On This Day 26 October

Never out of time when it comes to Jimmy Page's music

1987 26 October On This Day Jimmy Page recorded Blues Anthem with Chris Farlowe

• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Bristol, England at Bristol Boxing Club 
• 1987 Jimmy Page with Chris Farlowe, Blues Anthem for Outrider recorded
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - East Rutherford, NJ at Brendan Byrne Arena
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden (day 1)

1966:

Mick Jagger and Keith Richard wrote Chris Farlowe's biggest hit, Out of Time.  Jagger produced it as well as sang backup vocals, with Jimmy Page on guitar.  

"Funnily enough I didn’t like the song at first. I saw myself as an r’n’b and blues singer, and it seemed too “pop” to me. But Mick said, wait until you hear it with a full orchestra behind it. And he was right – it’s a great song. I’ve still got photographs of the recording session.’
~ Chris Farlowe, The Merceysider Magazine interview 2014

The orchestra was okay. Kind of overdone, if you ask me. But Jimmy Page - he was the secret weapon. More would have been better.

Jimmy Page's Gibson Cromwell acoustic guitar used to record Out of Time (1966)

Jimmy Page with Gibson Cromwell acoustic guitar

1968:

There isn't much info about this Led Zeppelin appearance, but Mick Farren (1943-2013) of The Deviants talked about the show.

"We supported Led Zeppelin at one of their first gigs at the local Bristol boxing club and the audience hated us and despised them. Somebody threw a beer glass at the stage and Sid Bishop, our guitarist, unfortunately threw it back and cut somebody's head open. When Led Zeppelin came on, they got through number and a half until the fire extinguishers, buckets, bricks and everything was being thrown at them.

"All these farmboys with brown suits and haircuts who had come into town looking to get laid marched in. Page and Plant were cracking up in the dressing room after we'd come off, saying how terrible we were. But they had gotten the same treatment because by now it had gotten way out of hand. We had to huddle inside the van while the kids bounced up and down on it and we didn't escape until 2 in the morning when it was safe to go home."

~ LedZepConcerts.com 

1988:
Chris Farlowe sang on three tracks from Jimmy Page's Death Wish II soundtrack (1982), as well as Hummingbird, Prison Blues and Blues Anthem on Outrider.

1995:
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant's American tour was sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft (Miller Brewing Company), a portion of the proceeds from the sponsored tour to benefit the Second Harvest National Food Bank Network. It's not clear to me whether every venue in 1995 was covered or only the first leg of the tour. Part of the deal was the Miller Genuine Draft Led Zeppelin Memorabilia truck that was supposed to show up at each venue, and 50 "Miller Genuine Draft Page/Plant guitars" were to be autographed and donated to the cause.  The brewing company guaranteed a minimum $100,000 for Second Harvest.

1995 Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Madison Square Garden

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♪  Out Of Time (Jimmy Page, Chris Farlowe 1966) YouTube
♪  Hummingbird (Jimmy Page with Chris Farlowe, Outrider 1988) YouTube
♪  Prison Blues (Jimmy Page with Chris Farlowe, Outrider 1988) YouTube
♪  Blues Anthem (Jimmy Page with Chris Farlowe, Outrider 1988) YouTube

On This Day 25 October

Good old Surrey U

1968 25 October On This Day Led Zeppelin at Surrey University

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Los Angeles, CA at ABC TV Center, taping for The Milton Berle Show
• 1968 Led Zeppelin - London, England at University of Surrey, Great Hall
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Boston, MA at Boston Garden
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Rochester, NY at Rochester Community War Memorial 

1968:

Although the poster used as the background for today's On This Day post is for The New Yardbirds, in fact Led Zeppelin performed as Led Zeppelin for the first time. The poster, authenticated and auctioned off in 2003, apparently was printed in advance of the gig and prior to when Peter Grant and Jimmy Page decided to switch the name of the band to Led Zeppelin, sometime in mid-October.

Dave Lewis quotes Jimmy Page telling Chris Welch (Melody Maker), "It's refreshing to know that today you can go out and form a group to play the music you like and people will listen. It's what musicians have wanted for twenty years."

~ Dave Lewis, Led Zeppelin: The Concert File

Surrey University is also where, on 20 June 2008, Jimmy Page was awarded the honorary degree of Doctorate of the University of Surrey, in recognition of his services to the music industry. 

By the way, if you don't have a copy of  Dave Lewis' book, you really should get one. It's an incredible resource. I keep mine on my desk where I can reach for it whenever I need it.

1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour, Rochester NY (Jason Bonham drums) (photo by smagin)

1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour, Rochester NY (photo by smagin)

2013 Jimmy Page visits Arctic Monkeys backstage at Earls Court (Ross Halfin photo)

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♪  Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (Yardbirds - lipsynched - for Milton Berle Show 1966) YouTube
♪  Outrider / album (Jimmy Page 1988) YouTube

On This Day 24 October

A long time ago
in a decade far, far away

1963 24 October On This Day Carter Lewis & The Southerners release
Your Mama's Out of Town and Somebody Told My Girl

• 1963 Carter Lewis & The Southerners feat. Jimmy Page release Your Mama's Out of Town
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Cleveland, OH at Clevalnd Public Hall 
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Philadelphia, PA at The Spectrum  

1963 Jimmy Page with Carter Lewis & The Southerners

1963 Jimmy Page with Carter Lewis & The Southerners

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Cleveland (Michael Pierson photo)

1969 Cleveland Chronicle Telegram review of Led Zeppelin show

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Cleveland (Michael Pierson photo)

2013 Jimmy Page backstage with Baroness, Electric Ballroom London
(Ross Halfin photo)

♪

♪  Your Mama's Out of Town (Carter Lewis & The Southerners 1963) YouTube
♪  Somebody Told My Girl (Carter Lewis & The Southerners 1963) YouTube
♪  Black Dog , Kashmir (Page & Plant, Philadelphia 1995) YouTube
♪  Full set ( (Page & Plant, Philadelphia 1995) YouTube

On This Day 23 October

The song remains...

1966 23 October On This Day The Yardbirds San Francisco at Fillmore Auditorium

1966 The Yardbirds - San Francisco, CA at Fillmore Auditorium
1976 Led Zeppelin – TSRTS promo, US television debut on Don Kirshner's Rock Show
1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Boston, MA at Fleet Center

1966 The Yardbirds San Francisco at Fillmore Auditorium
(Gordon Linden photo)

1966:

Ed Denson (Berkeley Barb, 28 October 1966):

'Eleven amplifiers, eleven amplifiers, the Yardbirds have 11 amplifiers, Jesus Christ -- the words seemed to spring from the air in the Fillmore last Sunday as the other groups on the afternoon show waited for the Yardbirds, the stars, and the amplifiers, and their equipment to arrive. Standel advertises that 10 of theirs have the power to kill anyone standing in front of them ... [The Yardbirds'] first note reveals the meaning of the eleven amplifiers. The guitar has a power, a fullness of tone, a depth that has not been often heard outside a recording studio. The sound moves out of the three amplifiers and possesses you, driving the normal impulses out of your nervous system and replacing them with music. But not a music that you've ever heard before. It has the textures and rhythms of Chicago blues, like almost all rock now, but as they play the bass player turns his body so that his instrument is facing the 27 square feet of amplifier and speakers that stand behind him, taller than he, and the feedback tones fill the room with a sound more powerful than anything before it, and touching more on what is happening, and then the lead guitarist goes into an incredible distorted nm with notes and feedback blending into a beautiful new sound ... No other group has been as close to it as the Yardbirds --Beatles, Stones forget it. At the back of the hall it is too loud, muddy, much of it inaudible and the sound system has utterly failed to match the eleven amplifiers. Not a word can be heard.... I am convinced, I am converted, the Yardbirds are the best group in the world. It took a day to come down from that idea. After it was over I watched them leave, clear smiles on their faces and plane schedules on their minds, and I remembered what they had done to my favorite music, and how my mind ached with the glory of today [but] all the songs sounded the same ... They don't have the variety or didn't choose to on stage that day. Like Butterfield they did one thing, and really well.'

1976: 

Don Kirshner’s Rock Show website says that the TSRTS footage was aired on 29 September 1976. I tend to doubt that. Given that the movie hadn’t been released yet and Swan Song’s news release was dated October 15, I’m going with the 23 October 1976 date.

"Although they never appeared live on the show, footage from Zeppelin’s 1976 film, The Song Remains the Same, was aired on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert on September 29, 1976.  Featured selects included performances of “Rock and Roll”, “Bring It On Home”, “Wear Flowers In Your Hair”, “Black Dog”, and “Dazed and Confused.”  The astounding 25 minute performance of “Dazed and Confused” showcased some of the band’s wildest stage antics, particularly Jimmy Page’s technique with a violin bow. " 

1976 Swan Song press release for TSRTS

Jimmy Page playing Stairway To Heaven, from the TSRTS movie

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♪  Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, from TSRTS movie 1976) YouTube

♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Boston 1995) YouTube

Jimmy Page biography by Martin Power (2016)

Chris Charlesworth on the forthcoming Jimmy Page biography by Martin Power:
Via Dave Lewis

Here’s a piece via Chris Charlesworth’s excellent Just Backdated blog about the forthcoming Jimmy Page biography by Martin Power – due out via Omnibus next year. I met with Martin a few months back to discuss the book – he is very thorough on the music and his credentials include the much acclaimed Jeff Beck book Hot Wired Guitar -The Life of Jeff Beck.

Over to Chris:

While editing the early chapters of a forthcoming biography of Jimmy Page this week, three of which are devoted to his work as a session player between 1963 and 1966, my attention was drawn to the guitar playing on ‘My Baby Left Me’ by Dave Berry and ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ by First Gear, just two examples of the casual brilliance Jimmy brought to records that weren’t even hits. Guitar playing like this certainly hadn’t appeared on records by The Beatles or Rolling Stones up to this point.

Of ‘My Baby Left Me’, author Martin Power writes: “Alongside the likes of drummer Bobby Graham, bassist Alan Niven and, on occasion, legendary big band trombonist Don Lusher, Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan helped form the crack team that Dave Berry had dreamed of. By the autumn of 1963, some of them had also cut Berry’s own favourite of all his studio recordings, a sterling cover of Elvis’ ‘My Baby Left Me’. ‘Yep, that’s the one I’d like to be known for,’ he said ‘Nothing like the Arthur Crudup original, nothing like Elvis, just our own version of the song. Jimmy Page on lead guitar, Alan Niven on slap bass – there were actually two basses on that, you know. But yes, a good song. I’m happy with that and really glad Jimmy was on it.’ Page was actually all over it. Providing a master class in snappy riffs and clattering chords throughout the verse and chorus before letting fly with a quite superb solo, Jimmy took Berry’s already spirited reading of ‘My Baby Left Me’ to another level.  ‘I remember the great solo that Jimmy did on that session,’ Sullivan later recalled. ‘It’s one of the best constructed rock solos on record.’”

Here’s a link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqL71rZjb2s

Of ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’, Martin writes: “Page’s performance on First Gear’s ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ must surely rank as one of the finer guitar solos of the sixties. Signed to Pye records and managed/produced by Shel Talmy, First Gear were at the time tipped for big things, their North eastern cocktail of Elvis-style rock’n’roll and Mersey-approved beat pop as gritty, energetic and potentially promising as Van Morrison’s Them. With Talmy at the helm, the band entered the studio in the autumn of 1964 to record a single version of Ernie K-Doe’s ‘A Certain Girl’. In itself no slouch, ‘A Certain Girl’ motored along nicely on the back of lead singer Dave Walton’s behind-the-beat falsetto, some pleasing female backing vocals and Jimmy’s countrified string bends.

“But it was when First Gear and Page ran through the B-side, a cover of Little Willie John’s ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ that Shel Talmy’s interest was truly peaked.  ‘Jimmy was about 18, 19 at the time, with bushy black hair, and very quiet,’ Dave Wilton recalled to the BBC. ‘But then he did this off the cuff, lightning guitar break on ‘Leave My Kitten…’. Well, Shel came racing down from the control room and said, ‘What did just you do to get that!’ So, he (told) Jimmy he was going to take it again. First take, Jimmy played it note-for-note perfectly.’ The resultant solo really was a thing of beauty. All twists, turns and racing speed pick work, Page’s contribution to ‘… Alone’ distilled all he had learnt from James Burton, Scotty Moore and Buddy Guy into just 23 seconds. Yet, there was also something else that was utterly distinctive and unique. At the start of his solo intrusion, Page’s guitar actually sounded like it was riding a wave of electricity. No distinct notes per se, more a wash of undulating sound. Quite unlike anything else Jimmy (or anybody else) had recorded up to that point, it was the first real pointer of where Page’s muse would take him in later years.”

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezPQBv32kBo

The book, entitled No Quarter: The Three Lives Of Jimmy Page, will be published in the spring of next year. Updates on its progress and further extracts will appear on Just Backdated over the next few months.

Chris’s blog link:

http://www.justbackdated.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/jimmy-page-session-man.html

Mage Music note:  Chris tells me that the biography is not authorized by Jimmy Page.

On This Day 22 October

Whole lotta lotta.

1969 22 October On This Day Led Zeppelin II released
♪ Whole Lotta Love (SoundCloud)

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Westport, CT at Staples High School Auditorium
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Wichita, KS at Cotillion Club
• 1969 Led Zeppelin II released
• 1976 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Fox Wilshire, premier of The Song Remains The Same 
• 1988 Jimmy Page - Outrider Tour - Detroit, MI at Joe Louis Arena
• 1997 Led Zeppelin releases Whole Lotta Love as a single in the UK 
• 2014 Jimmy Page - London at Paul Smith Led Zeppelin Limited Edition Scarves launch 

1976:

There is conflicting information about the exact dates of the Led Zeppelin premieres in New York and Los Angeles. Some say October 19 and 21, respectively, and others - including Dave Lewis - say October 20 and 22. I'm going with Dave.

1976 The Song Remains The Same movie premiere, LA

1976 LA premiere of The Song Remains The Same

1988:
Jimmy Page just got better and better at interpreting Chopin's Prelude. It's the first song on the full set video for the Detroit show (playlist below).

1988 Jimmy Page, Outrider Tour, Detroit (Ben Roberts photo)

1997:

Whole Lotta Love was released as a single in the UK on this day - the first ever single released there. The occasion was the 30th anniversary of the band. The video is hot, hot, hot. 

If you'd never heard one Led Zeppelin song and this was your first, it would knock your socks off. For those of us who've been listening since day one, it was a reminder that every single Led Zeppelin song is a masterpiece in its own right.

2014:
Having met with fashion designer Paul Smith in Tokyo earlier this month in 2014, on this day Jimmy Page attended the launch of the Paul Smith Led Zeppelin scarf line in London.

2014 Paul Smith & Jimmy Page in London

2015:
More and more movies are using Led Zeppelin songs in their trailers and as part of their soundtracks. I've included a trailer for The Big Short, to be released this December.  When The Levee Breaks is the music for the trailer.

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♪  Whole Lotta Love / promo (Led Zeppelin, 1969/1997) YouTube

♪  Full Set (Jimmy Page Outrider Tour, Detroit 1988) YouTube

♪  The Big Short (movie trailer 2015) YouTube

On This Day 21 October

Waiting for the Happenings One Year To Come.

1966 21 October On This Day Yardbirds Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

• 1966 The Yardbirds release Happenings Ten Years Time Ago 
• 1966 The Yardbirds - Worcester, MA at The Comic Strip
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Dallas, TX at Studio Club
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Dayton, OH at Hara Arena
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Hartford, CT at Hartford Civic Center

1966:

You might want to listen to Jimi Hendrix's House Burning Down right after listening to Happenings Ten Years Time Ago. Seems to me pretty clear that Jimi was influenced by Jimmy, or at least by The Yardbirds' song, which was released two years prior to Hendrix's.

Not saying if it's true it's a bad thing. Not saying anything about anyone "stealing" a song, either. To me it just shows once again how a great musician stands on the shoulders of the musicians before him (or her). 

2010 Jimmy Page on cover of October Lid Magazine

2010 October issue of Lid Magazine's Jimmy Page article

2010 Lid Magazine Jimmy Page article (Ross Halfin photo, right)

♪

♪  Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (The Yardbirds 1966) YouTube
♪  House Burning Down (Jimi Hendrix, 1968) YouTube
♪  Emerald Eyes (Jimmy Page, Dayton OH 1988) YouTube
♪  Black Dog (Page & Plant, Hartford CT 1995) YouTube