MAGE MUSIC

Sunday, January 3, 2016

On This Day 03 January

Happy Birthday John Paul Jones, born on this day in 1946

1964 03 January On This Day Dave Berry's My Baby Left Me released
Audio: My Baby Left Me (Soundcloud)

1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 2 of 4)

1964:

"Big" Jim Sullivan (1941 - 2012) on Jimmy Page (a.k.a. "Little Jim"):

"I'll always remember the first time I met Jimmy. We had a session at Decca studios for Dave Berry. It was the session for 'My Baby Left Me' and Jimmy played lead guitar and I played rhythm. I remember the great solo that he did on that session, it is one of the best constructed rock solos on record.

"The rhythm section that played on a lot of the 60's group record consisted of Jimmy, myself, John Baldwin or John Paul Jones as he liked to be called, and Bobby Graham on Drums. The amount of recordings we did together was amazing and when he said he and John were going to leave he said I should join them too. I said I was married and would stay in sessions a while longer."

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Whisky a Go Go

1946:
On this day, John Baldwin was born. Baldwin is, of course, better known today as John Paul Jones, bassist, keyboardist and composer with Led Zeppelin and now embarked on an independent musical career, including the 2009 band, Them Crooked Vultures, with Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme (and guitarist Alain Johannes during live performances).

Interestingly enough, the "other" John Paul Jones, born in 1747, was born John Paul and also adopted the last names "Jones". However that JPJ did so to hide from law enforcement after winning a duel.

ca. 1965 John Paul Jones, session man

John Paul Jones / Led Zeppelin

2015 John Paul Jones

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♪ Diamonds (Jet Harris & Tony Meehan, feat. Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones 1963) YouTube
♪ My Baby Left Me (Dave Berry, feat Jimmy Page guitar 1964) YouTube
♪ Hoochie Coochie Man (Dave Berry, feat Jimmy Page guitar 1964) YouTube
♪ Celebration Day (Led Zeppelin, isolated bass, vocals & drum tracks) YouTube
♪ New Fang (Them Crooked Vultures) YouTube

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

Saturday, January 2, 2016

On This Day 02 January

The show must go on

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

1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 1 of 4)
1973 Led Zeppelin - Sheffield England at Sheffield City Hall

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.

Jimmy Page on stage - where we expect to see him in 2016

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♪ Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin, Sheffield England 1973) YouTube
♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Sheffield England 1973) YouTube
♪ Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, Sheffield England 1973) YouTube

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

Friday, January 1, 2016

On This Day 01 January

Mage Music wishes you a Zoso New Year

2021
Audio: Happy New Year (Beverley Martyn, feat. Nicky Hopkins & Jimmy Page, 1966)

2018

2016

2012
Audio: The One That Got Away

2013

2014

2015

1970

1998

2015 Classic Rock Awards (John McMurtrie photo)

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

Thursday, December 31, 2015

On This Day 31 December

New Year's eve - one step closer to new Jimmy Page music!

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)

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

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

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

On This Day 30 December

Dazed thinking of the music to come in 2016

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 but 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.