Showing posts with label Yardbirds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yardbirds. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

On This Day 24 May

No more perfect choice to award the late, great B.B. King with the Polar Music Prize than Jimmy Page.

2004 24 May On This Day Jimmy Page presents B.B. King with Polar Music Prize

2004 Polar Music Prize guest list and seating.
  • 1968 Yardbirds - San Francisco, California @ Fillmore Auditorium (day 2)
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Chicago,IL US at Kinetic Playground (day 2)
  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - London UK at Earls Court Arena (day 4)
  • 2004 24 May On This Day Jimmy Page presents B.B. King with Polar Music Prize
Polar Music Prize press release for 2004 ceremony

This was day four of five for Led Zeppelin at Earls Court in 1975.  Dave Lewis says in his book, Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, "Jimmy performed one of his best ever solos on Stairway to Heaven, building slowly before taking off on a seemingly never-ending spiral of virtuosity."


1975 Plant & Page of Led Zeppelin at Earls Court Exhibition Centre London - Urban Image photo
1975 Earls Court 

1975 Jimmy Page at Earls Court Exhibition Centre London - Urban Image photo



♪ Rock Me Baby (B.B. King) YouTube
♪ Rock Me Baby (Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC 1974) YouTube
♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin - Earls Court 24 May 1975) YouTube
♪ Lux Aeterna (György Ligeti) YouTube
♫  Jimmy Page presenting Polar Music award to BB King

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

Monday, May 23, 2016

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

Sunday, May 22, 2016

On This Day 22 May

Awards, accolades and just plain fine music on this day.
2006 22 May On This Day Led Zeppelin receive Polar Music Prize
2006 22 May On This Day Led Zeppelin receive Polar Music Prize
  • 1967 Yardbirds - London at BBC Radio
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio TX at HemisFair Convention Center Arena
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Fort Worth TX at Tarrant County Convention Center
  • 1985 The Firm – London at Wembley Arena
  • 1986 The Firm - Inglewood CA at The Forum
  • 1995 Page & Plant Unledded North American Tour - Landover MD at Air Arena 
  • 1998 Page & Plant North American Tour - Miami FL at Miami Arena
  • 2006 Led Zeppelin receive Polar Music Prize
  • 2014 Jimmy Page attends the Ivor Novello Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England.


1973 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio Photo: Carl Dunn

1973 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio Photo: Carl Dunn

1985 Jimmy Page with The Firm at Wembley 

The Times review of The Firm – 22 May 1985 London at Wembley Arena
2006:
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA.  The prize was named for Anderson´s record label, Polar Music. The Polar Music Prize is one of the most prestigious and unique music prizes in the world, awarded to individuals, groups and institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements.

Led Zeppelin recorded In Through The Out Door at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden November - December 1978.
2014 Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck at Beck's Ivor Novello Award  Photo: Dave J Hogan



♪ Dazed and Confused (The Yardbirds 1967) YouTube
♪ 1977 White Summer/Black Mountain Side (Led Zeppelin, Fort Worth 1977) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Miami 1998) YouTube
♫ Jimmy Page & Jeff Beck PRS interview, Ivor Novello Award


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

Saturday, December 26, 2015

On This Day 26 December

Have a groovy day.
1968 26 December On This Day Led Zeppelin at Denver

1968 review of Denver gig
1966
Led Zeppelin's first US show, and Blow Up is playing in town, too.



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

Thursday, November 26, 2015

On This Day 26 November

Here in the US it's a day of thanksgiving.  I thank you, Jimmy Page, for the music you have given the world.
1965 & 2013 26 November On This Day Jimmy Page watched Bob Dylan at the Albert Hall,
with poet Scarlett Sabet in 2013 (posted on this day in  2014, 2015)

2009 26 November On This Day Jimmy Page attended Task Brazil fundraiser in Rio
(posted on this day in 2011, 2012, 2013)

  • 1966 The Yardbirds -Washington DC, at Washington Coliseum
  • 1967 The Yardbirds - Studio Session at Olympic Studios
  • 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Manchester, England at Manchester Apollo
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Bordeaux, France at La Patinoire Meriadeck 

2009 Task Brazil fundraiser

2009 Task Brazil fundraiser

2009 Task Brazil fundraiser.  The kids are obviously in awe of Jimmy Page

I am also thankful for you, my readers



♪  She Just Satisfies (Jimmy Page, 1965) YouTube
♪  Baby Who's Driving Your Car (Jimmy Page, 1970) YouTube
♪  Heartbreaker solo (Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin, Earls Court 1975) YouTube
♪  Communication Breakdown (Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin, Dortmund 1980) YouTube
♪  Absolution Blues (Jimmy Page, David Coverdale, 1993) YouTube
♪  Ramble On (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Wembley 2008) YouTube


Sunday, September 13, 2015

On This Day 13 September

What's in a name?
~ William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
1971 13 September On This Day Led Zeppelin at Berkeley Community Theater
  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - Stockholm, Sweden at Inside Club
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - Berkeley, CA at Berkeley Community Theatre

1968 Led Zeppelin at Inside Club, Stockholm (as Yardbirds - not even "new")
1968:
   “It has been up and down for the Yardbirds. A couple of years ago, they were on top. For a while, a lot of people thought that the Yardbirds would lead the developing English pop but their efforts led nowhere.
   The members changed and the Yardbirds currently touring Sweden have very little in common with the original line-up. It is not only the line-up that has changed. The style of music is different, as is the quality - only the name is the same.
   Friday night they played the Inside. They were so loud it almost hurt. Sometimes playing loud has an important role in pop, but here it was just superficial effect”.
~ Stockholm Daily News Press Review:  9.14.1968 (transcription:LZ The Press Reports, 1997)
The question is, would the review have been the same if the band billed as Yardbirds was already known by their proper name, Led Zeppelin, or even The New Yardbirds? Would the volume have been the only thing the reviewer managed to comment on?

1971:
"...loud, boisterous and very deafening..."  (Oakland Tribune)  Perhaps the problem was that Led Zeppelin was always meant to play humongous venues - to play to the world, not to a small crowd in a high school theater. Perhaps Berkeley was too cool for Led Zeppelin, too much in love with what they considered their own house band, the Grateful Dead. Whatever the reason, today it seems incredible that the audience was so unresponsive.

1971 Led Zeppelin, Berkeley (G Smith photo)

1971 Review of Led Zeppelin's Berkeley show


♪  Immigrant Song  (Led Zeppelin, Berkeley 13 September 1971) YouTube
♪  Dazed and Confused  (Led Zeppelin, Berkeley 13 September 1971) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Berkeley 13 September 1971) YouTube
♪  Celebration Day  (Led Zeppelin, Berkeley 13 September 1971) YouTube

 

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

On This Day 25 August

I was going to let my ghostwriter take over today so I could take a break, but oops - I don't have a ghostwriter.  So I'm taking a break anyway.  Today we have just a few photos and a playlist with a few songs related to nothing in particular, because why not.

1970 25 August On This Day Led Zeppelin, Nashville, TN at Nashville Municipal Auditorium
♪  Noshville Katz - parody of Nashville Cats (Lovin' Cohens) YouTube

  • 1966 The Yardbirds - San Francisco, CA at Carousel Ballroom
  • 1967 The Yardbirds - New York, NY at Village Theater
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - Nashville, TN at Nashville Municipal Auditorium
  • 1994 Page & Plant Unledded Project - London, England at London Studios (recording and filming without orchestras in front of a select audience)

1970:
Terry Manning (then recording engineer, along with Andy Johns) delivered the Led Zeppelin III masters to Peter Grant while the band was in Nashville. The first pressings of the album included the phrases "So mote be it" and "Do what thou wilt" inscribed on the lacquer by Manning.


1970 Nashville show promo

1994 Unledded - Robert Plant, Jimmy Page


Thursday, July 9, 2015

On This Day 09 July

Taking a day off now and then is a good thing.  I think I'll do the same.
2000 09 July On This Day Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes chilled out


  • 1966 Yardbirds - Derby, East Midlands, England at Bass Recreation Grounds
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - St. Paul, MN at St. Paul Civic Center Arena
  • 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Belfort, France at Eurokeennes Festival

Here's some stuff I like.  You might, too.
Take Me For A Little While, Coverdale/Page YouTube
As Long As I Have You, Led Zeppelin 1969  YouTube
Drone Orchestra - quite strange but compelling  YouTube
Laura Marling, Short Movie YouTube
Happy Drum Drum Monkey Girl, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussein  YouTube

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

On This Day 30 June

 "Please give us a chance..." 
 
1990 30 June On This Day Jimmy Page with Robert Plant at Silver Clef Awards concert at Knebworth

  • 1967 The Yardbirds - Shrewsbury, Shrops, England at Shrewsbury Music Hall
  • 1979 Led  Zeppelin visit Knebworth House 
  • 1980 Led Zeppelin - Frankfurt, Germany at Festhalle Frankfurt
  • 1990 Page & Plant - Knebworth for Nordoff  Robbins Silver Clef Winners Charity Concert 
  • 2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Holmdel, NJ at PNC Bank Arts Center

1979:
"Led Zeppelin, arguably the world's most popular hard rock band, came down before the (1979) festival to meet us and look around Knebworth House. Guitarist Jimmy Page was a fan of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, who lived in the House in the early 1800's. They shared an interest in the occult, and Jimmy wanted to see all our Bulwer Lytton memorabilia. He used to have a resident medium living at Knebworth and we have his crystal ball and books on magic and witchcraft. It is his ghost that roams the passages at night!
"Drummer John Bonham was more interested in the gardens and singer Robert Plant nearly took a swim in our pool but decided his hairdresser wouldn't be happy about it if he did."
--Chryssie Lytton Cobbold, Knebworth Rock Festivals
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 – 1873) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, and politician. He wrote a number of bestselling novels that were very popular in his day. If you've come across any of the following phrases, you've read some of his words: "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", "dweller on the threshold", and yes, "It was a dark and stormy night".

Zanoni is a story of love and occult aspiration.
A Strange Story, with its supernatural theme, was an influence on Bram Stoker's Dracula 

1980:
The Frankfurt audience was so loud that Jimmy Page had to stop playing White Summer when he couldn't hear himself and had to ask the audience to please give them a chance. Those were the days before in-ear monitors.

Phil Carson, then senior vice president at Atlantic Records, joined Led Zeppelin for an encore version of Money.  Carson started out his musical career with Dusty Springfield.

1980 John Paul Jones & Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Frankfurt (Photo Hans P Kirsch)

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Frankfurt
1990:
The Knebworth Festival is held on the grounds of the Knebworth House in England. The Nordoff Robbins Silver Clef Award Winners Concert was held there in 1990. The awards recognize outstanding talent across the music industry. Nordoff Robbins is a music therapy charity dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults.  

Robert Plant, who was awarded a Silver Clef that year (Jimmy Page received it in 2014), did a set for that show and Jimmy Page joined him on stage for three songs. As one person said who was there, when Jimmy walked on the stage the volume of the audience went up 1000%. The concert is available on DVD Live at Knebworth.

 
1990 Jimmy Page with Robert Plant at Knebworth

1990 Robert Plant, Jimmy Page at Knebworth

Knebworth House



Monday, June 29, 2015

On This Day 29 June

The Thing.
1995 29 June On This Day Page & Plant in Denmark

  • 1966 The Yardbirds- Bromley, England at Bromel Club ,Bromley Court Hotel
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - City of Westminster, London, England at Royal Albert Hall (two shows in one night!)
  • 1969 BBC Radio 1 broadcast of the 24 June Maida Vale session
  • 1980 Led Zeppelin - Zurich Switzerland at Hallenstadion
  • 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Roskilde, Denmark at Festivalpladsen - Roskilde Festival
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Grand Rapids, MI at Van Andel Arena
  • 2000 Jimmy Page - The Black Crowes - Milwaukee, WI at Marcus Amphitheatre

1969:
"...it is boggling that in a matter of months they have achieved such a high degree of musicianship and become one of the biggest crowd pullers around."
~ (NME, July ’69)
Led Zeppelin performed at two "Pop Proms" shows in one night at Royal Albert Hall, appearing with the sax players from The Liverpool Scene and Mick Abraham's Blodwyn Pigs for the final jam Long Tall Sally.  The performance was wild, with the audience dancing in the aisles and throwing flowers and paper airplanes onto the stage.

"Prom" is short for promenade concert.  The term was originally used for the concerts in the pleasure gardens of London, where the audience could stroll about while listening to the music. The BBC's eight-week summer seasons of daily orchestral classical music and other concerts and other events take place primarily in the Royal Albert Hall in London. "Pop Prom" refers to the popular music offerings. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones performed at a Pop Prom in 1963, the first of only two times when they appeared on the same bill.

Long Tall Sally was a song originally recorded by Little Richard (Richard Penniman) and released in 1956. It has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Elvis and the Beatles, though of course some of us know that Led Zeppelin did it best. The band used Long Tall Sally for encores in 1969 and 1970. (Note the Led Zeppelin link below is from a week later in the US).

1969 Led Zeppelin - Westminster, London at Royal Albert Hall "Pop Proms" shows

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin - Westminster, London at Royal Albert Hall
(Photo Peter Sanders)

1980 Led Zeppelin in Zurich (Photo L Viti)

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Zurich (Photo Chris Turner)



Friday, June 26, 2015

On This Day 26 June

Will somebody please explain the firecrackers to me?  What's with that?
1998 & 2000 On This Day Jimmy Page at Auburn Hills MI

  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Paris, France at Le Weekend Club
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Portsmouth, London  at Portsmouth Guildhall
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
  • 1980 Led Zeppelin - Vienna, Austria at Weiner Stadthalle
  • 1998 On This Day Page & Plant - Auburn Hills, MI at The Palace at Auburn Hills
  • 2000 On This Day Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Auburn Hills, MI at The Palace at Auburn Hills

1977 26 June Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin LA Forum

1977 26 June Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin LA Forum (Redfern)
1980:
It's hard for me to fathom why people kept throwing firecrackers at the band. Jimmy Page was hit in the face with with one in the middle of White Summer.  The band walked off the stage and there was a long wait for anything else to happen. An announcer came on stage and said the following (translated from German):
 "We have a group here that is giving their best but they can't be disturbed by idiots who throw something onto the stage! Jimmy Page has been injured by a firecracker that landed on his eyes! I can only ask for one thing: if someone is standing next to you who does this kind of nonsense, give him a smart rap over the knuckles! I can't set up concerts in vienna - and i'm setting up concerts since 15 years - if I can't guarantee for the safety of my acts (or performers). And now I must request your patience in order for us to clear this situation. We can't just forget what just happened, that's why we want the person who threw this to come up here on stage, or to be brought here by his neighbors. We want to meet him, we want to talk to him. And if he himself doesn't have the guts to come up here - because we can't continue with the concert until we talked to him - his neighbors should get him on the stage. Then the concert will continue. We'll have to talk to this man. I want him here because this idiot is messing up the show for everyone." 

What's amazing to me is that the band did come out and finish the show.  It boggles my mind to think about being on stage,giving yourself to the music while being a moving target for the weirdos.
1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Vienna Austria

1980 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Vienna Austria
♪  8mm concert footage (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 26 June 1977) YouTube
♪  Full concert/That's All Right Mama (Led Zeppelin, LA Forum 26 June 1977) YouTube
♪  White Summer (Led Zeppelin, Vienna 1980) YouTube