On this day 13 August

 He's the man who started everything. He's just a genius."  
~ Jimmy Page, about Les Paul

"Dazzling"
~ Jimmy Page, about James Brown

Posted 13 August 2020 On This Day James Brown vs Led Zeppelin mashup

Note from Mage Music: Mashups suck. All they do is ruin good songs.

2013, 2015 13 August On This Day James Brown vs Led Zeppelin mashup

Note from Mage Music: As we move along through the year I try to capture a years' different On This Day posts on jimmypage.com. I don't have a lot of time for this project (which I do for free) so it can take a while before they all show up.  Sorry.

 

2011 13 August On This Day 

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Amarillo,TX at Checkmate Young Adult Club
• 2009 Les Paul died

Les Paul (1915-2009)
Born Lester William Polsfuss was a man of many talents.  A guitarist, songwriter, maker of stringed instruments and inventor, Les Paul, was a pioneer of the solid-body electric guitar from which rock and roll rose.  As a guitarist he experimented with overdubbing, tape delay, phasing effects and multi-tracking, not to mention playing the guitar using style techniques that pushed the envelope beyond what others were doing at the time.  Jimmy Page paid attention.

Les Paul wasn't the first to come up with a solid body guitar but Gibson's Les Paul models are considered by many to be the guitar of choice.  Goldtops were the first of the Les Paul line for Gibson, with the Les Paul Custom being next.  These were the Black Beauties, black guitars with gold-plated hardware. After that came the Les Paul Standards (Jimmy Page's Number One and Number Two, among others). There have been countless versions and special editions of Les Paul guitars put out by Gibson over the years.

Les Paul's fertile mind came up with many innovations for the electric guitar and for the recording industry, including the eight-track deck for multi-track recording and a disc-cutter for acetate discs.  He has a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has received dozens of awards, not only for his contributions to the music industry.  Les Paul was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

Les Paul's casket gives the date of August 12th for his death, but apparently his website at one point said August 13th.  Whatever. Video mashups aren't my thing. James Brown may be dazzling, and Jimmy Page might appreciate all kinds of music but I'm a mere mortal and I'd rather have Jimmy Page's music as he himself created it.

1993 Jimmy Page with goldtop Les Paul guitar (image from Coverdale/Page Pride and Joy video - )

♪  Lover (When You're Near Me) Les Paul 1988 YouTube
♪  Pride and Joy (Coverdale/Page) YouTube
♪  James Brown vs Led Zeppelin video mashup YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, MSG 1973)

On this day 23 July

 Things don't always go the way you think they should.

1985 23 July On This Day - but these events didn't actually happen on this day

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Buxton, England at Buxton Pavilion Gardens Ballroom 
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Baltimore, MD at Baltimore Civic Centre
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Oakland, CA at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
• 1979 Led Zeppelin - Copenhagen, Denmark at Falkoner Theatre
• 1985 Robert Plant with Jimmy Page encore appearance - East Rutherford, NJ 
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Birmingham, England at NEC Arena (day 2)

1973:

The famous scene in The Song Remains The Same, with Peter Grant venting his rage at the venue's promoter, was taken at the Baltimore Civic Center concert on this date. 

1977:

Led Zeppelin's huge Stonehenge backdrop for the Oakland 23-24 concerts was the basis for some funny stuff later on. Black Sabbath had commissioned a Stonehenge stage set for their 1983 Born Again tour (Stonehenge is the second track on the Born  Again album).  That band couldn't use the stage set because it had been mistakenly constructed too big to haul around.  Coincidentally, at the same time the writers of This Is Spinal Tap created a scene with a Stonehenge set that turns out to be way too small to use. The two didn't copy each other (a 20-minute cut of the movie with that scene dates from before the Black Sabbath tour).  Thus, we might conclude that both were inspired by Led Zeppelin at Oakland.

 

1977 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Oakland

1977 Led Zeppelin's Stonehenge backdrop at Oakland

1979:

This was Led Zeppelin's first concert in almost two years.  It was kept low-key -- tickets were actually available to purchase at the door -- because it was a warm-up for Knebworth.  

1985:

The On This Day post for 23 July 1985 is almost certainly incorrect - let's blame it on the webmaster and not Jimmy Page (why not!).  The band was on hiatus from 22 May 1985 until 14 March 1986, leaving Page free to do sets with The Beach Boys (04 July) and with Robert Plant and John Paul Jones (Live Aid, 13 July).

However, on 04 April 1986 The Firm was at Meadowlands (Brendan Byrne Arena) in East Rutherford, NJ., where Les Paul was introduced onstage. 

Robert Plant was at Meadowlands on 23 July 1985, and Jimmy Page joined him for the encores, Mean Woman Blues and Treat Her Right.  Les Paul wasn't onstage for that one.

1985 Jimmy Page & Les Paul at Meadowlands

1985 Jimmy Page, from The Firm Tourbook

♪  Led Zeppelin (Baltimore MD at Baltimore Civic Center, 23 July 1973) 

♪  Led Zeppelin (Oakland CA at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 23 July 1977)

♪  Led Zeppelin (Copenhagen Denmark at Falkoner Theatre, 23 July 1979)

♪ Jimmy Page & Robert Plant (encore, East Rutherford NJ at The Meadowlands, 23 July 1985)

♪  Page & Plant Unledded Tour (Birmingham England at NEC Arena day 2, 23 July 1995)

On this day 15 July

 Twang that thang!

2010 15 July On This Day Jimmy Page and Duane Eddy interview at BBC Studios
♪ Bye Bye Blues (Duane Eddy) SoundCloud
♪ Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy) YouTube

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Cowdenbreath, Scotland at Cowenbreath Palais de Danse & Perth Scotland at Perth City Hall
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Lorain, OH at The Big Moose
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Buffalo, NY at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - St. Austell, England at Cornwall Coliseum
• 2010  BBC2 interview of Jimmy Page by Duane Eddy 

Jimmy Page (left foreground) 1967

1967:

The bill at The Big Moose Showcase included Sam the Sham and the Farrows; Tommy James and the Shondells; and then the Yardbirds. The venue was a small roller rink - such venues not uncommon back then.  The audience stood on the floor and there was no stage for the bands.  Jimmy Page, the Yardbirds -- up close and personal.

1973:

If only the people with firecrackers in the audience knew what we think of them now for messing up a Led Zeppelin show. The band seemed to get off to a slow start, but Robert Plant got into it with Heartbreaker and Jimmy Page picked up on the energy and took off. The Buffalo Evening News claimed "Led Zeppelin Kneads Crowd to Silly Putty". 

1973 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Buffalo (Photo Al Ligammari)

1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour at St. Austell, England

2010:
On this day Jimmy Page was interviewed by Duane Eddy for August 2010 broadcasts of two episodes memorializing the life of Les Paul, who had died the year before. Duane Eddy also interviewed BB King, Joe Perry, Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Nile Rodgers and others. Portions of what may be the last full-length interview of Les Paul were also broadcast.

Duane Eddy (born in New York in 1938) was an interesting choice to perform the interviews. An American rock guitarist, Eddy developed a characteristic twangy sound created by playing melody on his bass strings. Early on he experimented with the echo chamber effect, actually recording in a 2,000 gallon water tank for Movin' n' Groovin because the Phoenix Recording studio didn't have an echo chamber. Eddy's musical genre was instrumental rock, which emphasizes musical instruments with little to no singing. Instrumental rock was most popular from mid-1950s to mid-1960s). Duane Eddy's twang and echo chamber, Link Wray's power chord, the focus on guitar: It would be safe to say that Jimmy Page paid attention.

Duane Eddy sold 12 million records by 1963 and more than 100 million over his career. He was the first rock guitarist to have a signature model guitar by Guild Guitars in 1960.  Gretsch and Gibson have also produced Duane Eddy signature model guitars. Guitar Player Magazine bestowed the first ever "Legend Award" on Les Paul, and in 2004 Duane Eddy received the second.

♪  Movin' n' Groovin' (Duane Eddy 1958) 

♪  Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy 1958, featured in Forrest Gump)

♪  Rumble (Link Wray 1958, shown in a clip from It Might Get Loud) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Buffalo NY, 15 July 1973)
♪ Page & Plant - Unledded Tour (St. Austell, England at Cornwall Coliseum, 15 July 1995)

On This Day 09 June

Confusion as to when/where on this date.  But a good time was had by all. Well, maybe Jeff wasn't having as good a time as the others were.

Various photos and reports of Les Paul's birthday celebration give this 1986 date as well as 1987.  There were parties at the Hard Rock Cafe as well as Fat Tuesday's in New York City, and Jimmy Page is reported as having attended.  But it seems unlikely that both he and Les Paul would have been wearing the same outfits at each event on two different days, much less two different years. Although Jimmy Page's website says 1986, I'm going with 1987.

Two legends jamming - Jimmy Page & Les Paul 

Les Paul kissing Jimmy Page's arm

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Margate, Kent, England at Dreamland Ballroom
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Charlotte, NC at Charlotte Coliseum
• 1987 09 June On This Day Jimmy Page at Fat Tuesdays with Les Paul for his 75th Birthday Party
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Marseilles, France at Marseilles Dome
• 1998 Page & Plant - Indianapolis, IN at Market Square Arena

On This Day 25 March

1998 25 March On This Day Page & Plant, London at Shepherd's Bush Empire

• 1969 Led Zeppelin – Staines England at Staines Lino Factory- filmed for Supershow
• 1970 Led Zeppelin – Denver CO at Denver Coliseum
• 1975 Led Zeppelin – Inglewood CA at The Forum
• 1986 The Firm – Binghamton NY at Broome County Arena
• 1991 Jimmy Page - New York NY at Fat Tuesday's with Les Paul, Steve Howe & Brian May
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour – Pittsburgh PA at Pittsburgh Civic Arena
• 1998 Page & Plant -  London  at Shepherds Bush Empire

1991:
Les Paul invited musicians to join him at his regular Monday night jams.  On this day in 1991 Mr. Paul was joined by Jimmy Page, Brian May and Steve Howe. No known recordings or photos are circulating, it seems.

♪

♪  Walking Into Clarksdale/No Quarter (Page & Plant, London 1998) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

On This Day 23 March

1991 23 March On This Day Jimmy Page jammed with The Reputations, NYC

• 1968 The Yardbirds - Retford England at Retford College
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Peterlee England at Argus Butterfly Jazz Cub
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Portland OR at Portland Memorial Coliseum
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - London at Marquee Club
• 1985 The Firm - Austin TX at Frank Erwin Center
• 1991 Jimmy Page with The Reputations - New York City at China Club 
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Largo MD at USAir Arena (day 2 of 2)

1958:
Kenneth Ray Carllile (1931–1987), a.k.a.Thumbs Carllile was an American country music guitarist and songwriter who played with his guitar in his lap, fretting, picking and strumming with the fingers and thumbs of both hands. He and his singer-songwriter wife, Virginia Boyle, routinely appeared on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri and released Springfield Guitar Social in 1958.  A few years later, Carllile and Boyle recorded an album at Les Paul's home studio in New Jersey. Carllile was also a member of Roger Miller's band for about ten years.

Posted 2013 23 March On This Day for 1958 Thumbs Carllile 's Springfield Guitar Social

1969:
Led Zeppelin was booked to play the Argus Butterfly Jazz Club, capacity a few hundred, by promoters Brian Stoker and David Richards.  Stoker said, "I was talking to guitarist Jimmy Page and asked if he enjoyed it and he said 'yes' and he would come back. I said what are you doing next month and he said they were playing the Hollywood Bowl, so that was the last we saw of them."

1971:
Another venue on the Back To The Clubs tour that left thousands of fans frustrated and unhappy because they couldn't get tickets.

1971 Led Zeppelin Marquee Club

1985:
After The Firm's show in Austin, Jimmy Page went to a party hosted by Ronnie Lane, where Mr. Page met photographer Mark Bowman.

1985 Jimmy Page / The Firm, Austin TX

1985 Jimmy Page at Ronnie Lane's party (Mark Bowman photo)

1991:
Jimmy jammed with The Reputations at The China Club in New York for about half an hour.  One song they did has been identified as Further On Up The Road, first recorded in 1957 by Bobby "Blue" Bland and covered by various guitarists over the years, including Eric Clapton & Robbie Robertson, Mike Bloomfield, Gary Moore, Steve Miller, and Johnny Winter. There are apparently no recordings of the Jimmy Page/The Reputations version in 1991.

♪

♪  Springfield Guitar Social (Thumbs Carllile 1958) YouTube
♪  The Chase (The Firm, Austin 1985) YouTube
♪  Further Up The Road (Eric Clapton with The Band, The Last Waltz 1975) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

On This Day 13 August

"He's the man who started everything. He's just a genius."
~ Jimmy Page, about Les Paul

"Dazzling"
~ Jimmy Page, about James Brown

Posted 13 August 2020 On This Day James Brown vs Led Zeppelin mashup

2013, 2015 13 August On This Day James Brown vs Led Zeppelin mashup

Note from Mage Music: As we move along through the On This Day year I try to capture the multiple years' different posts on jimmypage.com.  I don't have a bunch of spare time and I do have a slow internet connection, so they won't all be here right away.
 

2011 13 August On This Day 

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Amarillo,TX at Checkmate Young Adult Club
• 2009 Les Paul died

Les Paul (1915-2009)
Born Lester William Polsfuss, Les Paul was a man of many talents.  A guitarist, songwriter, maker of stringed instruments and inventor, Les Paul, was a pioneer of the solid-body electric guitar from which rock and roll rose.  As a guitarist he experimented with overdubbing, tape delay, phasing effects and multi-tracking, not to mention playing the guitar using style techniques that pushed the envelope beyond what others were doing at the time.  Jimmy Page paid attention.

Les Paul wasn't the first to come up with a solid body guitar but Gibson's Les Paul models are considered by many to be the guitar of choice.  Goldtops were the first of the Les Paul line for Gibson, with the Les Paul Custom being next.  These were the Black Beauties, black guitars with gold-plated hardware. After that came the Les Paul Standards (Jimmy Page's Number One and Number Two, among others). There have been countless versions and special editions of Les Paul guitars put out by Gibson over the years.

Les Paul's fertile mind came up with many innovations for the electric guitar and for the recording industry, including the eight-track deck for multi-track recording and a disc-cutter for acetate discs.  He has a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has received dozens of awards, not only for his contributions to the music industry.  Les Paul was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

Les Paul: not just guitars

Les Paul's casket gives the date of August 12th for his death, but apparently his website at one point said August 13th.  Whatever. Video mashups aren't my thing. James Brown may be dazzling, and Jimmy Page might appreciate all kinds of music but I'm a mere mortal and I'd rather have Jimmy Page's music as he himself created it.

1993 Jimmy Page with goldtop Les Paul guitar (image from Coverdale/Page Pride and Joy video - )

♪  Lover (When You're Near Me) Les Paul 1988 YouTube
♪  Pride and Joy (Coverdale/Page) YouTube
♪  James Brown vs Led Zeppelin video mashup YouTube

On This Day 23 July

Things don't always go the way you think they should.

1985 23 July On This Day - but these events didn't actually happen on this day

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Buxton, England at Buxton Pavilion Gardens Ballroom 
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Baltimore, MD at Baltimore Civic Centre
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Oakland, CA at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
• 1979 Led Zeppelin - Copenhagen, Denmark at Falkoner Theatre
• 1985 Robert Plant with Jimmy Page appearance - East Rutherford, NJ 
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Birmingham, England at NEC Arena (day 2)

1973:

The famous scene in The Song Remains The Same, with Peter Grant venting his rage at the venue's promoter, was taken at the Baltimore Civic Center concert on this date. 

1977:

Led Zeppelin's huge Stonehenge backdrop for the Oakland 23-24 concerts was the basis for some funny stuff later on. Black Sabbath had commissioned a Stonehenge stage set for their 1983 Born Again tour (Stonehenge is the second track on the Born  Again album).  That band couldn't use the stage set because it had been mistakenly constructed too big to haul around.  Coincidentally, at the same time the writers of This Is Spinal Tap created a scene with a Stonehenge set that turns out to be way too small to use. The two didn't copy each other (a 20-minute cut of the movie with that scene dates from before the Black Sabbath tour).  Thus, we might conclude that both were inspired by Led Zeppelin at Oakland.

 

1977 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Oakland

1977 Led Zeppelin's Stonehenge backdrop at Oakland

1979:

This was Led Zeppelin's first concert in almost two years.  It was kept low-key -- tickets were actually available to purchase at the door -- because it was a warm-up for Knebworth.  

1985:

The On This  Day post for July 23 is incorrect - let's blame it on the webmaster and not Jimmy Page (why not!).  The Firm played Meadowlands (Brendan Byrne Arena) in East Rutherford, NJ on May 9th.  Les Paul was introduced onstage.  The video for The Firm's Satisfaction Guaranteed (in which Les Paul played the bartender), was filmed in New York City on May 11, 1985.  The band returned to England shortly after. 

Jimmy Page did join Robert Plant onstage in Meadowlands, E Rutherford, NJ for the encores, Mean Woman Blues and Treat Her Right.

1985 Jimmy Page & Les Paul at Meadowlands

1985 Jimmy Page, from The Firm Tourbook

♪  Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Baltimore 1973) YouTube

♪  The Song Remains The Same 8MM excerpt (Led Zeppelin Oakland 1977) YouTube

♪  No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, Copenhagen 1979) YouTube

♪  In The Evening (Led Zeppelin, Copenhagen 1979) YouTube

On This Day 15 July

2010 15 July On This Day Jimmy Page and Duane Eddy interview at BBC Studios
♪ Bye Bye Blues (Duane Eddy) SoundCloud
♪ Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy) YouTube

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Cowdenbreath, Scotland at Cowenbreath Palais de Danse & Perth Scotland at Perth City Hall
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Lorain, OH at The Big Moose
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Buffalo, NY at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - St. Austell, England at Cornwall Coliseum
• 2010  BBC2 interview of Jimmy Page by Duane Eddy 

1967:

The bill at The Big Moose Showcase included Sam the Sham and the Farrows; Tommy James and the Shondells; and then the Yardbirds. The venue was a small roller rink - such venues not uncommon back then.  The audience stood on the floor and there was no stage for the bands.  Jimmy Page, the Yardbirds -- up close and personal.

1973:

If only the people with firecrackers in the audience knew what we think of them now for messing up a Led Zeppelin show. The band seemed to get off to a slow start, but Robert Plant got into it with Heartbreaker and Jimmy Page picked up on the energy and took off. The Buffalo Evening News claimed "Led Zeppelin Kneads Crowd to Silly Putty". 

1973 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Buffalo (Photo Al Ligammari)

1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour at St. Austell, England

2010:
On this day Jimmy Page was interviewed by Duane Eddy for August 2010 broadcasts of two episodes memorializing the life of Les Paul, who had died the year before. Duane Eddy also interviewed BB King, Joe Perry, Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Nile Rodgers and others. Portions of what may be the last full-length interview of Les Paul were also broadcast.

Duane Eddy (born in New York in 1938) was an interesting choice to perform the interviews. An American rock guitarist, Eddy developed a characteristic twangy sound created by playing melody on his bass strings. Early on he experimented with the echo chamber effect, actually recording in a 2,000 gallon water tank for Movin' n' Groovin because the Phoenix Recording studio didn't have an echo chamber. Eddy's musical genre was instrumental rock, which emphasizes musical instruments with little to no singing. Instrumental rock was most popular from mid-1950s to mid-1960s). Duane Eddy's twang and echo chamber, Link Wray's power chord, the focus on guitar: It would be safe to say that Jimmy Page paid attention.

Duane Eddy sold 12 million records by 1963 and more than 100 million over his career. He was the first rock guitarist to have a signature model guitar by Guild Guitars in 1960.  Gretsch and Gibson have also produced Duane Eddy signature model guitars. Guitar Player Magazine bestowed the first ever "Legend Award" on Les Paul, and in 2004 Duane Eddy received the second.

♪  Movin' n' Groovin' (Duane Eddy 1958) YouTube

♪  Rebel Rouser (Duane Eddy 1958, featured in Forrest Gump) YouTube

♪  Rumble (Link Wray 1958, shown in a clip from It Might Get Loud) YouTube
♪  Full show (Led Zeppelin, Buffalo 1973) YouTube

[edited 15 July 2020]

On This Day 09 June

Confusion as to when/where on this date.  But a good time was had by all.

1986 09 June On This Day Les Paul Birthday Celebration

Photos and reports of Les Paul's birthday celebration give this 1986 date as well as 1987.  There were parties at the Hard Rock Cafe as well as Fat Tuesday's in New York City, and Jimmy Page is reported as having attended.  But it seems unlikely that both he and Les Paul would have been wearing the same outfits at each event on two different days, much less two different years. 

1986 (or 1987) Two legends jamming - Jimmy Page & Les Paul 

1986 (or 1987) Les Paul kissing Jimmy Page's arm

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Margate, Kent, England at Dreamland Ballroom
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Charlotte, NC at Charlotte Coliseum
• 1987 09 June On This Day Jimmy Page at Fat Tuesdays with Les Paul for his 75th Birthday Party
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Marseilles, France at Marseilles Done
• 1998 Page & Plant - Indianapolis, IN at Market Square Arena

Videos
♪  Acoustic set (Led Zeppelin, Charlotte NC, 1972) YouTube