Showing posts with label Stairway to Heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stairway to Heaven. Show all posts

Sunday, December 10, 2023

On this day 10 December

 Beyond amazing and into the realm of Magick.


2007, the Concert of the Century
It's rock and roll, baby.  It's Jimmy Page.  It's Magick.

10 December Jimmy Page's On This Day (published 2020)


1998 and 2007 - 10 December On This Day, Page & Plant at Amnesty International Show
and Led Zeppelin/Jason Bonham at Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, O2
Videos: Black Dog  Gallows Pole

On this day 2023


  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Bristol, England at Student Union, Bristol University
  • 1968 Led Zeppelin - London, England at  Marquee Club
  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - St. Helier, UK at Behan's Park West (guest appearance with pianist Norman Hale)
  • 1998 Page & Plant, Amnesty International Concert - Paris, France at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
  • 2007 Led Zeppelin Ahmet Ertegun Tribute - London,England at O2 Arena  
1975
Robert Plant was still recovering from his August car accident, and the four members of Led Zeppelin were in Jersey for a few weeks. John Paul Jones and John Bonham were at a club where the resident pianist, Norman Hale, invited the two onstage to jam. Instead the full band showed up a week later for a 45 minute set with Hale at the piano and Plant seated on a stool, performing to an audience of a few hundred lucky souls.

1975 Led Zeppelin - St. Helier, UK at Behan's Park West
(guest appearance with pianist Norman Hale)
1998
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant performed When the World Was YoungBabe I'm Gonna Leave YouGallows Pole, and Rock and Roll at the last Human Rights Concert to benefit Amnesty International. The full 1998 performance with Page & Plant, among others, is available on Amazon.

1998 Page & Plant, Amnesty International Show, Paris

2007
Ahmet Ertegun (1923-2006) was a powerful figure in Led Zeppelin's career. He was founder and president of Atlantic Records and was a chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After hearing Led Zeppelin's demo recording, Ertegun immediately signed the then unknown band to his label.

At age 83 Ertegun was backstage at a Rolling Stones' concert at the Beacon Theater in New York when he tripped and fell, hitting his head on the cement. During the Led Zeppelin induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame on 14 November, 2006, Jimmy Page announced that Ertegun had gone into a coma. Ahmet Ertegun died on December 14, 2006 and was buried in his native Turkey.

The remaining members of Led Zeppelin organized an Ahmet Tribute Concert to raise money for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey. Although other performers were to share the stage, it was the reunion of Led Zeppelin, with Jason Bonham taking his father's place, that stole the headlines.

Over 20 million people tried for tickets.

2007 February, Led Zeppelin statement on passing of Ahmet Ertegun

2007 10 December, Led Zeppelin reunion, with Jason Bonham,
at Ahmut Ertegun Tribute concert, O2 Arena, London

2007 O2 ticket

2007 Dave Grohl with Scarlet Page and the "secret" setlist, before the show
(Ross Halfin photo)
Setlist:
Good Times, Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
For Your Life
Trampled Under Foot
Nobody's Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Since I've Been Lovin' You
Dazed and Confused
Stairway To Heaven
The Song Remains the Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir

Encore:
Whole Lotta Love
Rock and Roll
2007, the Concert of the Century

2007 Jimmy Page at the mic, O2

2007 Jimmy Page, O2 (Ross Halfin photo)

2007 Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, O2

2007 John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant at O2 (Scarlet Page photo)




♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube
♪  Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube
♪ Gallows Pole (Page & Plant, Amnesty International Paris 1998) YouTube
♪  Good Times Bad Times with concert intro (Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham, Ahmet Tribute Concert at O2, 2007) YouTube


Friday, November 10, 2023

On this day 10 November

 Everybody wants to talk to Jimmy Page







  • 1966 The Yardbirds - St. Louis, MO at  Kiel Auditorium
  • 1967 The Yarbirds - Vancouver, Canada at PNE Garden Amphitheater
  • 1994 Page & Plant Unledded – Tokyo at Asahi TV
  • 1998 Page & Plant – Paris at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
  • 2014 Jimmy Page & Brian May, NME interview 

1994 Jimmy Page, Asahi TV interview

1994 Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Four Seasons Hotel, Tokyo, Japan (Credit: Gutchie Kojima)


2014 10 November Jimmy Page, NME interview







♫  Asahi TV Interview plus Stairway to Heaven (Page & Plant, 1994) YouTube
♫  NME interview (Jimmy Page & Brian May, 2014) YouTube



Monday, October 23, 2023

On this day 23 October

The song remains...
1966 23 October On This Day The Yardbirds San Francisco at Fillmore Auditorium
1966 The Yardbirds - San Francisco, CA at Fillmore Auditorium
1976 Led Zeppelin – TSRTS promo, US television debut on Don Kirshner's Rock Show
1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Boston, MA at Fleet Center

1966 The Yardbirds San Francisco at Fillmore Auditorium
(Gordon Linden photo)
1966:
'Eleven amplifiers, eleven amplifiers, the Yardbirds have 11 amplifiers, Jesus Christ -- the words seemed to spring from the air in the Fillmore last Sunday as the other groups on the afternoon show waited for the Yardbirds, the stars, and the amplifiers, and their equipment to arrive. Standel advertises that 10 of theirs have the power to kill anyone standing in front of them ... [The Yardbirds'] first note reveals the meaning of the eleven amplifiers. The guitar has a power, a fullness of tone, a depth that has not been often heard outside a recording studio. The sound moves out of the three amplifiers and possesses you, driving the normal impulses out of your nervous system and replacing them with music. But not a music that you've ever heard before. It has the textures and rhythms of Chicago blues, like almost all rock now, but as they play the bass player turns his body so that his instrument is facing the 27 square feet of amplifier and speakers that stand behind him, taller than he, and the feedback tones fill the room with a sound more powerful than anything before it, and touching more on what is happening, and then the lead guitarist goes into an incredible distorted nm with notes and feedback blending into a beautiful new sound ... No other group has been as close to it as the Yardbirds --Beatles, Stones forget it. At the back of the hall it is too loud, muddy, much of it inaudible and the sound system has utterly failed to match the eleven amplifiers. Not a word can be heard.... I am convinced, I am converted, the Yardbirds are the best group in the world. It took a day to come down from that idea. After it was over I watched them leave, clear smiles on their faces and plane schedules on their minds, and I remembered what they had done to my favorite music, and how my mind ached with the glory of today [but] all the songs sounded the same ... They don't have the variety or didn't choose to on stage that day. Like Butterfield they did one thing, and really well.'

1976
"Although they never appeared live on the show, footage from Zeppelin’s 1976 film, The Song Remains the Same, was aired on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert on September 29, 1976.  Featured selects included performances of “Rock and Roll”, “Bring It On Home”, “Wear Flowers In Your Hair”, “Black Dog”, and “Dazed and Confused.”  The astounding 25 minute performance of “Dazed and Confused” showcased some of the band’s wildest stage antics, particularly Jimmy Page’s technique with a violin bow. " 


1976 Swan Song press release for TSRTS

Jimmy Page playing Stairway To Heaven, from the TSRTS movie





♪  Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, from TSRTS movie 1976)

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

On this day 20 September

 A call to ARMS

1983 20 September On This Day Jimmy Page at Royal Albert Hall, ARMS benefit

  • 1968 Led Zeppelin begins recording first album at Olympic Studios
  • 1983 Jimmy Page - Royal Albert Hall, London for ARMS Concert

1971
Led Zeppelin in Japan. Great audiences, lots of sightseeing, a benefit for Hiroshima, and a relaxed and happy Jimmy Page.
Jimmy Page, Japan September 1971
Photo credit:  Koh Hasebe-Shinko Music/Getty Images


1983:
The ARMS Charity Concert started out with the idea for a single performance at Royal Albert Hall in London in support of Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis (ARMS).  The concert was the brainchild of Ronnie Lane, former bassist for The Small Faces and The Faces, who had himself been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

The concert was such a success that it was decided to perform a further nine concerts in the US. These performances included Joe Cocker, with Paul Rodgers replacing Steve Winwood in Jimmy Page's set. 

There are a lot of nay-sayers out there who have decided that Jimmy Page was no good at the ARMS concerts. I simply say perhaps these people are "listening" with their eyes or their prejudices - and not their ears.

1983 20 September On This Day text

1983 Royal Albert Hall ARMS benefit musicians

1983 Jimmy Page, Royal Albert Hall ARMS benefit

1983 Jimmy Page, Royal Albert Hall ARMS benefit

1983 Jimmy Page, ARMS benefit

♪  Prelude/City Sirens/Who's To Blame/Stairway to Heaven (Jimmy Page, ARMS RAH 1983) YouTube
♪   Layla (finale with all musicians, ARMS RAH 1983) YouTube
♪  Full concert with Ronnie Lane footage (ARMS RAH1983) YouTube

Monday, September 4, 2023

On this day 04 September

 Jimmy Page, here, there and everywhere

1964 04 September On This Day Joe Cocker singles released
♪ I'll Cry Instead (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) Soundcloud

  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Honolulu, HI at International Center, Exhibition Hall
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin with Fairport Convention - West Hollywood, CA at Troubadour Club 
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Canada at Maple Leaf Gardens
  • 1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company - Central Park, NYC at Schaefer Music Festival
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Vancouver, Canada, rehearsal at General Motors Place 
1970:
Following the show at the Forum, the four members of Led Zeppelin and Peter Grant showed up at the Troubadour Club for Fairport Convention 's second set and jammed with them. Sandy Denny was Fairport Convention's singer. Denny was later to contribute vocals on Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore. She was the only guest vocalist Led Zeppelin ever recorded with. During later live performances of the song John Paul Jones sang Denny's vocals, with sometimes John Bonham joining in.

During the jam, Bonham attacked Dave Mattacks' drums with his usual enthusiasm. Later Mattacks had to repair the kit and replace the heads. It was reported that the bass drum jumped forward three or four inches with Bonzo's first strike.

The story goes that after the Fairport/Zeppelin jam they all moved to the after hours bar, Barney's Beanery, where Janis Joplin was hanging out. A drinking contest between Fairport's Dave Pegg, Bonham and Janis Joplin ensued. No report of a winner has surfaced.

The jam was taped, and according to Dave Lewis, it ended up in Peter Grant's possession. That recording has not surfaced, either.

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at LA Forum







1974
Bad Company had only begun performing live in May of 1974.  Their first album, Bad Company, was released by Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label.  Jimmy Page joined Bad Company for an encore of Rock Me Baby at the Shaefer Music Festival in New York's Central Park on September 4, 1974.  

In 1983, Jimmy Page appeared with the ARMS charity concert series.  Steve Winwood provided vocals for Jimmy Page's set at the first shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Paul Rodgers, of Bad Company, replaced Winwood for the four-city ARMS tour in the United States.  Rodgers joined Jimmy Page in The Firm in 1985 and 1986.  

1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

1974 Jimmy Page with Mick Ralphs of Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC


♪  I'll Cry Instead (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) 
♪  Those Precious Words (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Inglewood CA at LA Forum, 04 September 1970) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens, 09 September 1971) 
♪  Rock Me Baby (Jimmy Page with Bad Company, New York 1974) 


Sunday, September 3, 2023

On this day 03 September

 Sometimes touring is hard, hard, harder than it needs to be.

1998 03 September On This Day Page & Plant arrive in Vancouver
  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Salem, OR at Salem Armory Auditorium
  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - San Diego, CA at San Diego Sports Arena
  • 1971 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden
  • 1998 Page & Plant arrive in Vancouver, British Columbia

1970
According to Dave Lewis the crowd in San Diego was rowdy. Then Jimmy Page had a problem with his guitar in the acoustic set and Bron Yr Aur was abandoned. Robert Plant got creative with Whole Lotta Love lyrics. 

After all that, a music critic from San Diego Union panned the show, ending with..."if this music is part of the new life style, it somehow makes the wrong side of 40 seem like the right side."  [D. Dierks/Music Critic/SD Union/9-4-70]

I always wonder if the music critics of then ever ate their words.

1970 Led Zeppelin San Diego bootleg insert

1971:
"I'm Scott Muni, from WNEW-FM. They take a poll over in England every year. For the second time, the greatest rock and roll band in the land, LED ZEPPELIN!"!
"...the stage collapsed. Plant and Page made their way to the top of the stacks of amps, then crawled down and off stage. The house lights came up and the P.A. announcer asked for calm and for everyone to return to their seats."
~ A.J. Crandall report on his experience of the 1971 show
1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin MSG

1971 Led Zeppelin MSG







♪  Led Zeppelin (New York at Madison Square Garden, 03 September 1971) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TntuvGvJB8Q&list=PLf62FjbXtD1IcycLpMqc9G02lED9LyE13&index=1

Thursday, July 27, 2023

On this day 27 July

 And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune, then the piper will lead us to reason. 

~ Stairway to Heaven
1973 27 July On This Day Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden, NYC (show 1 of 3)

  • 1967 The Yardbirds - San Francisco, CA at Fillmore Auditorium
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Woodinville, WA at Seattle Pop Festival
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - New York, NY at Madison Square Garden

1973:
"Originally, we saw the whole essence of our live performance as something that the audience listened to very carefully, picking up on what was going on, the spontaneity and musicianship. And you can’t do that if you’re running around the stage all night, or at least we couldn’t back then.” By 1973, however, “we were much more ambitious, in that respect. We really wanted to take the live performances as far as they could go".
~Jimmy Page, Mick Wall interview, Times Online 1 Nov 2008

"The kind of speed we were moving at, the creative juices in the air, the whole thing was just an absolute mixture of adrenaline, chemical, euphoria ... and there were no brakes. We couldn't stop what was happening. We had no idea what it even was. But we just kept trying, pushing forward, every show."
~Robert Plant, from liner notes by Cameron Crowe for The Song Remains the Same, 2007.
1973 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at MSG

1973 Eddie Kramer & Jimmy Page at MSG

Jimmy Page from 'The Song Remains The Same' movie footage (Stairway to Heaven)

Jimmy Page from 'The Song Remains The Same' movie footage (Stairway to Heaven)

Mage Music jimmypagemusic.blogspot.com

♪  Glimpses (Yardbirds, Fillmore West 1967) YouTube
♪ Led Zeppelin (New York NY at Madison Square Garden day 1/3, 27 July 1973)
Note: First half of the show is missing from currently available recordings

Sunday, July 23, 2023

On this day 23 July

 Things don't always go the way you think they should.

1985 23 July On This Day - but these events didn't actually happen on this day
  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Buxton, England at Buxton Pavilion Gardens Ballroom 
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - Baltimore, MD at Baltimore Civic Centre
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Oakland, CA at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
  • 1979 Led Zeppelin - Copenhagen, Denmark at Falkoner Theatre
  • 1985 Robert Plant with Jimmy Page encore appearance - East Rutherford, NJ 
  • 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Birmingham, England at NEC Arena (day 2)
1973:
The famous scene in The Song Remains The Same, with Peter Grant venting his rage at the venue's promoter, was taken at the Baltimore Civic Center concert on this date. 

1977:
Led Zeppelin's huge Stonehenge backdrop for the Oakland 23-24 concerts was the basis for some funny stuff later on. Black Sabbath had commissioned a Stonehenge stage set for their 1983 Born Again tour (Stonehenge is the second track on the Born  Again album).  That band couldn't use the stage set because it had been mistakenly constructed too big to haul around.  Coincidentally, at the same time the writers of This Is Spinal Tap created a scene with a Stonehenge set that turns out to be way too small to use. The two didn't copy each other (a 20-minute cut of the movie with that scene dates from before the Black Sabbath tour).  Thus, we might conclude that both were inspired by Led Zeppelin at Oakland.
 
1977 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Oakland


1977 Led Zeppelin's Stonehenge backdrop at Oakland

1979:
This was Led Zeppelin's first concert in almost two years.  It was kept low-key -- tickets were actually available to purchase at the door -- because it was a warm-up for Knebworth.  

1985:
The On This Day post for 23 July 1985 is almost certainly incorrect - let's blame it on the webmaster and not Jimmy Page (why not!).  The band was on hiatus from 22 May 1985 until 14 March 1986, leaving Page free to do sets with The Beach Boys (04 July) and with Robert Plant and John Paul Jones (Live Aid, 13 July).

However, on 04 April 1986 The Firm was at Meadowlands (Brendan Byrne Arena) in East Rutherford, NJ., where Les Paul was introduced onstage. 

Robert Plant was at Meadowlands on 23 July 1985, and Jimmy Page joined him for the encores, Mean Woman Blues and Treat Her Right.  Les Paul wasn't onstage for that one.



1985 Jimmy Page & Les Paul at Meadowlands

1985 Jimmy Page, from The Firm Tourbook