On This Day 19 June

 Led Zeppelin! Outrider! It Might Get Loud! All of it such rude sound!

1969 19 June On This Day Led Zeppelin in Paris at Antenne Culturelle du Kremlin-Bicêtre

1969 Led Zeppelin, Paris at Antenne Culturelle du Kremlin-Bicêtre

• 1969 19 June On This Day Led Zeppelin - Paris, France at Antenne Culturelle du Kremlin-Bicetre
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Seattle, WA at Seattle Center Coliseum
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - San Diego, CA at San Diego Sports Arena
• 1988 Jimmy Page - Outrider Album Released
• 2009 Premier of It Might Get Loud, Los Angeles

An outrider is someone who goes in front of or beside as an escort or guard, a forerunner, someone who announces or signals the approach of another. In his 1988 album, Outrider, Jimmy Page was saying he was still not part of the herd, was still out there pushing the envelope.

Jimmy Page recorded Outrider with a new label, Geffen Records, and at his own studio, The Sol (where he also recorded the soundtrack for Death Wish II and both of The Firm's albums).  He also used different vocalists, drummers and bassists for the songs, and one third of the tracks are instrumentals (my favorite tracks on the album).  The common thread on the various Outrider tracks, of course, is Jimmy Page's guitar. Jimmy Page is the outrider.

This was an entirely under-appreciated album. I suspect part of the problem was that Jimmy Page was riding out too far for the rest of the herd to keep up.

Side one
1. "Wasting My Time" (John Miles, vocals)
2. "Wanna Make Love" (John Miles, vocals)
3. "Writes of Winter" (Instrumental)
4. "The Only One" (Robert Plant, vocals)
5. "Liquid Mercury" (Instrumental)

Side two
6. "Hummingbird" (Chris Farlowe, vocals)
7. "Emerald Eyes" (Instrumental)
8. "Prison Blues" (Chris Farlowe, vocals)
9. "Blues Anthem (If I Cannot Have Your Love...)" (Chris Farlowe, vocals)
Outrider was to be a two album release but JimmyPage's house was broken into and burgled.  The early tapes for Outrider were stolen along with Led Zeppelin masters.  They have never been recovered.

1988 19 June Outrider released

1988 Promo shot for Jimmy Page's Outrider (Corbis Images)

The movie, It Might Get Loud, premiered in Los Angeles on 19 June 2009. Meant to be a documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians, Jimmy Page steals the show.

2009 June Guitar World cover with Ross Halfin Photo

2009 19 June Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills
 interview for It Might Get Loud (Photo Ross Halfin)

2009 17 June Jack White and Jimmy Page, LA (Photo: Ross Halfin)

2009 19 June Jack White, Jimmy Page and film director Davis Guggenheim (Photo: Ross Halfin)



THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - Music will be added at another time.  Thank you for your patience.

On This Day June 13

 Enter The Danelectro!  Madison Square Garden!  Another award announcement!

1965 13 June On This Day Jimmy Page starts using the Danelectro in the studio AND
On This Day in 2014 the announcement that Jimmy Page will receive the Silver Clef Award in July

• 1965 13 June On This Day Jimmy Page starts using the Danelectro in the studio
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Birmingham, West Midlands, England at Birmingham Town Hall
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Philadelphia, PA at The Spectrum
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden (show  5 of 6)
• 1998 Page & Plant - Fargo, ND at Fargo Dome
• 2014 Announcement that Jimmy Page is to receive a Silver Clef award in July

During this fifth night at MSG a number of incidents.  Among other things, Jimmy Page dropped his guitar, knocking it out of tune before White Summer/Black Mountain Side; Bonham was introduced as "a rhinestone cowgirl" before Battle of Evermore; and Bonham comes in too early in Stairway to Heaven, forcing Robert Plant to switch lyrics.  Plant comments on it as he sings: "There's still time to change the road you're on... I hope so Bonzo".

Some say this fifth of six nights was the best show at Madison Square Garden in 1977. 

1977 Jimmy Page & John Bonham MSG (Photo by George De Sota /Redferns)

1977 MSG Jimmy Page - Madison Square Garden (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)

1977 Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)

1977 MSG Jimmy Page and John Bonham (Photo by George De Sota/Redferns)

1977 Jimmy Page and his Danelectro, at Madison Square Garden (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)

1998 June Guitar World Magazine - Jimmy Page and his Danelectro

2008 Jimmy Page, still playing that Danelectro, from the movie It Might Get Loud

♪  Led Zeppelin (Philadelphia PA at The Spectrum,  13 June 1972)

♪ Led Zeppelin (New York NY at Madison Square Garden day 5/6, 13 June 1977)

To be or to have been

Lots of grumbling out there about how Jimmy Page hasn't put out new music as he said he would. But this blog post isn't about Jimmy Page. Sorry.

This blog post is about putting out music when you don't have any music to put out.

It's about Robert Plant's putting out a new album that astounds me... not because I think it's so great but because of what I consider to be mistaken reviews.

Sacrilege or legit criticism?

Note: this blog post a statement about my musical tastes - your experience may differ.

I want to assure you my intent is not to dis Robert Plant. My aim is to present a criticism of music and it is criticism I'd apply to any musician. 

It's my opinion that when an artist stops growing but keeps putting work out, he or she becomes an entertainer. The painting, the writing, the music, whatever it is, becomes marketable product, not art. For those of us who take our art seriously, that's a fatal flaw.

That doesn't make the product bad, it just means that it's no longer art. It's the difference between, say, Monet and Keane. Between Shakespeare and Patterson. Between Beethoven and Bieber. Art endures. Entertainment is fleeting. The works of great artists are beloved for centuries because there is timeless value to those works. The works of great entertainers last until public interest moves on because the values are based on current cultural conditions. Over time great entertainment is reduced to items of historical note.

Robert Plant was a great musician back in the day. But to have been a great musician doesn't make him one anymore.  I have a hard time with his work being considered the art it was. To me his work has left the ranks of timeless art and become popular entertainment.

That's not a bad thing, in itself. It's just not my cup of tea. 

Art = creativity

Those who've been reading this blog for a while know that I consider magic to be the power to change reality through acts of creation. Art is an act of creativity and therefore a kind of magic. That's how I have approached the work of Jimmy Page, and that's how I approach any music or other art.

That's why I have a hard time with Robert Plant's work these days.

Of course I listened to Carry Fire because I hoped maybe he had put out something new. But no. About the most entertaining aspect of this album has been the reviews. Here are some actual words used by reviewers of, for instance, one of the tracks, Bones of Saints:

"thunderous"
"rocking"
"lights a fire in the sky"
"a high-energy new blues-rock"
"a propulsive, rockabilly-style riff with a cinematic mid-song vocal"

Really? Do these people not hear what is or do they hear through the filter of what has been? Are their minds so clouded with Mr. Plant's past (with Led Zeppelin) that they can't hear with the ears of today? Thunder compared to what? Lighting a fire in what sky? High energy? Huh?

Those reviewers are confusing music with poetry. Robert Plant has given himself over to words at the expense of music. Fine. Let the reviewers review the lyrics, because the music is just plain bleh.

So okay, maybe this is unfair criticism. Maybe I haven't moved on with Mr. Plant to this post-Zeppelin era in which he is so attracted to world music. I love rock music above all but I have no problem with world music. Rock music with the influences of other cultures can be fascinating (Kashmir, anyone? Or how about Bron-Y-Aur Stomp? The Battle of Evermore?) But...if I wanted to listen world music it wouldn't be Mr. Plant's version.

Why? Because he doesn't use world music -- or any music -- to express anything new. It's the same music that varies in details only. It's different lyrics rather than different music. To me Mr. Plant's music since Led Zeppelin sounds all the same. Like he's latched onto one motif that lets him create new lyrics -- which he's very good at. The formula sells a lot of albums but it means Robert Plant can't move on artistically. His work is nice but it's boring. You've heard one song, you've heard them all unless you listen closely to the words.

Words aren't music.

On the other hand, if the object is to be an incredible entertainer, then Robert Plant has got the formula down.

Art vs entertainment

I'm not talking about Robert Plant's technique or even his voice. Voices go with age and abuse, and Robert Plant's not the only one whose voice has gone. Lots of singers start to sing in lower keys because they can't reach the highs anymore (Elton John), or cover their croaking with instruments or sing on in a parody of Bob Dylan anyway because they just don't care (Roger Waters).

It's okay to listen with a musically non-critical ear to the singers we love -- of course it is!  But that's not the problem here.

I could listen to Mr. Plant's post-Zeppelin work in spite of his voice. But I can't listen to the same-old-same-old. Robert Plant has become the Margaret Keane of his field... along with the majority of today's musicians.

To me the mark of a great artist is when he or she can continue to grow. This doesn't mean changing a signature style (although that can happen), but rather developing artistic statements that reveal new depth of experience -- either the artist's or the world's. Those statements change as the artist gains skill, or maturity, or enlightenment.

Artistic growth is the difference between art and entertainment.

It's not easy to grow artistically.  And it's not necessarily fun, particularly when the world is watching and listening with expectations, particularly when the artist has had great success doing something and the world is clamoring for more of it.

But what sells or is popular or garners great reviews is not a measure of good art. Art tells us something new about reality. The greater the art, the deeper it is, the more fundamental the message. The greatest art creates a new reality for those who can experience it.

Maybe I'm shallow. Maybe Robert Plant has found a way to bring poetry to a public that isn't much into poetry. More power to him. But to call it music, what he does?

No.

Fake news is no news: Led Zeppelin reunion

I have a lot of trouble with fake news. "Fake" is too nice a word. Fiction is what it is, but when the "news" is presented as fact then what we have is lies.

Lies.

But what's more troubling to me is how so many people have lost their marbles -- excuse me, I mean their critical reasoning ability -- and gulp up fake news as truth. And then, like a flu, they spread it.

Let's talk about a Led Zeppelin "reunion"

First, what is a reunion? It's a regathering of people who have gathered before. So... a true Led Zeppelin reunion would require that John Bonham be sitting at the drum kit. Sorry, I'm not one of those folks who accepts Bonzo's son as a real member of the band. Yes, Jason's a great drummer... but he's not his father. He hasn't worked with the other three gentlemen to create new music. The music that he drums to is his father's music. Jason is a cover drummer. I love the man, but there it is.

Let's talk about "facts"

No, let's not. There are no cold facts. Videos that supposedly prove Jimmy Page intends to do Desert Trip 2017 are from years ago, before there even was a Desert Trip. Use your brains, people. No one who counts has made a definitive statement about a reunion in Nevada, in 2017, or anyplace/anytime.

Now let's talk about Desert Trip 2017 itself

A Led Zeppelin reunion would trash Desert Trip. How many million people tried for tickets for the last time Led Zeppelin got together? Over 20 million. There would be that many and more for another try to see the gentlemen on stage. So let's think about what happened to the Ahmet Ertegon Tribute (the actual name for the 2007 event at O2). Quickly now, who can tell us what other headliner bands were there - raise your hands. Um... I'm not seeing hands. Why? Because the Tribute is usually called the Led Zeppelin Reunion for a reason. When the gentlemen in question get together, that's all there is in the world. Back in 2007 Pete Townshend famously refused to show up, saying that with Led Zeppelin there, they didn't need him. What headliner band would want to be reduced to a supporting act that nobody came to listen to?

Some kind of festival that would be.

This is all stupid talk anyway. It's not like the the rumors that Led Zeppelin are reuniting to perform at Desert Trip 2017 could possibly be anything but fake news. These news articles that announce "insider sources" are reporting that Robert Plant has agreed to a reunion in 2017 because of the band's upcoming 50th anniversary.

Um. Do the math, people. Led Zeppelin was formed and first performed in 1968. So Desert Trip 2017 would be... the 49th anniversary.

But more logic

So let's suppose that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones have agreed to a reunion and Jason Bonham has accepted an invitation to join them. And let's suppose that they decide to do this in 2017 instead of 2018. We know very well that the boys are perfectly capable of being sneaky about such decisions, and are perfectly capable of meeting for practice sessions without the slightest hint of a rumor getting out.

We know this. But suddenly these rumors. And not one bit of confirmation from the gentlemen in question. So what does this tell us?

It tells us that Desert Trip probably put an absolutely baseless rumor out there to begin with, because what this has done is created incredible publicity for them. But... do we see any announcement of dates in 2017? No. Do we see any confirmation of a lineup for 2017? No.

Uh huh. Sure Led Zeppelin's going to show up. Because if it's on the internet it must be true. And hey -- I've got a confounded bridge to sell you.

Armageddon

1993 still from Pride and Joy video, Coverdale/Page

People tend to dismiss Coverdale/Page as a Robert Plant substitute effort. I've always thought that doing so is not only a mistake, but that such a viewpoint alters the listening experience enough to make it impossible to really hear what's going on. They're missing out on an extraordinary opportunity to appreciate some first-class music.

Both Jimmy Page and David Coverdale were, by 1993, seasoned musicians and no longer in the flower of their youth. While some would say they were past their prime, when it comes to creativity there may never be a prime -- there may be just one masterpiece after another.

Make no mistake. Coverdale/Page is nothing but a masterpiece.

Jimmy Page and David Coverdale nail it. These two musicians have a nitty-gritty, tarnished depth to them that is different than Led Zeppelin, mostly because David Coverdale is not, in fact, Robert Plant. 

Coverdale delivers something entirely new to the music: Life experience.  In the years when Led Zeppelin was recording and touring, Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham simply weren't old enough to deliver the perspective that sheer number of years lived gives to the music. That's why the music of Led Zeppelin is, in a weird way, pure and sometimes even innocent.

The Coverdale and Page of 1993 can not pretend to innocence.

Beyond the difference between Coverdale and Plant, there is another interesting aspect to the Coverdale/Page album, namely that it contains a lament about the tragedy and destruction of war. As far as I know, Whisper a Prayer for the Dying is the only time Jimmy Page ever put out a song even remotely political, and this one is amazing. 

This is music of grown-ups who now look beyond their own needs and out to the world where there is so much suffering. This is the music of those who have known of sorrow and loss in their own lives. True, Robert Plant sang of the loss of his beloved son, Karac, and it stabbed us in the heart.  But David Coverdale sings of of the pointless loss of beloved strangers, and it stabs us in the soul.  

♪

♪ Whisper a Prayer for the Dying (Coverdale Page, 1993) YouTube

Check out the lyrics.

♪ Coverdale/Page playlist (YouTube)

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN!!!!

BREAKING: Stairway To Heaven found not to have infringed! Verdict is in!!! Unanimous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I survived the Led Zeppelin trial"

Journalist Pamela Chelin attended the trial and provided timely updates. After the verdict someone at the courthouse handed her this "I survived the Led Zeppelin trial" pass (right). 


Chelin reported:  While the jury found that Jimmy Page & Robert Plant had access to Taurus before writing Stairway To Heaven, they found that the songs were not substantially similar.

Plaintiff Michael Skidmore's attorney, Francis Malofiy, said "We are sad and disappointed but obviously we have to respect the jury's decision." Malofiy told Chelin, "There are many appealable issues. Obviously I will have to discuss them with my client." 

Malofiy seemed frustrated by the decision.  He said that while the jury found that Page & Plant had access to Taurus, only the sheet music and not the audio of the song was admissible at the trial.

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant post-trial statement:
"We are grateful for the jury's conscientious service and are pleased that it has ruled in our favor, putting to rest questions about the origins of Stairway to Heaven and confirming what we have known for 45 years.  We appreciate our fans' support, and look forward to putting this legal matter behind us."

Warner Music Group post-trial statement:
At Warner Music Group, supporting our artists and protecting their creative freedom is paramount.  We are pleased that the jury found in favor of Led Zeppelin, reaffirming the true origins of Stairway to Heaven.  Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest bands in historyt, and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are peerless songwriters who created many of rock's most influential and enduring songs."

More at The Wrap

Stairway to Heaven trial

The trial we've all been waiting for and dreading at the same time. I'm posting running updates over on Facebook, which also show up on Twitter. Judge Gary Klausner has banned electronic devices in the courtroom, so there are no as-it-happens reports and no photos. Spectators - including reporters - cannot reserve seating. Meaning if they leave their seats for any reason, the next person in the long line to get into the courtroom can take any seat that a butt has risen from for any reason except standing when the judge enters the courtroom.

A tough way to get timely info on this trial that we all are intensely interested in.

Jimmy Page has provided his testimony.  It is said - but not yet confirmed - that Robert Plant (who is attending the trial) and John Paul Jones (who has not been seen there) may yet take the hot seat on the witness stand.

It is also speculated that there are grounds for a mistrial. Makes you wonder.

I am prejudiced as you know, but I don't care what the jury's decision ends up being. A loss for Led Zeppelin would be a hit on their bank accounts but it would not impact my feelings about Stairway To Heaven. Even a win wouldn't matter much to me. I already know that the Led Zeppelin song is fully theirs, always and forever.

Jimmy Page on the stand being grilled by Spirit attorney Francis Malofiy
Mona Shafer Edwards sketch

Sketch artist Mona Shafer Edwards has been working hard at capturing images from the trial - many of them are posted on the Mage Music Facebook page. Los Angeles based journalist Pamela Chelin (@PamelaChelin) has been providing updates as she can Twitter. Pamela writes for  LA Weekly, LA Times, Spin, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Forbes, TheWrap, and more. Many thanks for her dedication.  Hollywood Reporter's Ashley Cullins (@AshleyCullins) has also provided great observations that I've reposted on Facebook.

♪

♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Sunset Sound Mix/Remaster 2014) YouTube

♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 2007) YouTube
♪ Stairway to Heaven (Jimmy Page, 1988) YouTube

♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1984) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1977) YouTube
♪ Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, from TSRTS movie 1976) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1975) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1975) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1973) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1973) YouTube

♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1973) YouTube
♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1972) YouTube
♪  Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1971) YouTube
♪ Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1971) YouTube

♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin 1971) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

On This Day 29 February

Australia has been a popular place to be on Leap Year Day

1996 29 February On This Day Jimmy Page watched Jeff Buckley in Melbourne
AUDIO Eternal Life (Jeff Buckley)

• 1972 Led Zeppelin, Brisbane at Festival Hall
• 1996 Page & Plant, Melbourne at Tennis Centre 

1972 Led Zeppelin, Brisbane

1988:
On this day Robert Plant’s Now and Zen album was released with two tracks featuring Jimmy Page on guitar: Heaven Knows and Tall Cool One. Jimmy Page's contribution to the songs is noted with a Zoso symbol in the liner notes, but he's not shown in the videos. No matter, I never look at the visuals anyway. Music is something perceived with ears, not eyes. And listening, seems to me that Tall Cool One reflects a bit of the late David Bowie. 

1996 Page & Plant, Melbourne

♪

♪  Full set (Led Zeppelin, Brisbane 1972) YouTube
♪  Heaven Knows (Robert Plant, Now and Zen feat Jimmy Page guitar 1988) YouTube
♪  Tall Cool One (Robert Plant, Now and Zen feat Jimmy Page guitar 1988) YouTube
♪  Heartbreaker (Page & Plant, Melbourne 29 February 1996) YouTube

♫  Led Zeppelin interview, Sydney 1972 YouTube
♫  Jimmy Page interview about Jeff Buckley 2014  YouTube

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

On This Day 09 February

Jimmy Page walks onstage and the place erupts.  As it should.

2002 09 February On This Day Jimmy Page
with Paul Weller's band at Teenage Cancer Trust, Royal Albert Hall
AUDIO: Wild Wood - Paul Weller (Soundcloud)

• 1968 The Yardbirds - Cardiff, Wales at Top Rank Ballroom
• 1996 Page & Plant Unledded Tour – Tokyo at Nippon Budokan
• 2002 Jimmy Page with Paul Weller's Band - Teenage Cancer Trust at Royal Albert Hall  

2002:
On this day Jimmy Page and Robert Plant appeared separately at the Teenage Cancer benefit at Royal Albert Hall. The event was billed as "The Paul Weller Band with guests Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, plus Robert Plant & Strange Sensation".

This was Robert Plant’s first London appearance in over three years and Jimmy Page’s first for over two. Furthermore, while it had been seventeen years since Jimmy Page had last performed at RAH for the ARMS shows in September 1983, Robert Plant had not performed there since the Led Zeppelin days: 09 January 1970.

Dave Lewis' take on Jimmy Page at the 2002 show:

"[it was] as if someone had picked up the remote and switched the TV over everything changes.
"You can see the Gibson…Weller goes off, his band mates mill around, lights flash down…and there on stage is Jimmy Page.
"Cherubic smile, well cut shirt, slimmer than in very long time, low slung Gibson Les Paul and sure enough it’s Dazed And Confused the instrumental…
"The place erupts and throughout the eight minute performance there is no doubt that we are in the presence of a living legend..."
~ Dave Lewis, TBL

2002 Jimmy Page, Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at Royal Albert Hall (Freda Hyatt photos)

2002 Jimmy Page, Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at Royal Albert Hall (Freda Hyatt photo)

♪

♪  Dazed And Confused (Jimmy Page with Paul Weller band, RAH 2002) YouTube

I forgot to post this the other day
♫   NBC News report with a brief comment by Peter Grant 07 February 1975

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

On This Day 08 February

Please listen to the song. And I don't mean the "popular" version.

2009 08 February On This Day a Grammy for Please Read The Letter
AUDIO: Please Read The Letter (Soundcloud)

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Chicago at Kinetic Playground
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - Philadelphia at The Spectrum
• 1996 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Tokyo at Nippon Budokan 

1969 Led Zeppelin at Kinetic Playground, Chicago

1975 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin at The Spectrum, Philadelphia

1996:

Jimmy Page kind of bumbled his way into the two songs I've linked to below from the Tokyo show on this day. As Robert Plant said, though, about Tea for One it wasn't a song that Led Zeppelin had every played live in its entirety, and it was the first time that Robert Plant had performed it with Jimmy Page on guitar. 

Back in 1976 when Tea for One was recorded for Presence, Robert Plant's leg was still in a cast. Two versions were recorded at that session, one with a guitar solo and one without. I'm soooo glad that the one with the solo is the one that ended up on the album.  

2009:
I've provided links below to two versions of Please Read the Letter.  I fail to see why the Plant/Krauss version was the one that got the acclaim, but then, I am into rock music not syrupy folk love songs. No accounting for taste.

2010 January Ross Halfin and Jimmy Page

♪

♪  Rain Song (Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy 1973/2014) YouTube
♪  Rain Song (Page & Plant, Tokyo 08 February 1996) YouTube
♪  Tea For One (Led Zeppelin, Presence 1976)  YouTube
♪  Tea For One  (Page & Plant, Tokyo 08 February 1996) YouTube
♪  Please Read the Letter (Page & Plant, Walking into Clarksdale 1998) YouTube
♪  Please Read the Letter (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss) YouTube

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

On This Day 12 January

Waiting to see Jimmy Page in the Hall of Fame again.  And again.

1995 12 January On This Day Led Zeppelin inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• 1969 Led Zeppelin I released
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - San Francisco, at The Fillmore (day 4 of r)
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - Brussels, at Vorst Nationaal
• 1995 Led Zeppelin - inducted in Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame 

1995

Twenty-six years after Led Zeppelin I hit the world, Led Zeppelin finally got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler did the induction honors, Tyler opening with a poor imitation of Robert Plant, prompting the latter to whisper, "You wish." 

When John Paul Jones took the mic, he made the famous statement that's been quoted so often over the years: "Thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number", referring to the fact that Jones had not been invited to join the Page/Plant Unledded project.

“Well, for my part of this, I must say it's a great honor to be inducted. Actually it's the second time for me, 'cause actually, earlier when I was inducted with the Yardbirds. It's almost like, inducted, induced, and this time it's the forceps. Some of you will get that. But anyway, thank you very much everybody.”
~ Jimmy Page accepting Rock and Roll Hall of Fame award

  

1995 Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Zoe Bonham, Jason Bonham, Robert Plant, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler
Led Zeppelin induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

1995 Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham

1995 Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Neil Young at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

♪

♪  When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin, Brussels 1975) YouTube
♪  Train Kept A-Rolling (Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1995) YouTube
♪  When the Levee Breaks (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham, Neil Young 1995) YouTube
♫  Joe Perry and Steven Tyler induct Led Zeppelin into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1995) YouTube

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

On This Day 11 January

What's a few years among friends?

1975 11 January On This Day Led Zeppelin at Rotterdam

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - San Francisco, CA at Fillmore West (day 3 of 4)
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - Rotterdam, The Netherlands at Ahoy Rotterdam 

1975

The Rotterdam show was the first performance after an 18 month sabbatical.  Robert Plant was nervous or rusty enough to have forgotten some of they lyrics to Stairway to Heaven.  

There seems to be some confusion about photos from the show, including what is on JimmyPage’s website (above), which provides photos from 1972 during a pre-show soundcheck at Oude Rai in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Holland-Belgium (Jan. 1975) press

1975 Robert Plant, Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin at Rotterdam

2014 Jimmy Page (Julian Broad/Vanity Fair photo)

♪

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

On This Day 05 January

On the road

1977 05 January On This Day Jimmy Page traveling to Mexico & South America

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

1977
While Jimmy Page may admire the music of Yma Sumac, it does nothing for me, so if you want to look at it you'll have to either go to Jimmy Page's website today while it's still there, or hunt for it on the web.

Aside from scattered guest appearances of individual members of the band, Led Zeppelin did not perform between 26 July 1977, the date of the death of Robert Plant's son, Karac, and 23 July 1979 in Copenhagen for a warmup for Knebworth.

1969 Led Zeppelin at Whisky a Go Go

♪

♪ Rock and Ruin (Jimmy Page demo 1981) From 04 January Mage Music post

* The MP3 above may or may not be Rock and Ruin. The MP3 was provided to me with a different name and represented as Rock and Ruin. So maybe yes, maybe no.
♪  For Your Love (Led Zeppelin, Whisky A Go-Go January 5 1969) YouTube

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