On this day 16 August

 Take no prisoners

1969 16 August On This Day Led Zeppelin - Asbury Park, NJ 

2015 16 August On This Day Madonna/Led Zeppelin mashup
Justify a Whole Lotta Love (Madonna/Max Audio) Vimeo

I'm not a Madonna fan, and I'm not a fan of mashups, especially when I could be listening to the real deal. So okay, happy birthday and let's move right along.

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Denver, CO at Hal-Baby's
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Pittsburgh, PA at Hunt Armory, Teen Fair
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Asbury Park, NJ at Asbury Park Convention Hall
• 1994 Page & Plant - Dolgoch Falls, Wales to record for No Quarter: Unledded 

1969 Led Zeppelin - Asbury Park, NJ (Paul Chiarello photo)

1994:
The live album, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, was recorded outdoors at three locations: Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh, Morocco; a slate quarry near Corris in Wales; and at Dolgoch Falls, Wales. Additional recording took place on a sound stage in London with the Egyptian Ensemble and the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

On this day in 1994 the Dolgoch Falls recordings were made. The Dongoch Falls are a series of three waterfalls near Tywyn in the southwestern corner of the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. Bron-yr-Aur cottage is on the edge of the park.

The Unledded project was for MTV's Unplugged series. Started in 1989 as an acoustic music venue, Page and Plant used a lot of electricity and amplification -- hence the name change. Unledded is supposed to indicate that this music, which combines blues and Middle East sound, is not a Led Zeppelin reunion, and although there are Led Zeppelin songs on the album they're meant to be a new treatment of music that, in my opinion, doesn't improve on them at all. 

I'll listen to JP's music whenever and wherever I can, but if I've got a choice, it's Jimmy Page, wholly Jimmy Page, and nothing but Jimmy Page.

1994 Page & Plant - Dolgoch Falls, Wales to record for No Quarter: Unledded

1994 Jimmy Page - Dolgoch Falls, Wales to record for No Quarter: Unledded

♪  No Quarter: Page & Plant Unledded (1994) 

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 18 July

 IN PERSON!

1970 18 July On This Day Led Zeppelin in Frankfurt
♪ Frankfurt Special (SoundCloud)

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Chicago, IL at Kinetic Playground (day 1/2)
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Frankfurt, Germany at Festhalle Frankfurt 
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Vancouver, British Columbia at Pacific Coliseum 
• 1998 Page & Plant - East Rutherford, NJ at Continental Airlines Arena

1970

Chris Welsh onstage playing timbales for "Whole Lotta Love". Bonham said of that show that the audience was great - they were quiet and they listened hard.

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Frankfurt

1970 review of Led Zeppelin at Frankfurt

1970 Led Zeppelin in Frankfurt

1973 

No encores in Vancouver BC because Robert Plant was ill and was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for exhaustion. He was cleared to continue the North American tour, though.

1985 Guitar Pulp Magazine - John Paul Jones, Les Paul, Jimmy Page

♪ Led Zeppelin (Vancouver British Columbia at Pacific Coliseum, 18 July 1973)

♪ Page & Plant (East Rutherford NJ at Continental Airlines Arena, 18 July 1998)

On This Day 23 June

 The man's got a lot of moves.

2010 23 June On This Day Jimmy Page at Rio De Janeiro Ivo  Meirelles Samba Drum School

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Ashton-under-Tyne, Manchester, England at Mecca Palais
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - San Diego, CA at San Diego Sports Arena
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Bremen, Germany at Bremen Stadthalle
• 2010 23 June On This Day Jimmy Page at Rio De Janeiro Ivo  Meirelles Samba Drum School

1972 23 June Led Zeppelin at San Diego (Photo = ?)

1972 23 June Led Zeppelin at San Diego (Photo = ?)

1972 23 June Led Zeppelin at San Diego (Photo Richard Brown)

1977 23 June LA Forum - Raymond fixes the guitar strap

The LA Forum shows are considered some of the best of Led Zeppelin's performances. The 23 June show is referred to the Badge Holders show as Robert Plant made several dedications to the badge holder people. One of the high quality bootlegs of this show is entitled For Badgeholders Only..

The boys were so hot that night that no one faults the show for some fumbles.  The whole band stopped to wait after the first song when Jimmy's strap on double-neck broke and Raymond fixed it. Keith Moon of The Who showed up on stage during Over The Top (Moby Dick) and appeared on and off thereafter.  The band got lost after John Paul Jones missed a change during Kashmir, a song that sounds deceptively simple to play but isn't.  Mr. Jones has been quoted as saying he stuck a piece of a paper on his keyboards to help him remember.

1977 23 June Keith Moon crashes Led Zeppelin show at LA Forum

2010 23 June Jimmy Page at Rio De Janeiro Ivo Meirelles Samba Drum School

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - Music will be added at another time.  Thank you for your patience.

On This Day 25 May

Three and a half hours of show this last night at Earls Court in 1975. 

1975 25 May On This Day Led Zeppelin final performance at Earls Court Exhibition Hall

Dave Lewis says in his book, Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, "..there was no holding Jimmy back tonight. He soloed as if his life depended on it." More from Dave Lewis' TBL on this last night at Earls Court

• 1968 The Yardbirds - San Francisco,CA at Fillmore Auditorium
• 1969 Led Zeppelin – (opens for a Who concert) Columbia,MD at Merriweather Post Pavillion
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Denver,CO at Denver Coliseum
• 1975 25 May On This Day Led Zeppelin final performance at Earls Court Exhibition Hall
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Landover, MD at Capital Centre
• 1986 The Firm - Concord,CA at Concord Pavilion
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Tacoma,WA at Tacoma Dome

1975 after the final Earls Court performance, Page & Plant left for Morocco (posted 25 May On This Day)

1975 a few days after the final Earls Court performance, Page & Plant left for Morocco (posted 25 May On This Day)

1975 Dave Lewis' tickets for Earls Court

1975 Earls Court stage - such a small thing for such a big event (Photo Steve Selwood)

1975 Jimmy Page at Earls Court (photo H. Mylett)

1975 Earls Court - The final bows (photo source Dave Lewis)

1975  Jimmy Page takes last bows at Earls Court (photo Chris Walter)

1986 The Firm, Concord CA

♪  No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, Earls Court 05/25/1975) YouTube
♪  The Song Remains The Same (Led Zeppelin, Landover 05/25/1977) YouTube
♪  Yallah (Page & Plant, Unledded 1995) YouTube

On This Day May 23

Day three of the Earls Court concerts in 1975 and, in 1969, two concerts half a continent apart in one day. Let no one say it's all fun and games and Riot Houses in the life of rock stars.

1968 23 May On This Day The Yardbirds - San Francisco,CA at Fillmore Auditorium

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Bristol England at The Corn Exchange
• 1968 The Yardbirds - San Francisco CA at Fillmore Auditorium
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - (show 1 of 2 this day) San Jose  CA at Santa Clara Pop Festival
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - (show 2 of 2 this day) Chicago IL at Kinetic Playground
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Albuquerque NM at University Arena
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - London at Earls Court Exhibition Hall
• 1976 Page and Plant jam with Bad Company at the LA Forum
• 1986 The Firm - Costa Mesa CA at Pacific Amphitheatre
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Portland OR at Portland Memorial Coliseum
• 1998 Page & Plant North America Tour - Jacksonville FL at Coliseum
• 2012 Jimmy Page at Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee party

1969:
On this day Led Zeppelin performed two shows, one in San Jose CA and one in Chicago, thanks to a Lear jet provided by the promoters of the Santa Clara Pop Festival to fly the band to Chicago after their San Jose festival performance.  

Even though Led Zeppelin only had one album out at this time, they appeared with some big names at the festival. The three-day festival lineup included: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane, The Chambers Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon, Spirit, Canned Heat, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Youngbloods, Steve Miller, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Taj Mahal, Noel Redding, Lee Michaels, Blues Image, Santana, Aum, Elvin Bishop, Poco, People!, Lynn County, The Loading Zone, Sweet Linda Divine, Cat Mother, Doc Watson & New Lost City Ramblers. Eric Burdon wound up not appearing.

1975 Led Zeppelin - London,England at Earls Court Exhibition Hall - Melody Maker front page 24 May

1975 Led Zeppelin - London,England at Earls Court Exhibition Hall - NME front page 24 May

1976:
Various sites report that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant jammed with Bad Company at the LA Forum on this day, though it was no doubt actually May 16, as indicated by advertising for Bad Company's gig.  Page and Plant joined in for an encore performance of I Just Wanna Make Love To You. According to Dave Lewis, John Bonham was there but didn't play because of an injured hand.

1976 Page and Plant jam with Bad Company at the LA Forum

1976 Page and Plant jam with Bad Company at the LA Forum

2012 Jimmy Page at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee party at the Royal Academy

♪

♪  Dazed and Confused (The Yardbirds, Fillmore Auditorium 1968) YouTube
♪ No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, Albuquerque 1973) YouTube
♪  Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Earl's Court 23 May 1975) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Jacksonville 1998) YouTube


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

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 24 March

Everybody needs Jimmy Page

1986 24 March On This Day One Hit To The Body released, feat. Jimmy Page

• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Offenburg Germany at Ortenauhalle
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood CA at The Forum (day 1 of 3)
• 1985 The Firm - New Orleans, LA at U.N.O. Lakefront Arena
• 1986 The Firm - Springfield MA at Springfield Civic Center

1973 Led Zeppelin, Offenburg Germany

1975 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, LA Forum

2014 Jimmy Page at Scarlet Page's Resonators opening

♪

♪  Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin, Offenburg Germany 1973) YouTube
♪  Dazed and Confused Part 1 (Led Zeppelin, Offenburg Germany 1973) YouTube
♪  Dazed and Confused Part 2 (Led Zeppelin, Offenburg Germany 1973) YouTube
♪  Dazed and Confused Part 3 (Led Zeppelin, Offenburg Germany 1973) YouTube
♪  Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 24 March 1975) YouTube
♪  No Quarter  (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 24 March 1975) YouTube
♪  One Hit To The Body (Rolling Stones feat Jimmy Page 1986) YouTube

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

On This Day 14 March

Break and make

1969 14 March On This Day Led Zeppelin ham it up on Swedish TV
VIDEO

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Stockholm at Sveriges Radio TV Studios & at Stockholm Konserthuset; Uppsala, Sweden at Uppsala University
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Henley, England at Trentham Gardens Ballroom
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Nuremberg, Germany at Nuremberg Messehalle
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - San Diego, CA at San Diego Sports Arena
• 1985 The Firm - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1986 The Firm - Tampa, FL at USF Sun Dome
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Houston, TX at The Summit 

1969:
A marathon of three performances in one day. The first was at the Swedish TV studio, to be filmed miming Communication Breakdown, and this was the first of a number of TV and radio appearances over the next few weeks. The boys appeared to have a good time hamming it up for the camera.

Jimmy Page broke a string at the second gig at the Stockholm Konserthuset, and while it was being replaced the others performed I Got To Move, attributed by Robert Plant to Otis Rush. They sound pretty nice as a trio, though it lacks a certain something. Oh yeah. Guitar.

The second and third gigs' billings were shared with Country Joe and the Fish. Led Zeppelin hit the stage at 11 PM. They were probably tired puppies by the time they were done.

1969 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Stockholm Konserthuset 

1973 Led Zeppelin, Nuremberg

1985 Jimmy Page / The Firm Inglewood, CA at The Forum

1986:
"...if it's a good band, I think very musician is bound to be a strong person in their own right. But it's the way they come together on stage..."
~ Jimmy Page, WYNF Tampa radio interview

I'm not sure why Jimmy Page picked Spirit of Love as his favorite from Mean Business.  He sounded tired and bored and almost seemed to pick the song at random. It does have a great guitar solo in it, though.

1986 Jimmy Page with staff of WYNF Tampa Radio

♪

♪  Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin, Sveriges Radio TV Studios, Sweden 1969) YouTube
♪  I Gotta Move (Led Zeppelin, Stockholm Konserthuset 1969) YouTube
♪  The Rain Song (Led Zeppelin, Nuremberg 1973) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin, San Diego 1975) YouTube
♪  No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, San Diego 1975) YouTube
♪  Make or Break (The Firm, Inglewood 1985) YouTube
♪  Spirit of Love (The Firm, Mean Business 1986) YouTube
♫  WYNF Tampa radio spot recordings & interview 1986

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