On This Day 30 April

1985 30 April Jimmy Page with Jaco Pastorius and Chris Slade in NYC

1985 30 April Jimmy Page with Jaco Pastorius and Chris Slade in NYC

• 1967 Yardbirds - Muguet de Chaville, Paris FR
• 1985 Jimmy Page - Lone Star Cafe with Jaco Pastorius, New York City NY USA
• 1986 The Firm - University of Illinois Assembly Hall, Champaign IL USA

1985

John Francis Anthony Pastorius III (1951 – 1987), a.k.a. Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician, composer, big band leader and electric bass player. He played with Weather Report from 1976 to 1981.

"His playing was known for its highly technical, Latin-influenced 16th-note funk, lyrical soloing on fretless bass, bass chords and innovative use of harmonics. He was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988, one of only seven bassists so honored (and the only electric bass guitarist).

"After sneaking onstage at a Carlos Santana concert on September 11, 1987, and being ejected from the premises, Pastorius made his way to the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida. After reportedly kicking in a glass door, having been refused entrance to the club, he was engaged in a violent confrontation with the club bouncer, Luc Havan. Pastorius was hospitalized for multiple facial fractures and injuries to his right eye and left arm."  [source: Wikipedia]

He fell into a coma and died from a massive brain hemorrhage a few days later.

♪ Jimmy Page & Jaco Pastorius -[4.30.85] - Fannie Mae (Part 1)  YouTube
♪ Jimmy Page & Jaco Pastorius -[4.30.85] - Fannie Mae (Part 2)  YouTube
♪ Jimmy Page & Jaco Pastorius -[4.30.85] - Fannie Mae (Part 3)  YouTube


Also on this day in 1977, Led Zeppelin played to the largest audience ever for a single-act rock show at Pontiac Silverdome, making the Guinness Book of Records. "Largest audience ever" has of course changed with the advances in technology (e.g. giant video screens and improved sound systems). Today's concerts can attract audiences in the millions, but of course only so many of those people actually are near the stage to see the musicians with their own eyeballs.

1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

Backstage 1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

The crowd 1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

1977 30 April Led Zeppelin at Pontiac Silverdome

On This Day 29 April

Jimmy Page's The Firm was at Purdue University, Indiana on this day. in 1986.

On This Day 1986 29 April The Firm at Purdue University, Indiana

• 1985 The Firm - Madison Square Garden, New York City NY USA
• 1986 The Firm - Purdue University Elliott Hall of Music, West Lafayette IN USA
• 1995 Page & Plant - Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont IL USA

On This Day 1986 29 April The Firm tour dates

Jimmy Page has stated that The Firm was never meant to put out more than the two albums they did. The albums' names give the idea of the deliberateness of the idea:  The Firm and Mean Business. Limiting the scope of their association would free them all to go on with other projects, which is actually a good idea for musicians -- if they're good enough to know there will be other projects.

The Firm: Jimmy Page, Chris Slade, Paul Rodgers, Tony Franklin

The vocalist is usually the frontman for a band.  Even though Paul Rodgers did that job for The Firm, it's cool to see Jimmy Page at the microphone more often than in the past.

1986 03 March The Firm at Daytona

♪ Dreaming (The Firm: Mean Business) YouTube

On This Day 28 April

On This Day published 2019

1990 28 April Bonham- Charteris wedding reception jam with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.  

• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Richfield Coliseum, Richfield OH USA
• 1990 Page, Plant, Jones -- Jason Bonham/Jan Charteris wedding, Kidderminster England
• 1995 Page & Plant - Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont IL USA

1990
Jason Bonham and Jan Charteris were married on this day in 1990 in Stone, Kidderminster, England. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones played a set at the reception, with Jason on drums.

1990 28 April Bonham- Charteris wedding 

1990 28 April Bonham- Charteris wedding reception jam 

1990 28 April Bonham- Charteris wedding reception jam 

Happy Anniversary Jason and Jan!

On This Day 27 April

In 1977 Led Zeppelin was at the Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland and in 1985 The Firm performed there. Also on this day in 1969, Led Zeppelin was at Fillmore West for the last of their 4-day San Francisco run of performances.

1977 27 April Led Zeppelin in Cleveland

• 1968 Yardbirds - Brown University Wriston Quadrangle, Providence RI USA
• 1968 Yardbirds - Clarkson College, Potsdam NY USA
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Fillmore West, San Francisco CA USA
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Richfield Coliseum, Richfield OH USA
• 1985 The Firm - Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati OH USA

Cleveland Press 04/28/77 photo of Led Zeppelin

1985 March Pop Rock magazine (Canada)

1969 April 24 and 27 Led Zeppelin at Fillmore West
Jimmy Page and his dragon Telecaster

♪ Going to California (Led Zeppelin) YouTube
♪ Satisfaction Guaranteed (The Firm) YouTube

On This Day 26 April

Led Zeppelin played day two of a two day engagement at Winterland on 26 April 1969.

1969 26 April Led Zeppelin at Winterland

• 1968 Yardbirds - Cincinnati Convention Center, Cincinnati OH
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
• 1985 The Firm - Joe Louis Arena, Detroit MI
• 1995 Page & Plant - Market Square Arena, Indianapolis IN

Theremin

According to Dave Lewis' Led Zeppelin: The Concert File (a book every Zep fan should have) this show was Led Zeppelin's biggest of their career to date. Jimmy Page was now using the Theremin during Dazed and Confused.

The Theremin was invented by Léon Theremin. An electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact, two metal antennas sense the relative position of the musician's hands and send electronic signals to an amplifier based on the position of the hands. The distance from the antenna determines frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume). Higher notes are played by moving the hand closer to the pitch antenna. Louder notes are played by moving the hand away from the volume antenna.

Because of the way the Thermin is played, the musician must actively control the rests (space between the notes) as well as the notes themselves.  The Theremin is an instrument well suited for a musician like Jimmy Page who has always been concerned with visual arts as well as musical, and who understands the value of light and shade.

Jimmy Page plays Theremin 1975 03 February MSG 

Lev Termen (Léon Theremin) demonstrating Termenvox, c. December 1927

On This Day 25 April

Jimmy Page recorded the video portion of These Arms of Mine with Paul Rogers on April 25 1985.

1983 25 April These Arms Of Mine recorded

• 1968 Yardbirds - WUAB-TV Studios, Cleveland OH
• 1968 Yardbirds - Cleveland Palace Theater, Cleveland OH
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco CA
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Freedom Hall Kentucky Fairgrounds & Expo, Louisville KY
• 1985 Willie & The Poor Boys -- album released
• 1986 The Firm - U.N.O. Lakefront Arena, New Orleans LA 
• 1995 Page & Plant - Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati OH

1983 [2020 edit]

It's complicated.  The first ARMS benefit took place at the Royal Albert Hall on September 20 of 1983.  Later, Bill Wyman asked Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers to contribute to a couple of the songs for the Willie & The Poor Boys album.

The audio recordings were done two weeks in November 1984, and one week in early January 1985 at Jimmy's studio, The Sol, in January 1985.  All records for the album show a release date in the UK on this day in 1985 and in the US two days earlier.

According to Wyman's website, the video was filmed afterwards, on June 24, 1985 at Fulham Town Hall . 

 
The band, Willie and the Poor Boys, is not to be confused with Willy & The Poor Boys, a 1970 album by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The Willie and the Poor Boys band was a side project of Bill Wyman's, formed in November 1974. Mr. Wyman explained to Dave Letterman on August 1985 "When we were at school, they used to call me little Willie. I never quite worked that one out, I didn't understand - it looked alright to me, you know..."



♪ Yardbirds (Cleveland Palace Theater, Cleveland OH, 1968 - audience recording, poor quality)YouTube

♪ 1977 Led Zeppelin (Freedom Hall Kentucky Fairgrounds & Expo, Louisville KY) YouTube

♪ These Arms of Mine YouTube

On This Day 24 April

Today was the first day of a four day run of Led Zeppelin concerts in San Francisco in 1969: this day and the last at Fillmore West, and the two middle days at Winterland.

1969 24 April Led Zeppelin at Fillmore West

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Fillmore West, San Francisco
• 1985 The Firm - Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL

1969

By April of 1969 Led Zeppelin had come a long way since half a year before at their first ever concert in Denmark (as the Yardbirds). They were already the Real Deal, and San Francisco knew it.  The opening medley of the show demonstrates how tight they were, even when jamming. 

This particular show had equipment problems that Robert Plant refers to in his chats between songs.  

Ah, we seem to always have this cock up every time we come here. This is the second time we've been here. Good evening from Led Zeppelin. Let's see if we can get it ... all. No cock ups now.
~ Robert Plant lead-in to The Killing Floor

♪  The Killing Floor YouTube

Artist Randy Tuten, who did the avocado poster, was one of the original San Francisco psychedelic rock poster artists.  He began producing posters for Bill Graham's organization in 1969.

The first Led Zeppelin concert poster he did featured a car on it. The next was an update of an avocado art piece he created in college.  After then Tuten began to use the blimp in his Led Zeppelin posters.

♪  Led Zeppelin (Fillmore West, San Francisco 1969) YouTube

On This Day 23 April

On April 23 1969 Joe Cocker's album With a Little Help from My Friends was released

Jimmy Page guitar on Joe Cocker's 1969 album, With a Little Help from My Friends

• 1969 Jimmy Page - release of Joe Cocker album feat. Jimmy Page, guitar
• 1970 Jimmy Page - JulieFelix Show BBC TV Studios, Lime Grove, London 
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - The Omni, Atlanta GA
• 1985 The Firm - Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington MN
• 1986 The Firm - The Omni, Atlanta GA

1969
In the brief time after the Yardbirds and before Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page did a little session work, including this first studio album of Joe Cocker's. What's interesting in this particular song is how his approach to this kind of work had changed since the early days. A proper session musician didn't (and still doesn't) steal the show from the main attraction, and in this song, of course, the main attraction is the vocalist and the lyrics.

Even so, in With a Little Help from My Friends you can hear that guitar, can't you. While Jimmy Page never lets himself out, while there are soaring riffs, the pure tone and perfectly positioned support has a presence all its own. You know Jimmy Page has totally got this.

Joe Cocker died December 2014, singing practically to the end. He was a wild man back in the day and was always hard for me to watch - he let the music take him so fully that he looked like he was having seizures - but his gritty voice was well suited to the rock, blues and soul that I loved him for. Some of his Beatles covers are better than the original, if you ask me, and of course, there's a bunch of soundtracks with Joe Cocker singing the songs that help make the movies the box office hits they were.

He [Cocker] was a lovely northern lad who I loved a lot and, like many people, I loved his singing. I was especially pleased when he decided to cover "With a Little Help from My Friends" and I remember him and (producer) Denny Cordell coming round to the studio in Savile Row and playing me what they'd recorded and it was just mind-blowing, totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful to him for doing that."

~ Paul McCartney on Joe Cocker's death

1970
Julie Felix is an American born, British-based folk recording artist and show host.  During her singing career she performed at Royal Albert Hall, among other venues.  In 1966 Felix became the resident singer for a BBC television show and hosted her own shows for the BBC from 1968 to 1970. Felix currently lives in England, and is still recording and performing

♪

♪  With A Little Help From My Friends (Joe Cocker, playlist of tracks featuring Jimmy Page, 1969) YouTube

♪  White Summer (Jimmy Page, Julie Felix Show BBC 1970) YouTube

♪  Led Zeppelin (The Omni, Atlanta GA 1977) YouTube

Rumors and damn lies

I thought that Diply (or Dipsh*t) guy or whoever he is took the name-dropping pretty far. You know, the selfie with the enigmatic comment (what was it? "Collab soon"?) It was not explicitly stated who Diplo might be working with in the future but there was Robert Plant right there with him in the photo giving weight to the implication. It wasn't quite false advertising. But the intent to deceive was there even if disguised as "self-promo".  Clever but... ish.

Now Field Day 2015 is doing the same thing with Jimmy Page. "Earlier this year, festival organisers decided to ask Run the Jewels to join forces with guitar great Jimmy Page this June. Shortly after spotting the three together backstage at the NME Awards, they deemed one photo enough reason to stir a potential collaboration."

Run the Jewels?  No.  Just... no.

So of course it'll be all over social media that Jimmy Page will be there, and the attendance will be boosted tremendously, as will Run the Jewel's popularity -- just for stating something they wish would be true.

Geez, I sure don't want to have to wade through even more of this stuff, on top of all the rest of the innuendo and rumor out there. Because, you know, intent. The law takes it seriously  It's the difference between, for instance, accident and murder. 

Real fans take the difference between Jimmy Page and not Jimmy Page pretty seriously, too.  I hope the organizers of the festival understand how seriously we take it.

On This Day 22 April

In 1960 (or was it 1961?) Jimmy Page persuaded Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds to record at RG Jones - a demo Studio in Putney.

In 2019 On This Day says the Farlowe studio session was in 1961

1960 Jimmy Page at RG Jones Studio with Chris Farlowe

• 1961 Jimmy Page - produces Chris Farlowe's Money
• 1985 The Firm, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis IN

1961

R.G. Jones is one of the longest running studios in Britain.  The facility was located at Morden Manor when Jimmy Page was there with Chris Farlowe (it was moved to Wimbledon in 1969 where it operated until 2001). The studio produced demo records for the Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Springfields, Englebert Humperdink, Tom Jones, the Bee Gees and others.

Jimmy Page's On This Day says the studio session happened in 1960 and in 1961, depending on which On This Day you are looking at.  However, let's go with 1961.  Page, at that point 17 years old, would go on to work for Immediate Records for several years as the label's in-house producer.

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 Page's album Outrider (1988).

Farlowe is considered by some to be one of the most underrated British soul & blues influenced singers ever.  I consider Outrider to be one of the most underrated albums ever.  


♪ Money (Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds 1960 or 1961) YouTube
♪ Hypnotizing Ways (Oh Mamma) (Death Wish II 1982 YouTube 
♪ Prison Blues (Outrider 1988 YouTube 

On This Day 21 April

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant released Walking into Clarksdale on this day in 1998.

1988 21 April - Page/Plant Walking into Clarksdale released

• 1968 Yardbirds - Le Scene, Indianapolis IN
• 1973 Musical Express Interview  Jimmy Page: The Mild Barbarian [TEXT]
• 1985 The Firm - Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH
• 1998 Page & Plant - Walking Into Clarksdale release

1998
Clarksdale is a town in the Mississippi Delta, one of the seats of Delta blues music.Walking into Clarksdale took 35 days to record. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini. Most High was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1999.

Japanese bonus track Whiskey from the Glass - Jimmy Page referred to this as "most atmospheric". I have to agree!

♪ YouTube 

♪ Soundcloud 

Most High and Shining in the Light were released as singles, with a music video for the former. Most High was also featured as a CD single with the b-sides Upon a Golden Horse and The Window.

♪ Most High YouTube

♪ Shining in the Light YouTube

1973 21 April Musical Express cover

1973 21 April Musical Express article

1973 21 April Musical Express interview photo

1973 21 April Musical Express interview photo

On This Day 20 April

On this day in 1977 Led Zeppelin played the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, and on this day in 1985 The Firm played the same venue.

20 April On This Day published on jimmypage.com 2019

20 April On This Day published on jimmypage.com 2014

20 April On This Day published on jimmypage.com 2013 

I'm not as fond of The Firm as I am of other of Jimmy Page's work.  I have never felt that Paul Rodgers, excellent singer that he is, ever let go of himself enough to fall into the magic.  Not that I don't listen to The Firm anyway!

On This Day 20 April:

• 1968 - The Yardbirds- Arlington Heights,IL/The Cellar
• 1977 - Led Zeppelin - Cincinnati,OH/Riverfront Coliseum
• 1985 - The Firm - Cincinnati,OH/Riverfront Coliseum

1968 20 April Yardbirds in Arlington Heights IL

♪  Led Zeppelin (Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati OH 20 April 1977) YouTube
 ♪  Whole Lotta Helter Skelter (Led Zeppelin/Beatles mashup 2012) YouTube

On This Day 19 April

On April 19, 1969 the incredible Led Zeppelin II was recorded at Olympic Studios.

• 1967 Jimmy Page - A Degree of Murder Soundtrack released 
• 1968 Yardbirds - Blue Village Teen Club, Westmont Illinois
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Olympic Studios, begins recording Led Zeppelin II
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH
• 1985 The Firm - Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky

1967
The soundtrack for A Degree of Murder was composed, produced, arranged, and played by Brian Jones, and features Jimmy Page on guitar.

Jimmy Page in Rolling Stone issue #1171:  "Brian knew what he was doing. It was quite beautiful. Some of it was made up at the time; some of it was stuff I was augmenting with him. I was definitely playing with the violin bow. Brian had this guitar that had a volume pedal-he could get gunshots with it. There was a Mellotron there. He was moving forward with ideas."


1969
Needless to say, this was and is an album beyond belief, after Led Zeppelin's first album, itself beyond belief. For a band to have put out two albums of such high quality, with such a variety of approaches to music, one right after the other, was an obvious indicator that this was no ordinary group of musicians but a creative force the likes of which the world had never seen before.
On this day also for Jimmy Page:


1977
"Jimmy Page, the guiding genius behind the Zep, composer, collaborator, creator, leader and lead guitarist, is perhaps the best in the business. His range on the lead guitar can go from classical to acoustical to extraterrestrial."  [K.Williams/April 1977/News Journal]

♪  

Mage Music on Facebook @MageMusicTheMusicOfJimmyPage

On This Day 18 April

On April 18 1993 Jimmy Page and David Coverdale were interviewed on Enëmmän tätä, Fin-TV, as part of the press junket for EMI promoting the Coverdale Page album.

1993 18 April - Coverdale-Page interviewed on Finnish TV

• 1968 Yardbirds - Winona State College, Winona Minnesota 
• 1985 The Firm - The Omni, Atlanta
• 1993 Coverdale/Page - Enëmmän tätä, Fin-TV interview

1993

I have to say, the 1993 Coverdale-Page is a fantastic album, totally underrated by those who can't get over that Jimmy Page could do something musically exciting without Robert Plant (no offense to Mr. Plant). David Coverdale brings the kind of gutsy, ballsy full commitment to the music of a song, not just to lyrics, that brings out the best in Jimmy Page and this album reflects it.

I love every song on this album. This the work of musicians who've got some miles behind them, and hard living has tempered their souls. You can hear it in the music. This is what blues is about. Coverdale-Page has an authenticity that can't be denied.

Yeah, yeah, I know that Mr. Coverdale might have let being on the stage with Jimmy Page get to his head, but forget that and listen to the music. The magic is there, people.

2019 addendum:  The album has only gotten better over the years. 

♪ Absolution Blues (Coverdale/Page 1993) Soundcloud  (one of my favorites on a whole album of favorites)

♫   Coverdale/Page - Enëmmän tätä, Fin-TV interview

On This Day 17 April

Jimmy Page moonlights from art school, plays harmonica!

1964 17 April -  'Hush Your Mouth' by Mickey Finn and the Blue Men was released

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Club Lafayette, Wolverhampton England
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis TN
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN
• 1988 Jimmy Page with Robert Plant - Hammersmith Odeon, London
• 1994 Jimmy Page - Alexis Korner Memorial Concert, Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire, England

1964
Mickey Waller (1947 – 2013), a.k.a. Mickey Finn, was an English guitarist, founder of Mickey Finn & The Blue Men (not to be confused with the Blue Man group).  While Jimmy Page didn't get credit as a session man or a full-time member of the band, he did play on a few of their records.

This is one of the sessions I did whilst I was still at art school and on this I played harmonica. Mickey Finn and the Blue Men had applied a blue beat rhythm to the Jimmy Reid song 'Hush Your Mouth'. I had done other recordings with this band: the guys were cool and were always good to play with.

On this day in 1960, Eddie Cochran died in a road traffic accident in Chippenham, Wiltshire. RIP.

Soundcloud  Hush Your Mouth

On This Day 16 April

In 1965 Jimmy Page played guitar for Lulu and the Luvvers' cover of the Rolling Stones' song, Surprise, Surprise, released on April 16 of that year.  Lulu Kennedy-Cairns,  a Scottish singer, is known for To Sir with Love from the film of the same name and for the title song to the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

1965 16 April Jimmy Page guitar on Lulu's cover of Surprise, Surprise

• 1965 Lulu and the Luvvers - Surprise, Surprise released (feat. Jimmy Page, guitar)
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Toby Jug, Tolworth England
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Roberts Stadium, Evansville IN

1965

LULU RELEASED 'SATISFIED' / 'SURPRISE SURPRISE'
Today sees the release of 'Surprise Surprise' / 'Satisfied'. I played guitar on 'Surprise Surprise', a Rolling Stones song recorded by Lulu. It would have been done at Decca Number 2 Studios in West Hampstead, London.

♪ Surprise, Surprise (Lulu, feat. Jimmy Page guitar) YouTube

On This Day 15 April

The Yardbirds (Jimmy Page, Keith Relf, Jim McCarthy and Chris Dreja) played three shows in Denmark on April 15, 1967.  The three concerts totaled just over one hour's worth of playing.  No doubt the travel took longer than that.

On This Day 15 APR 1967 - Yardbirds play 3 shows in Denmark

• 1967 Yardbirds - Denmark (3 shows)
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - St Louis MO 

1967

 "...warming up for a distant American Tour. It was a similar strategy to be deployed less than 15 months later for the New Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin.

"The picture shows the Vox Electric 12 string guitar that I was to use on Yardbirds 'Tinker Tailor' and Led Zeppelin 'Thank You' recordings."

Additional photos of the Holte Hallen show by Jørgen Angel

On This Day 14 April

Led Zeppelin appeared on BBC Radio's Top Gear 14 April 1969

Led Zeppelin at BBC Radio's Top Gear 14 April 1969

• 1967 Yardbirds - Vesterhavshallen Fredericia Denmark
• 1967 Yardbirds - Teatersalen, Ringkjobing Denmark 
• 1968 Yardbirds - Sun Island Park, NY USA 
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - BBC Radio
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Civic Center, Ottawa ON

1969

This was probably the first Led Zeppelin version of Dazed & Confused recorded for BBC radio, and certainly the first audition panel for Led Zeppelin. 

The setlist is:

• I Can't Quit You Baby
• Communication Breakdown
• Dazed & Confused

The trial broadcast was then sent to the production panel.  Audition report.

These studio sessions and a live concert recorded for the BBC resulted in the multi-disc album, the BBC Sessions released November 1997, which was compiled and mastered by Jimmy Page.  The first disc contains material from four different 1969 BBC sessions; the second contains most of the April 1971 concert from the Paris Theatre in London; the third disc was only included in a limited run of album releases and features interviews from 1969, 1976/1977, and 1990.

Session one

John Peel's Top Gear

Venue: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London

Recording date: Monday 3 March 1969

Original broadcast: Sunday 23 March 1969 (in a show with sessions from Free, the Moody Blues and Deep Purple)

Tracks: Disc 1; 1, 2 and 4. Also included a version of "Communication Breakdown".

Producer: Bernie Andrews

Engineer: Pete Ritzema

Tape operator: Bob Conduct

Session two

Alexis Korner's Rhythm and Blues, (BBC World Service)

Venue: Maida Vale Studio 4, Delaware Road, London

Recording date: Wednesday 19 March 1969

Original broadcast: Monday 14 April 1969

Tracks: "I Can't Quit You Baby", "You Shook Me" and "Sunshine Woman". The session was wiped or lost by the BBC, although recordings survive on bootlegs. The show was re-run later in 1969, adding the recording of "What Is And What Should Never Be" from the June 16 session.

Producer: Jeff Griffin

Session three

Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae (although originally commissioned for Dave Symond's Symonds On Sunday show)

Venue: Aeolian Hall studio 2, Bond Street, London

Recording Date: Monday 16 June 1969

Original Broadcast: Sunday 22 June 1969

Tracks: Disc 1; 3,5 and 10. The session also included a prototype version of "What Is and What Should Never Be".

Producer: Paul Williams

Session four

John Peel's Top Gear (Double recording session)

Venue: Maida Vale studio 4, Delaware Road, London

Recording date: Tuesday 24 June 1969

Original broadcast: Sunday 29 June 1969

Tracks: Disc 1; 6-9. (track 8; Travelling Riverside Blues, is the same version that appears on the reissued/remaster of Coda as a bonus track)

Producer: John Walters

Engineer: Tony Wilson

Session five

One Night Stand

Venue: Playhouse Theatre

Recording date: Friday 27 June 1969

Original broadcast: Sunday 10 August 1969

Tracks: Disc 1; 11-14. Also included a version of "Dazed and Confused", plus "White Summer"/"Black Mountain Side" (which was released on the 1990 Led Zeppelin boxed set.)

Session six

In Concert (Emcee John Peel)

Venue: Paris Theatre, Lower Regent Street, London

Recording date: Thursday 1 April 1971

Original broadcast: Sunday 4 April 1971

Tracks: Disc 2; all tracks. Also included a version of "Communication Breakdown" and "What Is and What Should Never Be". The "Whole Lotta Love" medley has had "For What It's Worth", "Trucking Little Mama" and "Honey Bee" edited out, shortening the medley by about 7 minutes.

Producer: Jeff Griffin

Engineer: Tony Wilson

 ♪ BBC Sessions - YouTube

The Garden Tapes BBC Sessions Analysis by Eddie Edwards

Daily On This Day 13 April

I can already tell that posting the images here and on the Tidbits page is going to get cumbersome. Eventually you and I won't be able to find anything because there'll be 365+ images (more than 365 because Jimmy Page does occasionally have something new on his home page).

I'll work something out.  Meanwhile, here's the On This Day for 13 April.  This one's for 1967, the Yardbirds Years.

On This Day: 13 APR 1967 - Yardbirds in Aarhus, Denmark

• 1967  Yardbirds - Boom Dancing Center, Aarhus Denmark
• 1968  Yardbirds - New York City
• 1969  Led Zeppelin - Kimbells, Southsea, Hampshire UK  
• 1970  Led Zeppelin - Montreal Forum, Montreal 
• 1973  Jimmy Page MBE interview
• 1977  Led Zeppelin -  Civic Center, St Paul MN

1967
This was the first date of the 1967 Scandinavian and European Tour for The Yardbirds, at Boom Dancing Centre, Aarhus in Denmark.  The setlist consisted of:

• Train Kept A Rollin'
• You're A Better Man Than I
• I'm Confused
• My Baby
• Over, Under, Sideways, Down
• Drinking Muddy Water
• Shapes Of Things
• White Summer
• I'm A Man

On This Day - April 12 1972

I'm thinking of uploading the On This Day images I've captured from jimmypage.com over the years. We'll see if I have the sticking power to do it, and if I do, if this blog is where I should put it.

Note that I will duplicate the entries on the Tidbits page.
2015 note:  I didn't duplicate all the entries on the Tidbits page.  But I did do every single On  This Day post!

12 April 1972 - Dancing Days at Olympic Studios

♪   Listen to Dancing Days (Soundcloud)

Lif Strand: Putting it out there

Lif Strand: Putting it out there: It seems to me that the more you put your wishes out into the world, the more likely they are to come true. Can't hurt, can it? Besides...

Real music, real Magick

A lot of music today … [the] living energy has become sanitized.
~ Jimmy Page, 2009 interview with Neil McCormick

One of the characteristics of stage magic is the use of distraction so you won’t see what’s really going on. While the coin is being retrieved from an ear or a woman is being sawed in half, the magician’s hands are constantly moving, cards are being flipped from a distance to fly through the air, the sexy assistant moves things around the stage. The stage is set in deep shadows and bright lights. Swirling capes and smoke and mirrors mask and distort what you see so that you only see what the magician intends for you to see.

The idea is to misdirect your attention. You aren't supposed to notice that there is engineering used to create the trick that leads to the "magic".

There is nothing Magick about it, of course.

Now consider this: How much of what I have just described would also describe today’s music performances, onstage or video? Spotlights and smoke, explosions and flashing lights. Bizarre hair and makeup, risqué costumes and stage sets that mask and distort. Giant display screens to make sure you are looking at exactly what you should be, so that your attention is directed away from the music itself.

At the very core of this phenomenon is the sorry fact that there's very little Magick to most of the music out there these days. Oh, it's entertaining all right. There might even be some catchy tunes. But is it great music or is it the aural equivalent of junk food?

The full quote from the Jimmy Page interview of 2009 is this: " A lot of music today, they work electronically, tidying everything up, but that living energy has become sanitized. In Led Zeppelin we managed to do some of those major albums in three weeks. People today can't understand that. It's beyond them."

When it comes straight from the soul, creativity can flow from the musician with no need for the help of visual diversion. When you, the audience, eliminate the bells and whistles, the lights and distractions, does the music you listen to have the living energy - the Magick - that will make it worth listening to for the next fifty years?

A steady diet of junk food will eventually kill you. I'm pretty sure a steady diet of sanitized, junk music will eventually shrivel your soul. How's that for food for thought?

Neil McCormick interview of Jimmy Page 2009

Neil McCormick in May 2014:  Do you really need me to tell you how good they are? We’ve been listening to this music for more than 40 years and it never gets old.