On This Day 07 July

 Honoring Bonzo on this day

1980 07 July On This Day  Led Zeppelin, Berlin  Final show

1980 07 July On This Day Led Zeppelin Berlin

• 1968 Yardbirds -Beds, England at Student Union, Luton College
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Chicago at Chicago Stadium
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Berlin, Germany at Eissporthalle Jafféstraße ^^^
• 1998 Page & Plant - Washington, DC at MCI Center
• 2001 Page & Plant - Montreux Festival, with Bill Jennings and Mike Watts 

Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin  Chicago 1973

Led Zeppelin  Chicago 1973

2001 Page & Plant Montreux Jazz Festival

2001:
This night at Montreux was a tribute to Sun Records, founded by Sam Phillips.  Phillips was a DJ, radio engineer, producer, label owner, and talent scout throughout the 1940s and 1950s.  In 1950 he started up the Memphis Recording Service for amateurs (then!) such as B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Howlin' Wolf.  Phillips launched the Sun Records label in 1952.  The Memphis Recording Service became the Sun Recording Studio, which was the first to record Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.  Phillips recorded what may be the first rock and roll record: "Rocket 88" (discussed previously in Mage Music).

At Montreux, Page & Plant were introduced by Claude Nobs and Ahmet Ertegun. The playlist below provides links to the original versions that Page & Plant covered, with the final link being the 2001 Montreux show.

2014 Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin Photo)

2014 July Guitar World cover (Ross Halfin Photo)

♪ Led Zeppelin (Chicago IL at Chicago Stadium, 07 July 1973)

♪ Led Zeppelin (Berlin Germany at Eissporthalle Jafféstraße, 07 July 1980)

Montreux 2001:
♪  Good Rockin' Tonight (Roy Brown) YouTube
♪  My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (Sonny Burgess) YouTube
♪  Heart in Your Hand (Page & Plant, Walking Into Clarksdale 1998) YouTube
♪  Candy Store Rock (Led Zeppelin, Presence 1976) YouTube
♪  Endless Sleep (Jody Reynolds) YouTube
♪  How Many More Years  (Howlin’ Wolf) YouTube
♪  My Baby Left Me  (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup) YouTube
♪  Baby Let's Play House  (Arthur Gunter) YouTube

♪  Live at Montreux ( Page & Plant 2001) YouTube

November On This Day Index

Jimmy Page's On This Day Index for November

On This Day 01 November

On This Day 02 November

On This Day 03 November

On This Day 04 November

On This Day 05 November

On This Day 06 November

On This Day 07 November

On This Day 08 November

On This Day 09 November

On This Day10 November

On This Day11 November 

11 November 2015 Classic Rock

On This Day 12 November

On This Day 13 November 

13 November 2012

On This Day14 November

On This Day 15 November

On This Day 16 November

On This Day 17 November

On This Day 18 November

On This Day 19 November 

19 November 2015 Jimmy Page Honoree at EMP Museum

On This Day 20 November

RIP Peter Grant (1935-1995)

On This Day 21 November

On This Day 22 November

On This Day 23 November

On This Day 24 November

On This Day 25 November

On This Day 26 November

On This Day 27 November

On This Day 28 November

On This Day 29 November

On This Day 30 November

On This Day 28 December

Goan to Goa

2005 28 December On This  Day Jimmy Page vacationing in Goa

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Peoria,IL at Expo Gardens Youth Building
• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Vancouver, Canada at Pacific Coliseum 

1968

On this, Led Zeppelin's first American tour, Jimmy Page's name - as a former Yardbird - helped to attract an audience for the band. They also played as support for Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly. It must have been a comedown for Jimmy Page, since the Yardbirds were headliners and were paid in four figures whereas for one show on this tour Led Zeppelin was only paid $350. Led Zeppelin's name didn't even appear in some of the show ads. 

"In Seattle, Portland and those places where we weren't ever billed, we just walked out and said, 'Well actually, we're Led Zeppelin'."

Not that it was like that for very long. 

2005

Jimmy Page and Ross Halfin had spent Christmas in Cambodia.  Ross left for home on 27 December (hauling along the five foot tall Buddhas that each of them had purchased in Bangor Wat) while Jimmy Page went on to Goa, a state on the west coast of India.

2005 Goa (Jimmy Page photo)

2005 Jimmy Page passport stamp

2005 Goa (Jimmy Page photo)

Bollywood, a.k.a. Hindi cinema, is the biggest movie industry in the world, averaging more than twice as many movies produced as Hollywood in the USA. The name comes from combining Bombay (Mumbai) and Hollywood, and describes the industry rather than a place. Bollywood films earn around $100 million a year in the US, and are often in the UK top ten.

2005 Goa (Jimmy Page photo)

2005 Goa (Jimmy Page photo)

2005 Goa (Jimmy Page photo)

2005 Goa (Jimmy Page photo)

2005 Jimmy Page visa to enter India

2012 Jimmy Page on cover of Sound on Sound magazine (Ross Halfin photo)

♪

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 8 October

A model in so many ways

1999 08 October On This Day Jimmy Page – NetAid sound check at Giants Stadium, NJ

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Cardiff, Wales at Capitol Theater
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - San Diego, CA at SDSU Open Air Amphitheatre
• 1999 Jimmy Page – NetAid sound check at Giants Stadium, NJ
• 2012 Jimmy Page photo shoot with Ross Halfin, also attending Joe Walsh show at the Iridium Club in NYC 

1999:

Jimmy Page worked with Chris Robinson (vocals), Rich Robinson (guitar), Guy Pratt (bass) and Michael Lee (drums) for the NetAid concert. (More on NetAid tomorrow).

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson were the founding members of The Black Crowes, an American band formed 10 years before NetAid, but with five albums already released. The Black Crowes joined up shortly after the NetAid concert for a tour and put out Live at the Greek.  The band has broken up three times over the years, the most recent (and possibly final) time in January of 2015.

Guy Pratt is an English session bassist, who has worked with Pink Floyd, Gary Moore, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Robbie Robertson and others, and who had already worked with Jimmy Page in 1991 for the Coverdale-Page album and tour.

Michael Lee (1969 – 2008) was an English drummer, who, like John Bonham, used large drum sizes, from which he, like Bonzo, got big sound. Lee was Robert Plant's drummer for the 1993 Fate of Nations album and tour and stayed on for the Unledded and Walking Into Clarksdale Page & Plant collaborations and tours.

2012:

Jimmy Page and Ross Halfin had flown to New York on 05 October 2012 for promotion of the Celebration Day concert movie.  On this day Ross did a photo shoot with Jimmy Page at the Armani Store in New York City and later on the building's roof - the only place they could be outdoors where people would not mob them.  

Later that Monday evening the two went to see Joe Walsh at the  Iridium Club where from 1996-2009 Les Paul was a regular performer. The club now puts on Les Paul Mondays, reserved for guest guitarists to honor Les and perform on the same stage.  A portion of the clubs sales go to The Les Paul Foundation. 

2012 Jimmy Page at Armani Store in NYC (Ross Halfin photo)

2012 Jimmy Page in NYC (Ross Halfin photo)

2012 Joe Walsh & Jimmy Page after Walsh's show at Iridium Club (Ross Halfin photo)

♪

No playlist today, sorry!

On This Day 03 August

A great guitar is a thing of magic in the hands of a great guitarist.

2009 03 August On This Day Jimmy Page checks out the Gibson Les Paul "Number Two" prototype

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Racine, WI at New Sound Dance ClubYMCA
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Houston, TX at Houston Music Hall

2007 Q Magazine cover (Ross Halfin photo)

2007:
Ross Halfin on the Q cover Guitar Heroes issue and how it was done.

Edge was shot in Dublin. He was very professional, turned up a half hour late, apologised and stayed on to make up the time. He asked if I'd ever shot them early on. I told him I'd discovered America and toured with Rush, ACDC, UFO, Ozzy, Aerosmith and that ilk. I liked Edge a lot. The U2 camp is like being in the army, it's run with military precision.

Jack White was in Nashville and we shot at 9am - he's got a daughter so he's up early.

Jimmy Page was in Fulham on the hottest day of the year. I shot quite a lot that wasn't used.

Johnny Marr was in sunny Manchester (look at the sky on the inside spread). I'd never met him, he was a good bloke - as they say in ancient Rome. We talked about Rory Gallagher and how he acted towards people, always gracious.

Slash was in LA, at the bar of the Sunset Marquis Hotel. He did the interview sitting under giant prints of himself.

Matt Bellamy was at the Soho Hotel in London. Terry Hall (Matt's sexy PR) told me I had 15 minutes in a tiny bedroom, with the backdrop taking up the whole room. Steve Peck from Q stepped in and stretched it to 45 minutes while Terry chain-smoked and wouldn't stop talking inbetween blowing smoke all over the room.

Dave Grohl was in Los Angeles. Diamond Dave was so hyper. I was useless, not focused, shot in the evening while I was so jetlagged - I just wanted to go to bed.. At the end of the day I think it worked out well. The Master can still work well, even when half asleep.

Joe Perry was in London inbetween taking a nap and eating at Nobu with Jimmy Page.

~ Ross Halfin Diary August 2007

Features of Gibson's Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul

Gibson's Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul guitar

2009:

Jimmy Page has played and owns bunches of guitars, and has played and owns bunches of Gibson guitars. His Les Paul "Number One" is the guitar Mr. Page got from Joe Walsh in early 1969, and it quickly became his go-to guitar (bumping his Fender Telecaster from that position). "Number One" was used to record Led Zeppelin II and was in use through to the 2007 O2 concert and the 2008 Foo Fighters concert at Wembley Stadium. 

"Number Two" was purchased to supplement "Number One", possibly to avoid damaging the first guitar any further (just think about the force on a guitar when it's slapped with a bow) or maybe to have two guitars with very similar sound but with different tuning available on stage. "Number Two" was put into action after the initial modifications in the beginning of 1975 and was in use through to the 2007 O2 concert. 

I'm expecting to be seeing more of both these guitars in the future when Mr. Page puts out new music.

I'd talk about what modifications have been done to Jimmy Page's Gibson Les Paul "Number One" and "Number Two" but that's not my thing.  And of course, if you really want to know the details of the guitars and other gear, you want to buy Jeff Strawman's definitive book, Led  Zeppelin Gear: All the Gear From Led Zeppelin and the Solo Careers, which will be published in October 2015.

From the Gibson website:
Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul.

Every musician knows that late ’50s Sunburst Les Paul Standards are hard enough to come by as it is. Obtaining a pristine and exemplary ’59 ’Burst and modifying it for heightened performance and vastly expanded tonal options? Unheard of… unless, of course, you’re Jimmy Page. That’s exactly what the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, perhaps the world’s most iconic Les Paul player, did with his own ’59 Les Paul Standard, and now—thanks to the extreme efforts of Gibson’s Custom Shop and the intimate cooperation of Jimmy Page himself—the artist’s hallowed “Number Two” Les Paul is available to mere mortals, in the form of the Custom Shop Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul. Produced in strictly limited numbers, with two levels of aging, this guitar captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time, and it is likely to disappear from authorized Gibson dealers in record time.
[Mage Music note: this model is no longer available from Gibson]

Image from Gibson website for Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul guitar

♪  Rock and Roll (Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters, Wembley, 2008) YouTube
♪  Ramble On (Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters, Wembley, 2008) YouTube

On This Day 07 July

Honoring Bonzo on this day

1980 07 July On This Day  Led Zeppelin, Berlin  Final show

1980 07 July On This Day Led Zeppelin Berlin

• 1968 Yardbirds -Beds, England at Student Union, Luton College
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Chicago at Chicago Stadium
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Berlin, Germany at Eissporthalle Jafféstraße ^^^
• 1998 Page & Plant - Washington, DC at MCI Center
• 2001 Page & Plant - Montreux Festival, with Bill Jennings and Mike Watts 

Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin  Chicago 1973

Led Zeppelin  Chicago 1973

2001 Page & Plant Montreux Jazz Festival

2001:
This night at Montreux was a tribute to Sun Records, founded by Sam Phillips.  Phillips was a DJ, radio engineer, producer, label owner, and talent scout throughout the 1940s and 1950s.  In 1950 he started up the Memphis Recording Service for amateurs (then!) such as B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Howlin' Wolf.  Phillips launched the Sun Records label in 1952.  The Memphis Recording Service became the Sun Recording Studio, which was the first to record Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.  Phillips recorded what may be the first rock and roll record: "Rocket 88" (discussed previously in Mage Music).

At Montreux, Page & Plant were introduced by Claude Nobs and Ahmet Ertegun. The playlist below provides links to the original versions that Page & Plant covered, with the final link being the 2001 Montreux show.

2014 Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin Photo)

2014 July Guitar World cover (Ross Halfin Photo)

♪  Good Rockin' Tonight (Roy Brown) YouTube
♪  My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (Sonny Burgess) YouTube
♪  Heart in Your Hand (Page & Plant, Walking Into Clarksdale 1998) YouTube
♪  Candy Store Rock (Led Zeppelin, Presence 1976) YouTube
♪  Endless Sleep (Jody Reynolds) YouTube
♪  How Many More Years  (Howlin’ Wolf) YouTube
♪  My Baby Left Me  (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup) YouTube
♪  Baby Let's Play House  (Arthur Gunter) YouTube

♪  Live at Montreux ( Page & Plant 2001) YouTube

On This Day 07 June

What a day in musical history!  Today in 1977 was the first night of the six fabled Led Zeppelin shows at Madison Square Garden.  But for me, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters at Wembley in 2008 just zings straight to my heart.

2008 07 June On This Day Jimmy Page &  John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters - Wembley Stadium

• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Montreal, Quebec,Canada at Montreal Forum
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Lyon, France at Halle Tony Garnier
• 1998 Page & Plant - St Louis, MO at Keil Center
• 2008 Jimmy Page &  John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters - Wembley, London at Wembley Stadium 

1972 Led Zeppelin - Montreal, Quebec,Canada at Montreal Forum Photo Kevin Rowe

1977 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden Photo Terry O'Neill

1977 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden Photo Terry O'Neill

2008 07 June Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters - Wembley Stadium

2008 07 June Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters - Wembley Stadium

2008 07 June Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters - Wembley Stadium

2008 07 June Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters - Wembley Stadium

Ya gotta love 'em
John Paul Jones, Taylor Hawkins, Jimmy Page & Dave Grohl
2008 Wembley - Halfin photo

From Ross Halfin's diary June 7, 2008

"I climb onto the stage as they take a bow, get them to turn around and face me and get... the photo I want. Walk off the stage with Jimmy and John Paul Jones, stop them on the ramp and take a couple of shots. John says he wished they'd done more, they were just getting going."

Don't we all.

♪  Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Madison Square Garden 06/07/77) YouTube

♪  Magical Sound Boogie (Led Zeppelin, concert, Madison Square Garden 06/07/77) YouTube

♪ Page & Plant (concert, Live in Lyon, 1995) YouTube

♪  Rock and Roll (Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters, Wembley, 2008) YouTube

♪  Ramble On (Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters, Wembley, 2008) YouTube

♫  More Ross Halfin Photos of Foo Fighters/Wembley