy, it gives us all hope! In addition to being a great guitarist, the man was a genius in the studio. Kids around the world still want a Les Paul because they saw Jimmy Page with one! And when someone tells me, a self-proclaimed Telecaster nut, that you can't play Rock on a Tele...I tell them to listen to the first Zeppelin album! Case closed!
A lot of people only know Jimmy from Led Zeppelin, so this page will be about that and much more. His work with the Yardbirds, the Firm, his solo records and his studio work.
BIOGRAPHY:
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page , OBE (born January 9, 1944) is an English musician and considered to be one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock music history. He was the founding member of English rock band Led Zeppelin and, prior to that, a member of The Yardbirds from late 1966 to 1968. Before joining the Yardbirds, Page had been one of the most in-demand studio guitarists in England since his teenage years.
Noted guitar historian Robert Lynch probably sums up Jimmy Page best. "In the relatively short history of the electric guitar in rock music, there have been few who can be labeled as 'Iconic'. Mr. Page is one of those select few. His eclectic stylings, his compositional prowess, his studio mastery and innovation, and his stage presentation were all areas where he excelled like no other and foreshadowed many who have followed in his wake. It's hard to imagine how different the rock landscape would have turned out if there had been no Led Zeppelin. We can all be thankful and in debt to Mr. Page that we will never have to find that out. It is safe to assume that 100 years from now the Zeppelin catalogue will still be selling strong and that teenagers the world over will be pumping their fists into the air and shouting YES! during one of Mr. Page's iconic solos."
FORMATIVE YEARS:
Page was born in the west London suburb of Heston, which today forms part of the London Borough of Hounslow. His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother was a doctor's secretary. In 1952 they moved to Miles Road, Epsom. Jimmy Page first picked up the guitar when he was 12 years old, and although he took a few lessons in nearby Kingston, was largely self-taught. His early influences were rockabilly guitarists Scotty Moore and James Burton, who both played on recordings made by Elvis Presley, and Johnny Day, who played guitar for The Everly Brothers. The Presley song "Baby Let's Play House" was an early favourite on one of his first electric guitars, a second hand 1949 Futurama Grazioso. Page's musical tastes however also encompassed acoustic folk playing, particularly that of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the blues sounds of Elmore James and B.B. King. At the age of 14, Page appeared on Huw Wheldon's All Your Own talent quest programme (link below in Trivia) in a skiffle band, a popular English music genre of the time. Page said in an interview with Guitar Player magazine, "There was a lot of busking (in this context not singing on street corners, but working out how to play a song while recording it) in the early days, but as I say, I had to come to grips with it, and it was a good schooling."
Page left school at age 17 to pursue music, and after brief stints backing Beat poet Royston Ellis and singer Red E. Lewis, Page was asked by singer Neil Christian to join his band The Crusaders. Page toured with Christian for approximately two years and later played on several of Christian's records, including the November 1962 single, "The Road to Love".
During his stint with Christian, Page fell seriously ill with glandular fever and couldn't continue touring. While recovering, Page decided to put his musical career on the shelf and concentrate on his other love, painting. He enrolled at Sutton Art College in Surrey.
SESSION PLAYER:
While still a student, Page would often jam on stage at The Marquee with bands such as the Cyril Davis All Stars, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and with guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He was spotted one night by John Gibb of The Silhouettes, who asked him to help record a number of singles for EMI, including "The Worrying Kind". It wasn't until an offer from Mike Leander of Decca Records that Page was to receive regular studio work. His first session for the label was the recording "Diamonds" by Jet Harris & Tony Meehan which went to Number 1 on the singles chart in early 1963.
After brief stints with Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, Mike Hurst's group, and Mickey Finn and the Blue Men, Page committed himself to full-time session work. His studio output in 1964 included Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", The Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone" (alternate version), Van Morrison & Them's "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Here Comes The Night", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" and "My Baby Left Me", and Brenda Lee's "Is It True". Under the auspices of producer Shel Talmy, Page contributed to The Kinks' 1964 debut album (although, despite rumors to the contrary, he did not play any of the guitar solos); and he sat in on the sessions for The Who's first single "I Can't Explain" (although his guitar parts may not appear on the final mix), but he played on the B-side "Bald Headed Woman". In 1965, Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer and A&R man for the newly-formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on and/or produce tracks by John Mayall, Nico, Chris Farlowe and Eric Clapton. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then romantic interest, Jackie DeShannon. He also worked as session musician on the Al Stewart album "Love Chronicles" from 1969.
In late 1964 Page was approached about the possibility of replacing Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds, but Page, still worried about his health under touring conditions, turned down the offer. In February 1965 Clapton quit the Yardbirds, and Page was formally offered Clapton's spot, but because he was unwilling to give up his lucrative career as a session musician, he suggested his friend, Jeff Beck, fill the position. On May 16, 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a band with John Entwistle on bass (instead of Jones), however the lack of a quality vocalist and contractual problems brought the project to a halt.
THE YARDBIRDS
Within weeks, Page was again offered a spot in the Yardbirds and at first played bass guitar with the group after the departure of Paul Samwell-Smith, before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass. The musical potential of the line-up however was scuttled by interpersonal conflicts caused by constant touring and a lack of commercial success. Despite the departure of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty in 1968, Page wished to continue the group with a new line-up. At first he wanted to call the new group The New Yardbirds, but Keith Moon of The Who proclaimed that the band would go down 'like a lead zeppelin'. Peter Grant, the band's eventual manager, later modified the name to "Led Zeppelin" so people wouldn't pronounce it "leed".
Another version of the (perhaps apocryphal) "naming of Led Zeppelin tale" has John Entwistle and Keith Moon of The Who threatening to leave the band to form a new group and during a drinking session coming up with the name Led Zeppelin. According to Moon, the chauffeur of The Who overheard the discussion and later went to work for Jimmy Page and suggested the name for Page's new group.
LED ZEPPELIN:
Page's past experiences both in the studio and with the Yardbirds were very influential in the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. As a producer, composer, and guitarist for the band, he was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, with his trademark Gibson Les Paul guitar and Marshall amplification. In the studio however, Page often used a Supro amplifier and a Telecaster guitar. His use of distorted fuzz guitar ("Whole Lotta Love"), slide guitar ("You Shook Me", "Dancing Days", "In My Time of Dying"), pedal steel guitar ("Your Time is Gonna Come", "Tangerine", "That's The Way"), acoustic guitar ("Gallows Pole", "Ramble On") and recording techniques made Led Zeppelin a prototype for many future rock bands. His landmark guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as the inspiration for his trademark two-hand tapping technique after he saw Led Zeppelin perform at the LA Forum in 1972. (Page's solo does not itself contain any two-hand tapping.) Page also put to use the bowed playing technique he developed during his session days (though Eddie Phillips of Creation - also produced by Shel Talmy - was the first guitarist to use a violin bow) in songs such as "Dazed And Confused" and "How Many More Times", and experimented with feedback devices and a theremin. His solo in the famous epic "Stairway to Heaven" has been voted by readers of various guitar magazines, including Guitar World and Total Guitar as the greatest guitar solo of all time.
POST LED ZEPPELIN CAREER:
Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham. Page attempted to form a supergroup with Yes members Chris Squire and Alan White, to be called XYZ, but the project was left unfinished. He made a successful return to the stage with the A.R.M.S. (Action Research for Multiple Sclerosis) charity series of concerts in 1983 which honoured Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, who suffered from the disease. A 1984 video of a London A.R.M.S. concert was released featuring two songs from Page's work on the Death Wish II soundtrack, featuring Steve Winwood on vocals, and an onstage jam of "Layla" reunited Page with Yardbirds guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. During the tour Page looked extremely thin and frail. According to the book Hammer of the Gods, Page reportedly told friends that he'd just given up heroin after seven years of use. In a 1988 interview with Musician magazine, Page took offense when the interviewer noted that heroin had been associated with his name, and insisted that "I'm not [an addict], thank you very much."
JIMMY PAGE & ERIC CLAPTON
Page next linked up with Roy Harper for an album (Whatever Happened to Jugula?) and occasional concerts, performing a predominantly acoustic set at folk festivals under various guises such as the MacGregors, and Themselves. In 1984, Page recorded with Plant as The Honeydrippers. He also teamed up with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company and Free fame to record two albums under the name The Firm. The first album was the self-titled The Firm, followed by Mean Business in 1986. Popular songs included the commercially successful "Radioactive", and "Closer", which employs a horn section to subtle effect. The cover version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" featured vocals by Paul Rodgers but was never released as a single. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard's Pop Albums chart. Various other projects soon followed such as session work for Graham Nash, Box of Frogs, and Robert Plant, a solo album Outrider, a collaboration with David Coverdale in Coverdale-Page, and a live album and tour with The Black Crowes. In addition, he also collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the Death Wish II and subsequent Death Wish 3 soundtrack, released in 1982 and 1985.
The surviving members of Led Zeppelin re-formed in 1985 for the Live Aid concert with both Phil Collins and Tony Thompson filling drum duties. However, the band considered their performance to be sub-standard, and were one of the few Live Aid acts to refuse permission for their segment to be included in the 20th anniversary DVD release of the concert. In 1986, Page reunited temporarily with his Yardbirds bandmates to play on several tracks of the Box of Frogs album Strange Land. The band also re-formed for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show on 14 May, 1988. Page, Plant and Jones, as well as John Bonham's son Jason Bonham closed the 12-hour show. The band have also played together at various private family functions.
In 1994, Page reunited with Plant for the penultimate performance in MTV's "Unplugged" series. The 90-minute special, dubbed Unledded premiered to the highest ratings in MTV's history. The session was released in 1995 as the CD No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, and in 2004 as the DVD No Quarter Unledded. Following a highly successful 1995 tour, to support No Quarter, Page and Plant recorded Walking into Clarksdale, their first new album together since 1979. Page has been one member of Led Zeppelin who has always left open the option for a group reunion.
Since 1990, Page has been heavily involved in remastering the entire Led Zeppelin back catalogue and is currently participating in various charity concerts and charity work, particularly the Action for Brazil's Children Trust (ABC Trust), founded by his wife Jimena Gomez-Paratcha in 1998. In the same year, Page played guitar for rap singer/producer Sean "Puffy" Combs song "Come With Me," which heavily samples Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and was included in the soundtrack of Godzilla. The two later performed the song on Saturday Night Live. In 2005, Page was awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his Brazilian charity work, and was also made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro later that year. His daughter, Scarlet Page, is a respected photographer.
