Tuesday, January 2, 2024

On this day 02 January

 The show must go on... please!!!

1963 02 January On This Day Diamonds, featuring Jimmy Page acoustic guitar, released
AUDIO: Diamonds (Jet Harris, feat. Jimmy Page acoustic guitar, John Baldwin bass guitar 1963) 

  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 1 of 4)
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - Sheffield England at Sheffield City Hall
1963
"Diamonds" was the first record that Jimmy Page played on (acoustic guitar), and also was the first time he recorded with John Paul Jones (then still John Baldwin). The song hit Number One in the U.K. just a month later, where it stayed for three weeks, and almost overnight JP became a hot item as a session guitarist.


1969:
Led Zeppelin opened for Alice Cooper, and was promoted as “featuring Jimmy Page, formerly of the Yardbirds". Jimmy Page was sick with the flu but went onstage anyway with a raging fever. The band could only perform one set and were docked in pay. Alice Cooper recalled that there were only about 100 people in the audience, since no one had heard of either him or Led Zeppelin at that point. Cooper also recalls tossing a coin to see which act would perform first.


1969 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go 

1973:
According to Dave Lewis, John Bonham and Robert Plant drove together to the Sheffield gig in Bonzo’s Bentley, which broke down. The two were forced to hitchhike in the rain the rest of the way to the show. Unfortunately – and coincidentally, given the 1969 show on this day - Robert took sick from the adventure and had a rough time singing. The next two days’ shows were cancelled while he recovered.

02 January 2017 (Ross Halfin photo)





♪ Diamonds (Jet Harris, feat. Jimmy Page acoustic guitar, John Baldwin [not yet John Paul Jones] bass guitar] released 02 January 1963)
♪  Led Zeppelin (Sheffield England at Sheffield City Hall, 02 January 1973)

Monday, January 1, 2024

Sunday, December 31, 2023

On this day 31 December

 Happy New Year!

1968 31 December On This Day Jimmy Page on the road on New Year's Eve

2015 Classic Rock "Best of the Year" cover

2009 March Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin photo)






♫  BBC 2 Johnnie Walker interviews Jimmy Page 12/30/15 (MP3)

Saturday, December 30, 2023

On this day 30 December

 Dazed thinking 2023 is about over

1968 30 December On This Day Led Zeppelin at Gonzaga University, Spokane WA
AUDIO: a minute and a half of Dazed and Confused (MP3)
  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - Spokane, WA at Gonzaga University 
1968
The House of Gonzaga was the ruling family of Mantua, in Northern Italy, from 1328 to 1708. The most famous son was Aloysius Gonzaga, who was canonized in 1726. In 1729 Pope Benedict declared Aloysius to be the patron saint of young students. 

Gonzaga University is a private Jesuit university located in Spokane, Washington, founded in 1887.

As noted in today's post: The audience recording of Dazed and Confused from Gonzaga (9 minutes and 42 seconds long) was training for a number that would run much, much longer in later years.  According to Jimmy Page, the song had "all the movements of a classical symphony".  Note that Led Zeppelin performed Dazed and Confused  more than 200 times over the years, with the longest being nearly 45 minutes at The Forum in LA, 27 March 1975.





Also in 1968
Not on this day but interesting: In 1964 Jimmy Page, along with Big Jim Sullivan, had worked with PJ Proby on Proby's first studio album, I Am P. J. Proby. Four years later all four members of Led Zeppelin recorded together for the very first time -- but not on a Led Zeppelin album, on PJ Proby's final album Three Week Hero. The recording sessions took place starting August 1968 and the album was released in April 1969. Read more... 

According to Proby in a 2012 interview by Corbin of Finding Zoso:
"...we recorded that album, I think it was in two days. We even undershot, we recorded it with about thirty-five minutes left over, and so Roland yelled down, “Why don’t you all busket*? We shouldn’t waste the studio time.” I told the boys, “Y’all start picking and I’ll write as you pick.” So the three last numbers on the album, It's So Hard to Be a Nigger/Jim's Blues/George Wallace is Rollin' in This Mornin’, I just made up as the boys played."

Jimmy Page - Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
John Paul Jones - Bass guitar, keyboards, arrangements
John Bonham - Drums, conga
Robert Plant - Harmonica

* Re: "busket": Roland must have said "busk it", meaning improvise.

2008 Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin photo)





♪  Led Zeppelin (Spokane WA at Gonzaga University, 30 December 1968) 
♪  Jim's Blues (PJ Proby with Jimmy Page guitar recorded 1968 released 1969) 
Note: PJ's first name was Jim
♪  Mery Hopkins medley (PJ Proby with "The New Yardbirds" released 1994) 
Note: Proby calls out each member of the band, who then plays a little solo



Friday, December 29, 2023

On this day 29 December

 Getting ready for a new year


2005 29 December Jimmy Page vacationing in Goa
  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - Portland, OR at Portland Civic Auditorium

2007 Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin photo)

Here's a link to a few of Ross Halfin's photos of Jimmy Page.



Wednesday, December 27, 2023

On this day 27 December

 Whiz kid

1969 27 December On This Day Jimmy Page in Melody Maker
  • 1966 -The Yardbirds - Ann Arbor, MI at The Fifth Dimension
  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - Seattle, WA at Seattle Arena
1969 Melody Maker "Blind Date" interview




1968


Tuesday, December 26, 2023

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.


Jimmy Page On Making The Led Zeppelin Remasters - Part 1 | Louder