Happy Birthday : Jimmy Page

I've been meaning to start a blog where I jabber on about music, for a really long time now. I’ve always dreamt of being like the kid in the ‘Almost Famous’ movie, where I get to travel with bands and experience what they go through and bring the life and soul of bands to the masses through writing. As part of my New Year’s resolution, I've decided to finally not merely sit and day dream but to write about music, and shows, and my experiences in playing with bands and trying to make something of a musician of myself.

What better day to start writing about music than on the birthday of one of the most iconic lead guitar players of all time – Jimmy Page.

(Image: Wikipedia)

Born on January 9th, 1944, Page is probably one of the most worshiped guitar players of all time, maybe even ahead of Hendrix in some circles. While we all know Page for being the iconic lead sound behind Led Zeppelin, we tend to forget that he also played for a couple of years with The Yardbirds (which for some reason in my head will always be Jeff Beck’s gig).

I can spend a lot of time talking about the sheer brilliance of Page as a guitar player. Any guitar or real music enthusiast has to just sit back and soak in the sheer brilliance of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to know that here was a man who was born to play guitar. Even the fates would have it so. The story goes that Page did not willingly start playing guitar, but somewhere in their wisdom, the Gods left a guitar for a young Page to find when he was shifting houses. No one knew who the guitar belonged to, so there sat a young Jimmy Page not knowing that one day those fingers would be the medium to bring many a follower to fall at the feet of Led Zeppelin. And Page was to become one of the most sought after guitar players of any era.

There are more than enough people who've spoken about Jimmy Page’s time with the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. I've come across very few articles that truly capture how Page has been an influence to some of the most iconic bands of that time, and I don’t mean where guitar players tried to emulate Page. Very few people know that Jimmy Page started out as a session’s musician for Shel Tamy who was the producer for The Who and The Kinks, icons in their own right. A lot of the initial tunes by either band had Page being featured as an uncredited guitar player. Besides these two bands, Page even worked on some of the songs for The Rolling Stones, and even went on later on to be hired by the Stones’ Manager to help out on some records. 

A lot of the initial work before the mainstream madness of Led Zep and Yardbirds came along, found their way to  bootleg recordings, and were later compiled into an album ‘Jimmy Page: Session Man’ (Trying to get my hands on this bootleg…bits and pieces are on YouTube). In some of his interviews, Page talks about how being a studio musician helped him inculcate discipline in his playing and the need to be perfect on the first take. I guess music is like sports, you can have your moments in the sun but behind it goes hours of practice and a lot of discipline.

Anyway, here are some fun facts about Jimmy Page that you may not know:

• Page initially played electric bass with The Yardbirds before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck.
• ‘Lead Zeppelin’ was formed as a Super group featuring Jeff Beck (Yardbirds) on guitar, John Entwistle (The Who) on bass and Keith Moon (The Who) on drums. Thankfully, interpersonal conflicts led to Page recruiting people who would become the holy quartet of 'Led Zeppelin'.
• Page is one of the 18 artists who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Once with The Yardbirds, and then with Led Zeppelin (Only to be outdone by friend and fellow one-time band mate Eric Clapton who was inducted thrice)

I recently got my hands on the 2007, ‘Celebration Day’ DVD – a one-time reunion show with the remaining members of Led Zep and Bonham’s son on drums. At the age of 69, Jimmy Page has still got the same old demanding stature behind a guitar, playing as effortlessly as he did on the ‘The Song Remains the Same’ concert film. Do check it out. Sheer brilliance. Here’s a little something get you started on the Jimmy Page appreciation journey.