On This Day 20 August

Happy birthday, Robert Plant.  And happy day, Jimmy Page.

1948 20 August On This Day Robert Plant was born
♪ Happy birthday!

1990 20 August On This Day Jimmy Page with Aerosmith at Marquee Club

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Oklahoma City, OK at Wedgewood Amusement Park
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Schenectady, NY at Schenectady Aerodrome
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Oklahoma City, OK at Oklahoma State Fair Arena
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Seattle, WA at Seattle Center Coliseum (unconfirmed)
• 1990 Jimmy Page with Aerosmith - London, England at Marquee Club 

1990:

Train Kept A-Rollin' has been around a while. It was first recorded in 1951 by Tiny Bradshaw as a jump blues song (up-tempo blues that became popular in the 1940s, the precursor to rhythm and blues and rock and roll). The Johnny Burnette Trio added a repeating three-note minor key guitar line with intentionally distorted guitar (achieved by loosening a tube in the guitar amp), leading the way for The Yardbirds in 1965.

With The Yardbirds the song became Stroll On, as seen in the movie Blowup, with Jimmy Page on bass. He took the song with him to Led Zeppelin, reverting to the song's original name and, of course, to the guitar. When the four who were to become Led Zeppelin rehearsed together for the first time in 1968, the first song they took on was Train Kept A Rollin'.  

John Paul Jones:  

"...we did 'Train'... It was there immediately. It was so powerful that I don't remember what we played after that. For me it was just like, 'Crikey!' I mean, I'd had moments of elation with groups before, but nothing as intense as that. It was like a thunderbolt, a lightning flash – boosh! Everyone sort of went 'Wow'."
~ Mick Wall, When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin 2009

Aerosmith adopted Train Kept A Rollin' early on for their own set lists, recording it for their second album, Get Your Wings (1974, remastered 1993).

1990 Jimmy Page with Aerosmith at Marquee Club

1990 Jimmy Page with Aerosmith at Marquee Club

 Happy Birthday Robert Plant
10 Best Robert Plant Songs (post-Led Zeppelin), by Matthew Wilkening

Happy birthday, Robert Plant!

Jimmy and Robert

♪ Train Kept A Rollin' (Johnny Burnette Trio 1956) YouTube

♪ Stroll On (The Yardbirds, from the movie Blowup, 1966) YouTube

♪ Train Kept A Rollin' (Led Zeppelin, Frankfurt 1980) YouTube

♪ Train Kept A Rollin’ (Jimmy Page with Aerosmith, Marquee Club 1990) YouTube

♪ Train Kept A Rollin (Metallica, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Joe Perry, Ronnie Wood, Flea, Jason Newsted at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2009) YouTube 

On This Day 19 August

I'm not sayin' the magick had anything to do with anything.  No wait.  I am.

1965 19 August On This Day singles by Nico  released on Immediate Records label
♪  The Last Mile (Nico) Soundcloud

• 1965 19 August On This Day singles by Nico, produced by Jimmy Page, released
• 1966 The Yardbirds - Oklahoma City, OK at Wedgewood Amusement Park
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Kansas City, MO at Kansas City Municipal Auditorium Arena
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Vancouver,  Canada at Pacific Coliseum 

1965:

Nico's singles were released on this day in 1965 to launch the short-lived British label, Immediate Records, begun by Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham, with Jimmy Page hired on as guitar player, writer, and in-house producer. According to Gibson Guitar, "Page worked with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (which then featured Clapton), future Velvet Underground singer Nico (for whom Page and Oldham wrote songs, hoping to turn her into the next Marianne Faithfull), and R&B singer Chris Farlowe. Page also recorded a single of his own, "She Just Satisfies," on which he sang lead vocals."

Immediate Records released albums and singles in the US with MGM Records.  The group The Fifth Dimension and Nico's singles were early single releases under that US deal. 

To "routine" (referred to in the On This Day posting) according to the Oxford English Dictionary is to "link or unite (aspects of a performance) into a routine". The rest is up to your imagination.

1965 The Last Mile, by Nico, produced, arranged & conducted by Jimmy Page

1965 single by Nico, produced by Jimmy Page

1970: 

"...an abundance of hair was not the only change in Led Zeppelin, fast-rising British group. Without losing force and volume, they have added a mellowness which benefits their talents as well.... the group in the past always seemed to be coming on strong. Now they have developed a change of pace. Without sacrificing energy, they have added more style."

~ Steve Weber, Music in America newspaper review, Aug. 1970

It is interesting how reviewers were noticing and commenting on the evolution of the band in such a short time.

1971:

By this time not yet three years from its first performance, even more than 17,000 seats in a venue for Led Zeppelin wasn't enough. Over 3,000 fans without tickets threatened to trash Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum before the venue opened the doors to them to prevent damage to the building. The show was stopped twice to move equipment back from the edge of the stage because the audience at the front was ripping the stage apart.

Robert Plant: "Yeah, sometimes it gets a bit scary when we see half the stage disappearing..."

Jimmy Page: "It was a bit rough."

~ Rick McGrath, The Straight newspaper review, August 20 1971

1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin - Vancouver (photo Rick McGrath)

1971 the crowd and the aftermath, Led Zeppelin at Vancouver (photo Rick McGrath)

Music. Magick. Power. He has known about this for a long time.

2006 August Classic Rock Magazine (photo Ross Halfin)

♪  I'm Not Sayin (Nico, produced by Jimmy Page 1965) YouTube

♪  The Last Mile (Nico, produced, arranged & conducted by Jimmy Page 1965) YouTube

♪  The Bells of Rhymney (Nico, produced by Jimmy Page 1965) YouTube

♪  Just Like Anyone Would Do (Nico, produced by Jimmy Page 1965) YouTube

On This Day 18 August

Keep that train a rollin', Mr. Page!

1990 August 18 On This Day Jimmy Page with Aerosmith at Monsters Of Rock Festival
♪ Train Kept A Rollin' (Jimmy Page with Aerosmith) Soundcloud

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Tulsa, OK at Tulsa Assembly Center Exhibit Hall
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Ontario, Canada at The Rockpile
• 1990 Jimmy Page with Aerosmith - Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England at Monsters Of Rock Festival

1969:
"The most amazing thing was the improvement in the group since its first appearance here last February, when it was a fledgling blues band. It had the ideas and the dynamics, but the expertise was yet to develop."
~ (Richie Yorke, The Globe and Mail, Aug. '69)

1969 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Ontario, Canada at The Rockpile (first show) (D Richardson photo)

1969 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Ontario, Canada at The Rockpile (second show) (D McClement photo)

1990:
Monsters of Rock was an annual rock and heavy metal music festival begun in 1979 at Castle Donington, England. It branched out to other countries and then fizzled out in the late 1990s. Castle Donington has hosted the Download Festival since 2003.

In 1990 Whitesnake was back at Monsters of Rock for the third time, and Aerosmith was to perform there for the first time. David Coverdale, of course, was the frontman for Whitesnake. Coverdale had been giving some thought to breaking up the band. He was tired of the music business, tired of touring, and was having problems in his personal life.  He told interviewers that he wanted time to reassess his live and career.

As it turned out, his retirement was brief. Both he and Jimmy Page were signed up with Geffen Records, and by the following year the two had collaborated on the Coverdale/Page album.

1990 August 18 On This Day Jimmy Page with Aerosmith at Monsters Of Rock Festival

1990 August 18 On This Day Jimmy Page with Aerosmith at Monsters Of Rock Festival

♪  How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin, Toronto - second show 1969) YouTube
♪  How Many More Times (Page & Plant, MGM Grand Las Vegas 1998) YouTube
♪  Onstage and backstage (Jimmy Page with Aerosmith, Donington 1990) YouTube
♪  Train Kept A Rollin' (Jimmy Page with Chris Farlowe, recorded during Outrider sessions 1988) YouTube

On This Day 17 August

1994 17 August On This Day Page & Plant - Wales, Corris Slate Quarry to record for No Quarter: Unledded

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Santa Fe, NM
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Wallingford, CT, Oakdale Theatre
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Hampton, VA, Hampton Coliseum
• 1994 Page & Plant - Wales, Corris Slate Quarry to record for No Quarter: Unledded

1969:

This show was performed on a revolving stage. Good for the audience half the time.

1970:

The band and crew were already old hands at touring; this concert was at the beginning of Led Zeppelin's sixth US tour - the sixth in two years' time. The first week's shows were cancelled due to John Paul Jones' father's health. Peter Grant was now booking larger venues with five-figure audience capacity. After this show there were rumors that the band had been so loud the coliseum ceiling cracked.

1970 - Led Zeppelin - Hampton, VA, Hampton Coliseum

1994:
On this day Jimmy Page and Robert Plant recorded songs for the MTV Unledded telecast in a slate quarry. Because why not.

It turned out that the unlovely quarry actually had pretty good acoustics provided by the huge mound of slate. The electrical lines overhead, which can be seen in the images below, kind of add to the weirdness of the whole thing.

1994 - Page & Plant - Wales, Corris Slate Quarry

1994 - Page & Plant - Wales, Corris Slate Quarry

1994 - Page & Plant - Wales, Corris Slate Quarry

♪  Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, Hampton VA 1970) YouTube

♪  Whole Lotta Love (Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes, Live At The Greek 2000) YouTube

♪  Whole Lotta Love  (Led Zeppelin, O2 2007) YouTube

♪  Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Page & Plant, on-location taping for No Quarter for MTV 1994) YouTube

♪  Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Led Zeppelin, O2 2007) YouTube

♪  When the Levee Breaks (Page & Plant, on-location taping for No Quarter for MTV 1994) YouTube

♪  If It Keeps On Raining (When the Levee Breaks - Rough Mix, CODA remaster) YouTube

On This Day 16 August

Take no prisoners

2015 16 August On This Day Madonna/Led Zeppelin mashup
Justify a Whole Lotta Love (Madonna/Max Audio) Vimeo

I'm not a Madonna fan, and I'm not a fan of mashups, especially when I could be listening to the real deal. So okay, happy birthday and let's move right along.

1969 16 August On This Day Led Zeppelin - Asbury Park, NJ 

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Denver, CO at Hal-Baby's
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Pittsburgh, PA at Hunt Armory, Teen Fair
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Asbury Park, NJ at Asbury Park Convention Hall
• 1994 Page & Plant - Dolgoch Falls, Wales to record for No Quarter: Unledded 

1969 Led Zeppelin - Asbury Park, NJ (Paul Chiarello photo)

1994:
The live album, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, was recorded outdoors at three locations: Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh, Morocco; a slate quarry near Corris in Wales; and at Dolgoch Falls, Wales. Additional recording took place on a sound stage in London with the Egyptian Ensemble and the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

On this day in 1994 the Dolgoch Falls recordings were made. The Dongoch Falls are a series of three waterfalls near Tywyn in the southwestern corner of the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. Bron-yr-Aur cottage is on the edge of the park.

The Unledded project was for MTV's Unplugged series. Started in 1989 as an acoustic music venue, Page and Plant used a lot of electricity and amplification -- hence the name change. Unledded is supposed to indicate that this music, which combines blues and Middle East sound, is not a Led Zeppelin reunion, and although there are Led Zeppelin songs on the album they're meant to be a new treatment of music that, in my opinion, doesn't improve on them at all.

Of course, any opportunity to listen to Jimmy Page play the guitar is a good thing, no matter what. Even if Madonna's involved.

1994 Page & Plant - Dolgoch Falls, Wales to record for No Quarter: Unledded

1994 Jimmy Page - Dolgoch Falls, Wales to record for No Quarter: Unledded

♪  No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, New York 1973) YouTube
♪  No Quarter/Thank You (Page & Plant 1994) YouTube
♪  No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, O2 2007) YouTube
♪  No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy, 2015 remaster companion disc) YouTube

On This Day 15 August

It appears Mr. Page has very fond memories of Texas.

1969/1979 15 August On This Day Led Zeppelin in Texas/In Through The Out Door released
♪  In The Evening (Led Zeppelin ) Soundcloud

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Wichita, KS at Cotillion Ball - The Mixer Hop
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Mendon, MA at Lakeview Amusement Park
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio, TX at HemisFair Arena
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - New Haven, CT at Yale Bowl
• 1979 In Through The Out Door released

1970 Led Zeppelin - New Haven, CT at Yale Bowl

1970:

It's hard to believe Led Zeppelin ever performed at unprepossessing venues like the Yale Bowl, a narrow stage with an awning to cover them. The acoustics must have been interesting. 

1979:

In Through the Out Door, the eighth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, is the target of illogical criticism. This is not because of where it was recorded or how long it took to be released (recorded at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden over three weeks' time in November and December 1978, but not released until 15 August, 1979).  It's not because it didn't reach the top of the charts as did the other albums, because of course it did and it is back there again.

Most of the criticism is that Jimmy Page screwed up on ITTOD. The story is repeated over and over about how John Paul Jones and Robert Plant were forced to take over because Jimmy Page and John Bonham didn't show up "on time" at the recording studio, and because Jimmy Page was strung out on heroin. The story is that Jimmy Page was just along for the ride on this one.

Such closed-minded thinking. Never mind that Jimmy Page co-wrote all but two of the songs on the album and, as usual, did all the production.  Never mind how insulting these stories are to the others.  As if John Paul Jones and Robert Plant were not good enough or entitled to take the lead with Led Zeppelin's music unless it was forced on them. As if John Bonham's drumming was any less than stellar on ITTOD.

As if Jimmy Page had ever let anything get between him and the music. 

In a July 28, 2015 radio.com interview, Jimmy Page provides a different and more realistic explanation: 

"We’re going into rehearsals, and [John Paul Jones] shows up with this massive theater organ, it was called a Dream Machine [note: it's possible as few as seven of that model of the $60,000 instruments were ever built]. It was a Yamaha Dream Machine, Stevie Wonder had one too. John had it at home and had been working on it, and lo and behold, he’s got these songs together. He’d never written complete songs for Led Zeppelin before. But now he had. It was cool. Because the album before, I’d written it all. It was a guitar driven thing. There’s keyboards on the first Led Zeppelin album, and over the years. But it made obvious logical sense that if he had numbers that he’d written on this new state-of-the-art keyboard, let’s do an album which focuses on the keyboard and features it at the forefront, and that’s how it went."

In Through The Out Door

2015 Jimmy Page (Kevin Winter/Getty photo)

♪ South Bound Saurez (Led Zeppelin, In Through the Out Door 2015 remaster) YouTube
♪ Southbound Piano (South Bound Saurez) (Rough Mix) YouTube
♪ I'm Gonna Crawl (Led Zeppelin, In Through The Out Door, 1979) YouTube
♪ Blot (I'm Gonna Crawl) (Rough Mix) YouTube
♪ In The Evening (Led Zeppelin ) Soundcloud
♪ In The Evening (rough mix ITTOD 2015 companion disc)YouTube

On This Day 14 August

Seems to me it's not loud enough yet.

14 August 2000  On This Day published 2020

2000 14 August On This Day Jimmy Page - The Black Crowes - Burbank, CA on the Tonight Show

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Great Falls, MT at State Fairgrounds,4-H Building
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Austin, TX at Austin Municipal Auditorium
• 1977 Jimmy Page with Ron Wood and local band, Arms and Legs - Plumpton, England at The Half Moon Pub, charity event for underprivileged children
• 2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Burbank, CA onTonight Show
• 2009 14 August - It Might Get Loud opens in select theaters in NY, WA, CA

1977:

There were two Jimmy Page/Ron Wood charity jams in 1977.  The first was on this day at the Half Moon Pub, which was very close to Jimmy Page's Plumpton Place home and studio.  The second was 17 September.  Both acoustic jam events were to benefit the Goaldiggers football charity that provides playing fields in under-privileged areas. Elton John released a single for the charity in 1977, The Goaldiggers Song.

2009 14 August - It Might Get Loud opens in select theaters in NY, WA & CA

2009:
The short description of the movie It Might Get Loud might be stated like this: the individual histories of three generations of rock guitarists are shown and then the guitarists come together and jam. But the 2009 documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim is, for those who know, a movie about an elemental - that is, Jimmy Page - and two younger guitarists who practice the art of music.

Just look at the Edge's and Jack White's faces when Jimmy Page hits the first notes of Whole Lotta Love. Those are the looks of people in the presence of one of their gods manifesting his Power. They don't hide how they feel and we know why.

What? You don't know? Well, this is a blog about music AND magic, isn't it? Who else but Jimmy Page embodies both?

2009 June Guitar World cover (Ross Halfin photo)

Jimmy Page, scene from It Might Get Loud

♪ It Might Get Loud (movie trailer 2009)  YouTube
♪ The Wanton Song (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, Tonight Show 2000) YouTube
♪ Desire (The Wanton Song, rough mix) YouTube
♪ The Goaldiggers Song (Elton John, for Goaldiggers charity 1977) YouTube

[edited 14 August 2020]