On This Day 13 February

Another day, another award and glorious music

1972 13 February On This Day Led Zeppelin tourist stopover in Bombay
Jimmy Page's VIDEO (YouTube) 

• 1975 Led Zeppelin - Uniondale, NY at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
• 1992 Jimmy Page with Harry Connick Jr. for encore at James L. Knight Center, Miami
• 1996 Page & Plant Unledded Tour – Tokyo a Nippon Budokan
• 2005 Led Zeppelin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

1975:
An exciting show with some surprises:  an epic, 42 minute length Dazed and Confused, and a bit of theremin between Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog. Ron Wood joined Led Zeppelin for an encore of Communication Breakdown and Robert Plant sang a few lines from Roll Over Beethoven while the guitars got sorted out.

1975 Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Peter Grant, Uniondale NY
(I always first think Ron is in handcuffs when I see this photo)

1992:
It's uncertain whether Jimmy Page, who was reportedly living on Florida's exclusive Jupiter Island at this time, attended  Harry Connick Jr's gig at the James L. Knight Center in Miami on 13 or 14 February - but it was definitely one of those two days.

"I'd been listening to his music, and I was keen to see what his concert would be like," says Page, 48, who was in Miami working on a new album. "We met before the concert, and Harry said, 'You should come up and play,' and I laughed. But I was sitting in the audience, and he suddenly said, 'We've got a really good friend here.... C'mon, Jimmy, come up and play with us.' I went up, and he put a guitar in my hands and said, 'Go ahead, it's your band.' So I did an improvised blues in B flat. I was so nervous! And he went over to the brass section and started singing these licks and cued them in." Would Page consider an encore? "Oh, yes, but I'll bring my own guitar the next time."
~ Jimmy Page interview

2002:
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement is a Special Merit Award, presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Zoe Bonham and Jason Bonham accepted the award for Led Zeppelin.

2005 John Paul Jones & Jimmy Page at Grammy Awards

2005 John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Zoe Bonham and Jason Bonham
accept Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from Neil Portnow,
president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

♪

♪  Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin, Uniondale 13 February 1975) YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love/Black Dog ( (Led Zeppelin, Uniondale 13 February 1975) YouTube
♪  Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin, with Ron Wood 1975) YouTube
♪  Rain Song (Page & Plant, 13 February 1996, Japan) YouTube
(Just a cute brief clip of a funny moment)

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

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

♪

♪  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

On This Day 22 December

Mortals have trembled... and mortals will tremble again.

22 December On This Day published 2020
Artist's impression video

2009 22 December On This Day It Might Get Loud DVD released in USA

• 1972 Led Zeppelin - London at Alexandra Palace
• 1993 Jimmy Page Coverdale-Page Tour - Nagaya, Japan at Nagaya Gym
• 2009 Jimmy Page - It Might Get Loud DVD Released in USA 

2009

As with any major event in one's life, there are always things that stand out. For me, it was impatience with Jack White's and The Edge's scenes in It Might Get Loud. Fine, fine, now let's see Jimmy Page. Because to me, it's a movie about him.

I suppose there are Jack White and The Edge fans who think the movie's about them. Bwahahaha! No way!

2009 22 December On This Day text
(click on image to enlarge)

2009 Jimmy Page plays air guitar in It Might Get Loud

2009 Jimmy Page in his equipment storage room in It Might Get Loud

May get loud again

♪

♪  Movie trailer (Jimmy Page, It Might Get Loud 2009) YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love (Jimmy Page, It Might Get Loud 2009) YouTube
♪  Embryo No. 1 (Jimmy Page, It Might Get Loud 2009) YouTube
♪  Domino a.k.a. Embryo No. 2 (Jimmy Page, Net Aid at East Rutherford 1999) YouTube
♪  Embryo No. 2 a.k.a. Domino (Jimmy Page, It Might Get Loud 2009) YouTube
♪  Embryo No. 3  (Jimmy Page, It Might Get Loud 2009) YouTube

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

On This Day 16 December

Where's Jimmy?

1968 16 December On This Day Led Zeppelin at Bath

• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Bath, England at Bath Pavilion
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Birmingham, England at Birmingham Odeon Theatre 

1968
This is one of those times when you have to read carefully. Led Zeppelin didn't play Bath three years in a row on this day, but at three different times in those three years. But that's OK.

Dave Lewis reports in his excellent reference, Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, that Robert and Jimmy learned about what roadies were able to do at the 1968 venue at Bath while they were watching the support band, Yellow Brick Road (not to be confused with the more recent band of that name).  As reported by Dave, that band's roadie ran onto the stage to replace a busted drum.  Prophetically, perhaps, Robert commented, "Jimmy, we must remember that."

It's hard to remember there was ever a time when the boys of Led Zeppelin were still new at their game.

1972 Led Zeppelin at Birmingham Odeon

2007
Yeah, I know that the O2 was over by this point, but the celebration goes on. Nobody minds looking at more photos, right?

2007 09 December Jimmy Page at O2 rehearsal (Ross Halfin photo)

2007 09 December O2 rehearsal (Ross Halfin photo)

♪

I've included links today to a few songs from BBC Sessions in addition to a couple from the 1972 show.  Just because.


♪  Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin Birmingham 1972) YouTube
♪  Over the Hills and Far Away (Led Zeppelin Birmingham 1972) YouTube
♪  How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions 1997 release) YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love / Medley (Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions 1997 release) YouTube
♪  Thank You (Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions 1997 release) YouTube

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

On This Day11 November

...a different smile like that of one who knows.

1966 11 November On This Day The Yardbirds on Milton Berle scheduled, actually aired 02 December

• 1966 The Yardbirds – Indianapolis at Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Vancouver, Canada at PNE Garden Auditorium
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Newcastle upon Tyne, England at Newcastle City Hall 
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Portland, ME at Cumberland Civic Center
• 1994 Page & Plant - Later with Jools Holland scheduled on BBC
• 1997 Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions released
• 1997 The Girl I Love / Whole Lotta Love single released
• 2014 Jimmy Page book event, Los Angeles at Barnes and Noble 
• 2015 Led Zeppelin - Classic Rock Reissue of the Year award

1966:

The filming that took place in October was scheduled to be aired on the Milton Berle Show on this day actually was telecast on 02 December.

1969/1997:

The Girl I Love was recorded in 1969 but was released on the BBC sessions and as a single in 1997. Compare Jimmy Page's guitar riff for this song with Moby Dick.

1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin - Newcastle upon Tyne, England at Newcastle City Hall

2014 Jimmy Page & Terry Reid at book event, Los Angeles (Ross Halfin photo)

2014:
Terry Reid, the vocalist who turned down the Led Zeppelin offer, came to Jimmy Page's book event in Los Angeles. How different things could have turned out.

2015:
Photos & video from the Classic Rock Awards.  Jimmy Page accepted the Reissue of the Year award for Led Zeppelin.

Ten more years to go.  I mean days.

♪

♪  Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (Yardbirds - lipsynched - for Milton Berle Show 1966)YouTube
♪  The Girl I Love (Led Zeppelin, BBC Sessions) YouTube
♪  Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin II 1969) YouTube
♪  Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin, Newcastle 1971) YouTube
♪  Going to California / That's the Way (Led Zeppelin, BBC Sessions released 1997) YouTube

On This Day 07 November

Just add one part Jimmy to any recipe to save the dish

2001 07 November On This Day, Jimmy Page with Durst & Scantlin at MTV Awards, Germany

• 1966 The Yardbirds Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour - Chanute, KS at Chanute Auditorium 
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - San Francisco, CA at Winterland Ballroom (day 2)
• 1969 Whole Lotta Love/Living Loving Maid released as single
• 2001 Jimmy Page with Fred Durst & Wes Scantlin - MTV Europe Music Awards, Frankfurt, Germany at Festhalle 

Jimmy Page, Thank You

♪

♪  Full set (Led Zeppelin, Winterland 07 November 1969) YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, Rough Mix With Vocal 1969/2014) YouTube
♪  Thank You (Jimmy Page with Durst & Scanlin, Frankfurt MTV Awards 2001) YouTube

On This Day 22 October

Whole lotta lotta.

1969 22 October On This Day Led Zeppelin II released
♪ Whole Lotta Love (SoundCloud)

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Westport, CT at Staples High School Auditorium
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Wichita, KS at Cotillion Club
• 1969 Led Zeppelin II released
• 1976 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Fox Wilshire, premier of The Song Remains The Same 
• 1988 Jimmy Page - Outrider Tour - Detroit, MI at Joe Louis Arena
• 1997 Led Zeppelin releases Whole Lotta Love as a single in the UK 
• 2014 Jimmy Page - London at Paul Smith Led Zeppelin Limited Edition Scarves launch 

1976:

There is conflicting information about the exact dates of the Led Zeppelin premieres in New York and Los Angeles. Some say October 19 and 21, respectively, and others - including Dave Lewis - say October 20 and 22. I'm going with Dave.

1976 The Song Remains The Same movie premiere, LA

1976 LA premiere of The Song Remains The Same

1988:
Jimmy Page just got better and better at interpreting Chopin's Prelude. It's the first song on the full set video for the Detroit show (playlist below).

1988 Jimmy Page, Outrider Tour, Detroit (Ben Roberts photo)

1997:

Whole Lotta Love was released as a single in the UK on this day - the first ever single released there. The occasion was the 30th anniversary of the band. The video is hot, hot, hot. 

If you'd never heard one Led Zeppelin song and this was your first, it would knock your socks off. For those of us who've been listening since day one, it was a reminder that every single Led Zeppelin song is a masterpiece in its own right.

2014:
Having met with fashion designer Paul Smith in Tokyo earlier this month in 2014, on this day Jimmy Page attended the launch of the Paul Smith Led Zeppelin scarf line in London.

2014 Paul Smith & Jimmy Page in London

2015:
More and more movies are using Led Zeppelin songs in their trailers and as part of their soundtracks. I've included a trailer for The Big Short, to be released this December.  When The Levee Breaks is the music for the trailer.

♪

♪  Whole Lotta Love / promo (Led Zeppelin, 1969/1997) YouTube

♪  Full Set (Jimmy Page Outrider Tour, Detroit 1988) YouTube

♪  The Big Short (movie trailer 2015) YouTube

On This Day 9 October

He really is a musical genius, you know.

1999 09 October On This Day Jimmy Page at NetAid

• 1966 The Yardbirds-Southampton, England at Southampton Gaumont Theatre
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Osaka, Japan at Osaka Festival Hall
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Boise, ID at BSU Pavilion
• 1999 Jimmy Page - East Rutherford, NJ at Giants Stadium - Net Aid

1999:
NetAid is an anti-poverty nonprofit organization to raise awareness of and money for anti-poverty projects. It was created in 1999 as a joint venture between the United Nations Development Programme and Cisco Systems and is now a part of Mercy Corps.

NetAid was launched with concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, Giants Stadium in New Jersey and the Palais des Nations in Geneva.  The concerts were broadcast live on MTV, VH-1, the BBC and other broadcasters to 60 countries, as well as radio broadcasts that would reach 120 countries, making the concerts the widest heard live musical performances in history. The shows were meant to promote NetAid's website, where donations could be accepted. The website got 2.4 million hits, and the $830,000 for NetAid was the largest amount raised online to date.

Jimmy Page soloed, with Michael Lee, Chris and Rich Robinson (from The Black Crowes), and Guy Pratt as his backup band. He also joined Puff Daddy for the song Come With Me.

The Giants Stadium NetAid show generally got poor reviews - except for Jimmy Page.

"Thank God, then, for Jimmy Page. After reuniting Led Zeppelin to mixed results at Live Aid, Page made up for it here as he ripped into an instrumental of Dazed and Confused that showed no signs of age. Page evoked the golden age of the Guitar Hero and stadium rock -- complete with the scent of many a burning joint. And it only got better when Black Crowes Chris and Rich Robinson came out for a rejuvenated In My Time of Dying and brutal Whole Lotta Love.
~Marian Montgomery NetAid concert review  

Jimmy Page debuted Domino (later to become Embryo No. 2 in It Might Get Loud) at NetAid. Domino was never officially released and this was its only live performance. I wonder if we'll get to hear it on Jimmy Page's next album.

NetAid Setlist
1. Come With Me (with Puff Daddy)
2. Dazed And Confused
3. Domino
4. In My Time Of Dying (with The Black Crowes)
5. Whole Lotta Love (with The Black Crowes)

1999 Jimmy Page NetAid (David Atlas photo)

2012 Jimmy Page at Celebration Day movie premiere in NYC

2014 Jimmy Page in Tokyo for an author book signing (stamping, in this case) Ross Halfin photo 

♪

♪  Stand By Me (Led Zeppelin Osaka 1972) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Boise 1995) YouTube
♪  Come With Me (Jimmy Page, Puff Daddy, NetAid 1999) YouTube
♪  Domino (Jimmy Page, Net Aid at East Rutherford 1999) Youtube

♪  Whole Lotta Love (Jimmy Page et al, NetAid 1999) YouTube

♪  Embryo No. 2 (It Might Get Loud, 2009) YouTube

On This Day 4 October

Something to Crowe about

1999 04 October On This Day Jimmy Page tour rehearsals with The Black Crowes 

• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Newcastle, UK at Mayfair Ballroom
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Rotterdam, Netherlands at Circus Theatre
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Osaka, Japan at Festival Hall
• 1999 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes rehearsal

1999:

Jimmy Page seemed to be more light-hearted with the Black Crowes than he had been for a long time. He had jammed with the band in 1995 and they'd been his backing band for the July 1999 SCREAM benefit.

"The Crowes are really known for jamming and ad-libbing. And that's what I've been doing ever since I've been playing," Jimmy Page said in a July 2000 interview with Guitar World.

Not the perfect band, perhaps - certainly nothing of the caliber of Led Zeppelin - but with The Black Crowes sometimes Jimmy let himself loose like he hadn't really done since Outrider.

Watching the rehearsal is really cool. The sound from the video below is unbalanced but you can hear the master's guitar loud and clear. Oh, for a mic that picked up what Jimmy was saying, but even so, I just love that rehearsal video.

1999 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes "In Concert and By Your Side" rehearsal

1999 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes "In Concert and By Your Side" rehearsal

1999 October tour schedule 

2015 Cover of Beatleg Magazine, Japan

♪

♪  The Rain Song (Led Zeppelin, Osaka 1972)  YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, Osaka 1972)  YouTube
♪  Studio rehearsal (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, 1999) YouTube

On This Day 30 September

I've got some questions for you, Mr. Page...

On This Day published 2019

1971 30 September On This Day Jimmy Page vacations in Bangkok

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Glasgow, Scotland at Odean Theatre
• 1971 Jimmy Page in Bangkok
• 1995 Page & Plant Unledded North American Tour - Denver, CO at Fiddlers Green
• 1998 Page & Plant North American Fall Tour - Houston, TX at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
• 2012 Jimmy Page attends The Muse’s show at The Roundhouse

Jimmy Page at the keyboard
When/ Where?

2015:  It's been very cool that Jimmy Page has set up some listening sessions where he's taken questions from the audience, and there are many excellent interviews out there. But the man is still a mystery and there are so many unanswered questions. I figure I could do as good a job as anyone so far at interviewing Jimmy Page.

For one thing, what about the photo above? Piano or keyboards? Jimmy Page can play many instruments and no doubt he can do a decent job tickling the ivories, but what was the story with that photo? Was it a recording session? Was he composing? Demonstrating an idea? Just fooling around?

1993 Guitare & Claviers Magazine

Perhaps it is just coincidence that Jimmy Page appeared on the cover of Guitare et Claviers, a French magazine no longer in publication, a magazine not just about guitars but claviers. A clavier is a keyboard instrument, especially one with strings, such as the harpsichord. I haven't read the interview in that issue, but maybe Jimmy Page's piano playing is brought up.

I came across a YouTube video in which Jimmy Page allegedly is playing the piano (at 0:40). It was funny to me that when I read the comments I found two posts by me questioning whether it really was Jimmy Page. I wrote:

"What I want to know is why anyone thinks this actually is Jimmy Page playing piano.  The guitar in the beginning didn't particularly sound like him.  The guitar after the piano doesn't particularly sound like him.  I'm not saying it isn't Jimmy Page, but really - it could be anyone playing, couldn't it?  Who believes anything anyone posts on the internet anymore without some verification."

And that brings me to my point.  Inquiring minds want to know the answers to these questions and so many more. No matter how much diligence used when researching Jimmy Page, the fact is that nobody knows Jimmy like Jimmy Page knows Jimmy. So I'd like to go right to the source.

I know I could do a great job of interviewing Jimmy Page. I've got tons of questions nobody's ever asked before.  And besides, lots of the interviews out there are just plain crap. So just give me a call or email me, Mr. Page. We'll set up an appointment to do an interview at your convenience.

1995 January Guitar Classics Collector's Yearbook

1972:  Some guitars never got played at all

Greco Guitars wanted the endorsement of a widely known guitar player and during a press conference on September 30, 1972 in Tokyo, Japan for Led Zeppelin's forthcoming Japanese tour, Jimmy Page was presented with a Greco EG-360S Guitar. Pictures that have surfaced from this press conference show that Jimmy Page and drummer John Bonham were not happy with this presentation. Bonham, in fact, was so displeased with Greco Guitars that he demanded the company's tagline – “Led Zeppelin is my brother” – be blackened out of their advertisement in the official tour programs.

~ excerpt from Five Things You Might Not Know About Jimmy Page's Guitars 

Jimmy Page in his studio 1973

2012

2016

♪

♫  Jimmy Page home movie (Bangkok 1971) YouTube
♪  Whole Lotta Love (Page & Plant, Denver 1995) YouTube
♫  Page and Plant Interview (TFI Friday 3 April 1998) YouTube
♪  Piano bit (Jimmy Page allegedly playing piano at 00:40)) YouTube

 [blog post updated 2019 but music links not confirmed as still valid]

On This Day 24 September

England, Japan, US, Mexico, Thailand: A whole lotta love of music for the whole world

1971 24 September On This Day Led Zeppelin, Tokyo at Budokan Hall (day 2)

• 1966 Yardbirds - Leeds, West Yorkshire, England at Leeds Odeon Theatre
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Tokyo, Japan at   Budokan Hall (day 2 of 2)
• 1988 Jimmy Page - New Orleans, Louisiana at New Orleans Municipal Auditorium
• 1995 Page & Plant - Mexico City, Mexico at City El Palacio de Los Deportes Arena (day 2 of 2)
• 1998 Page & Plant - Phoenix, Arizona at American West Arena

1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Tokyo Budokan Hall

1971 Led Zeppelin Tokyo

2011:
This was the first year of the Jesters Care for Kids Gala night, and the first that Jimmy Page attended.

2011 Jimmy Page with Jesters Gala chairman, Woody Underwood

2011 Jimmy Page with Jesters at Care for Kids Gala Night

♪

♪  Whole Lotta Love medley (Led Zeppelin, Tokyo at Budokan Hall 24 September 1971) YouTube
♪  Jimmy Page’s 8mm footage of Japan