On This Day 19 May

Page and Plant in Pensicola on this day in 1998 and a few days' break in 1975 for Led Zeppelin before the next three Earls Court shows.

1998 19 May On This Day Page & Plant - Pensacola, Florida at Pensacola Civic Center

There were two days of soundchecks and rehearsals at the venue prior to opening night in Pensicola.  The year-long tour took Page & Plant back and forth across the Atlantic several times.

• 1967 Yardbirds - Elizabethville, Paris, France at L'Hermitage
• 1968 Yardbirds - Santa Barbara, California at Francisco Torres
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Fort Worth,TX US/ Tarrant County Convention Center
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Baton Rouge, LA US/LSU Assembly Center
• 1986 The Firm (Mean Business Tour)- Houston, Texas at The Summit
• 1995 Page & Plant (Unledded North American Tour) - Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA. 
• 1998 19 May On This Day Page & Plant (North American Tour) - Pensacola, Florida at Pensacola Civic Center 
• 2011 Jimmy Page at Ivor Novello Awards where Paul Rogers receives award for songwriting 

1986 The Firm (Mean Business Tour)- Houston, Texas at The Summit

1998 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant promo photo for US Tour.  Mick Hutson photo

  

2011 19 May Jimmy Page, Cynthia Rodgers, Paul Rodgers - Ivor Novello Songwriting Award

2011 May Les Inrocks Magazine

2014 Jimmy Page and Jack White backstage of the Jimmy Fallon Show (episode aired May 21) - Photo Ross Halfin 

On This Day 18 May

In 1977 on this day Led Zeppelin played in Birmingham and in 1985 The Firm played in Birmingham - different countries on different continents, though. And of course, on this day in 1975 Led Zeppelin played the second of five sold-out nights to 17,000 fans at Earls Court Arena, London England.

In 1977 On This Day Jimmy Page was in one Birmingham or another

• 1967 Yardbirds- Versailles, France
• 1968 Yardbirds - Lewiston, Idaho at Casey's
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Minneapolis, Minnesota at Tyrone Guthrie Theatre
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Dallas, Texas at Dallas Memorial Auditorium
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - London, England at Earls Court Exhibition Centre
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Birmingham, Alabama at Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena
• 1985 The Firm - Birmingham, West Midlands, England at NEC Arena 
• 2006 Scarlet Page photo exhibition opening, "Your Child", at the Proud Gallery in Camden

♪  Since I've Been Loving You - Led Zeppelin 1977, Birmingham AL  YouTube

Jimmy Page - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

John Paul Jones & Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Robert Plant & Jimmy Page - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page on Theremin - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

On This Day 17 May

"Robert Plant... a jester at the wheel of some fearsome juggernaut, offering sly asides and poetic ruminations between moments of terrible power."

~ Chris Welch

1975 17 May On This Day Earls Court Day One

Interestingly, the photo for the On This Day image for Earls Court (above) is from Knebworth, not Earls Court. The band had transported their whole 40-ton stage and light show from the US and a huge screen was installed above the stage for Earls Court. While there were laser effects it wasn't until 1977 that the pyramid effect was used and 1979 that the the bow itself had a laser as in this photo [read more on Led Zeppelin use of lasers].   

Earl's Court, 1975: Three shows sold out in just a few hours (May 23, 24 and 25) before two additional shows were added (May 17 and 18).

1975 19 April NME announcement of two additional shows

Five nights of Led Zeppelin, with each show clocking in at over three hours. Talk about endurance. Many still consider these shows to be Led Zeppelin's best ever performances.

♪ Bron-Y-Aur Stomp YouTube

• 1968 Yardbirds,Tacoma, Washington at University of Puget Sound, Memorial Fieldhouse
• 1969 Led Zeppelin, Athens, Ohio at O. U. Convocation Center
• 1975 Led Zeppelin, London, England - Day 1 of 5 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre
• 1986 The Firm Dallas, Texas at Reunion Arena'
• 1995 Page & Plant - Inglewood, California at The Forum
• 2003 the double DVD set ‘Led Zeppelin’ was released with six tracks from Earls Court May 24 and 25 shows.

1975 May Earls Court stage set

1975 May Earls Court stage set

1975 May Earls Court - Jimmy Page playing Black Dog

1975 May Earls Court Jimmy Page acoustical set

1975 Earls Court

1975 May Earls Court "...moments of terrible power" (Chris Welch quote)

On This Day 16 May

 Page & Plant at LA Forum just a few months into their world tour.

1995 16 May On This Day Page - Plant at LA Forum day 1 of 2

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Detroit,MI/The Grande Ballroom
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Houston,TX/Sam Houston Coliseum
• 1986 The Firm - Oklahoma City,OK/Oklahoma City Fairgrounds
• 1995 Page & Plant - Inglewood,CA/The Forum

♪ Jimmy Page, The Firm: In A Dark & Stormy Night (Oklahoma City - May 16, 1986)

1995 16 May Page - Plant at LA Forum day 1 of 2 setlist

1995 16 May Page - Plant at LA Forum day 1 of 2 ticket

1995 16 May Page - Plant at LA Forum day 1 of 2 tour book

1995 16 May Page - Plant at LA Forum day 1 of 2 review

RIP B.B. King

The world has suffered a great musical loss today with the death of Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015).

BB King 1925-2015

The Kings:  Elvis Presley & BB King 1956

King's guitars were named Lucille.  They were usually black Gibsons.  King's song Lucile is about his guitar and how it got its name. 

One of BB King's "Lucille" guitars

♪ Lucille (BB King) YouTube

The July 21, 1969 Schaefer Music Festival at New York, NY US Central Park (Wollman Rink Theater) double-bill featured Led Zeppelin and BB King.  They played separate sets, more's the pity.  It's hard to imagine today, but like with so many of the foundational blues musicians, BB King was not recognized properly for the immortal he was, and at this venue he was considered a support act to another bunch of immortals.

On This Day 15 May

Session man on this day in 1964.

1964 15 May On This Day PJ Proby releases 'Hold Me" (Jimmy Page rhythm guitar, Big Jim Sullivan lead)

PJ Proby was one of a couple dozen who did a version of Hold Me, a 1933 song by Jack Little, David Oppenheim, and Ira Schuster. 

Proby began writing songs and recording demos for artists such as Elvis Presley and Bobby Vee in 1962. It was inevitable that Jimmy Page and Proby would meet, since Proby knew Jackie DeShannon. In 1964 Proby went to the UK on DeShannon's advice, appearing on The Beatles' television special and putting out top 20 hits over two years' time, including Hold Me (featuring session players Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar and Big Jim Sullivan lead).

♪ Hold Me (PJ Proby) YouTube

• 1964 PJ Proby releases Hold Me
• 1986 The Firm St. Paul, Minnesota @ St. Paul Civic Center Arena
• 1988 Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary (continued). This show featured artists from the recording label’s early years to the latest pop stars.  It was planned as a 12 hour event, beginning at 1:30 PM on Saturday May 14 and ending at 1:30 a.m. Sunday May 15. Scheduled to start at midnight, in fact, Page, Plant, Jones and Jason Bonham didn’t hit the stage till 1:30 on Sunday morning. This was not the most shining performance of the veteran musicians, though Jason came out looking good. Robert Plant later said, “The crazy thing is, at the soundcheck, it was spectacular… and the gig was foul.”

1988 15 May Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Celebration at MSG

1988 15 May Atlantic Records 40th anniversary celebration MSG.  (AP Photo/Mario Suriani)

1988 15 May Atlantic Records 40th anniversary celebration MSG.  (Photo Rita Barrows)

2014 15 May Jimmy Page in NYC for remaster interviews  Photo David Krieger

2014 15 May Jimmy Page in NYC for remaster interviews  Photo David Krieger

On This Day 14 May

Who ever said it was easy being a rock god?

1991 14 May On This Day Reno,NV/Lawlor Events Center - with David Coverdale,
jam with Poison, fall through stage floor

• 1967 - Jimmy Page - The Yardbirds - Stratford,London,England
• 1973 Led Zeppelin New Orleans,LA US/Municiple Auditorium

 ♪ Stairway to Heaven New Orleans, YouTube

Before Moby Dick Plant said: “I once heard a song called The Witch Queen of New Orleans. Well, tonight, I’m pleased to announce that John Bonham is The Drag Queen Of New Orleans!" Page laughs so much that he enters the piece late…
~ From Dave Lewis’s Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, describing the 1973 show in New Orleans

After this show the band members attended a party at Cosimo Recording Studios (note that this event has been posted elsewhere as occurring in 1972, but in May 1972 the band was recording at Stargroves, Mick Jagger's country home, and subsequently at Olympic Studios in England).  

1973 14 May post-show party at Cosimo Recording Studios, New Orleans.  Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Ernie K-Doe

• 1986 The Firm at Kansas City,MO/Kemper Arena
• 1988 Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary, New York, NY/Madison Square Garden 
• 1991 Jimmy Page, David Coverdale jam with Poison at Reno,NV/Lawlor Events Center 
• 2014 Interviews in NYC for Remasters releases

1988 Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham & Robert Plant at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary, New York, NY/Madison Square Garden [not in photo: John Paul Jones]

1988 Jimmy Page& Robert Plant at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary, New York, NY/Madison Square Garden

Jimmy Page interview in New York City on Wednesday May 14, 2014. Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency

2014 14 May “I knew what I was doing, and I didn’t want anybody getting in the way of it.” — Jimmy Page
Credit: Damon Winter/The New York Times