On This Day 24 June

 

1969 24 June On This Day Led Zeppelin - London,England at Maida Vale Studios,Studio 4 - BBC Sessions Radio 1

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Durham, England at University of Durham
• 1969 24 June On This Day Led Zeppelin - London,England at Maida Vale Studios,Studio 4 - BBC Sessions,Radio One Session
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Hannover,Germany at Hannover Messehalle
• 1984 Jimmy Page with Yes - Dortmund,Germany at Westfalenhalle 
• 1995 Page & Plant- Unledded Tour - Schwalmstadt, Germany at Wildenrath Airfield,Wegberg Festival
• 2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Tinley Park, IL at New World Music Theatre 

Maida Vale Studios entry arch

1969:  

Maida Vale is a neighborhood in west London, part of the City of Westminster. First called Maida Hill. The name is named for the Hero of Maida Inn (no longer a pub, though the building still stands). The hero was General Sir John Stuart, Count of Maida.

The site of Maida Vale Studios started out in 1909 as the "Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club". It was rebuilt (the roller skating palace's arches preserved) for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which has been there since 1934. The studio complex was the centre of the BBC News operation during World War II.

There are seven studios, five of which are currently in use for recording and the others for rehearsals and tape archives. Studio MV4 was used for the John Peel sessions from 1967 to 2004, and is still used for those BBC Radio 1 sessions that replaced replaced John Peel's Top Gear.

Top Gear was a Radio 1 program that ran from 1967 to 1975. It was created to provide exposure for up-and-coming bands, and for musicians and bands to experiment with new material, non-album material, different sounds and guest musicians.

1984:

“Jimmy moved and bought a house in England near the house I was living in. So, we became neighbors and got together,” explained Yes bassist Chris Squire. “He was obviously pretty depressed about John Bonham’s death for awhile, and I kind of helped him out of that by saying ‘Let’s try to do some new music’ and that’s really what happened.”
Read More: 30 Years Ago: Jimmy Page Joins Yes on Stage to Cover the Beatles | 

2000 24 June Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Tinley Park, IL
at New World Music Theatre (Photo Andrew Labis)

2000 24 June Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Tinley Park, IL
at New World Music Theatre (Photo Andrew Labis)

2000:

Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes became the first artists ever to crack the Top 10 with an internet-only single, Led Zeppelin's What Is and What Should Never Be, from Live at the Greek.

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On This Day 23 June

 The man's got a lot of moves.

2010 23 June On This Day Jimmy Page at Rio De Janeiro Ivo  Meirelles Samba Drum School

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Ashton-under-Tyne, Manchester, England at Mecca Palais
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - San Diego, CA at San Diego Sports Arena
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Bremen, Germany at Bremen Stadthalle
• 2010 23 June On This Day Jimmy Page at Rio De Janeiro Ivo  Meirelles Samba Drum School

1972 23 June Led Zeppelin at San Diego (Photo = ?)

1972 23 June Led Zeppelin at San Diego (Photo = ?)

1972 23 June Led Zeppelin at San Diego (Photo Richard Brown)

1977 23 June LA Forum - Raymond fixes the guitar strap

The LA Forum shows are considered some of the best of Led Zeppelin's performances. The 23 June show is referred to the Badge Holders show as Robert Plant made several dedications to the badge holder people. One of the high quality bootlegs of this show is entitled For Badgeholders Only..

The boys were so hot that night that no one faults the show for some fumbles.  The whole band stopped to wait after the first song when Jimmy's strap on double-neck broke and Raymond fixed it. Keith Moon of The Who showed up on stage during Over The Top (Moby Dick) and appeared on and off thereafter.  The band got lost after John Paul Jones missed a change during Kashmir, a song that sounds deceptively simple to play but isn't.  Mr. Jones has been quoted as saying he stuck a piece of a paper on his keyboards to help him remember.

1977 23 June Keith Moon crashes Led Zeppelin show at LA Forum

2010 23 June Jimmy Page at Rio De Janeiro Ivo Meirelles Samba Drum School

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On This Day 22 June

They went to the land of ice and snow

1970 22 June On This Day Led Zeppelin in Reykjavik Iceland

• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Reykjavik, Iceland at Lauguardalsholl Sports Arena
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - San Bernardino ,CA at Swing Auditorium
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 2004 Jimmy Page receives MOJO Maestro Award and accepts Vision Award for Led Zeppelin DVD (2003)

1970 Jimmy Page in Iceland

1970 Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin in Iceland

1970 Bonzo calling home... or somewhere

"We weren't being pompous. We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be canceled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. 'Immigrant Song' was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different."

~ Robert Plant, in Chris Welch's book, Led Zeppelin (1994) 

1977 Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin at LA Forum

2004 MOJO Awards - James Patrick Page III, Jimmy Page, Scarlet Page
(Photo Ross Halfin)

2004 MOJO Awards - John Frusciante presentation speech for
Jimmy Page's Maestro Award
(Photo Ross Halfin, appeared in August 2004 MOJO)

2014 MOJO Magazine (Photo Ross Halfin)

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On This Day 21 June

 Jimmy's first show with the Yardbirds in 1966, and what some consider Led Zeppelin's best performance, at the LA Forum in 1977.  Listen to that, Eddie.

1966 21 June On This Day Yardbirds - London, England at Marquee Club

• 1966 21 June On This Day Yardbirds - London, England at Marquee Club
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Bristol, England at Colston Hall
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Denver, CO at Denver Coliseum
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Rotterdam, The Netherlands at Ahoy Rotterdam

1966 Yardbirds - London, England at Marquee Club

1966 The Yardbirds - Why I left/Why I joined

1969 Led Zeppelin Bristol

1972, Denver:  The Mighty Led Zeppelin Roars
by Pillow/June 1972
"During Dazed and Confused, [Jimmy Page] grabbed a violin bow and holding the tip in his hand about 2 feet from the strings, coaxed eerie, shivering riffs from his guitar. The whole audience held its breath and then Page spring into action. He lept into the air, and using the bow  like a fencing foil, hit each exact string at point-blank range and never missed a beat. The audience howled and stopped, but he remained calm and collected, put down the bow and resumed playing guitar with his fingers,  acting as if these amazing feats were as simple as rolling off a log."

1977 21 June Led Zeppelin LA Forum (Photo Ed Finnell)

1977, LA:
It took a mere 40 minutes to sell out the tickets for five nights at the Forum. Another night was added later. It too sold out within minutes.(The Telegram - June 1977)

Nearly a quarter of a million tickets were sold for the combined MSG and The Forum shows.

Listen To This, Eddie is a bootleg recording of the June 21, 1977 show at The Forum in Los Angeles, CA by a member of the audience, the late Mike Millard. The show is considered one of Led Zeppelin's best ever performances and Mike the Mic's recording does it justice.

The title supposedly refers to either audio engineer Eddie Kramer or, more likely, to guitarist Eddie Van Halen (who criticized Jimmy Page's guitar work and who should have been blown away by Mr. Page's performance in this show).

1980 Rotterdam (Photo Rob Verhorst/Redferns)

♪ Listen To This Eddie (Led Zeppelin LA Forum 21 June 1977)

♪ Trampled Under Foot (Led Zeppelin Rotterdam 1980)

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On This Day 20 June

 Dr. Rock God.

2008 20 June On This Day Honorary Doctorate from University of Surrey

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Newcastle upon Tyne, England at Newcastle City Hall
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Brussels, Belgium at Vorst Nationaal
• 2008 20 June On This Day Honorary Doctorate from University of Surrey

2008 Jimmy Page at Guildford Cathedral
after receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University o f Surrey

1969

1980

1980 Led Zeppelin Tour Over Europe, Brussels (Photo Mark Staples)

Pat's Delight was named for John Bonham's wife Pat. The song evolved into Moby Dick, which was named by Jason Bonham, and later morphed into Over The Top. Jimmy Page's guitar riffs changed for the various versions as well. 

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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)



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On This Day 18 June

 Fans of Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin are still willing to travel to other countries to hear the music.  

1965 18 June On This Day Jimmy Page attends John Mayall and Bluesbreakers concert,
jams with Eric Clapton at home

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a British blues band, was founded by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall.  In its on-again-off-again history, there have been more than 100 different combinations of musicians performing under that name. Mayall started the band in 1963 and that iteration, which lasted until 1967, included Eric Clapton from April to August 1965 and November 1965 to July 1966.  

In a 2013  interview John Mayall was asked about recording the single I’m Your Witchdoctor, produced by Jimmy Page: 

Q:  Do you have any memories from this time of Jimmy?
Mayall: Not really, I mean I had known him before we did that because he used to play at The Marquee Club in a trio situation so I ended up seeing him quite a few times but he was just one of the guys really.

If I had been the interviewer I'd have wanted to know if Mayall had any regrets about not working more with Jimmy Page.  Of course, Jimmy Page shot into the musical stratosphere so quickly after then that everyone who wasn't with him was left far, far behind.

• 1965 18 June On This Day Jimmy Page attends John Mayall and Bluesbreakers concert, jams with Eric Clapton at home
• 1967 The Yardbirds - London, England at Saville Theatre
• 1972 Led Zeppelin - Seattle, WA at Seattle Center Coliseum
• 1980 Led Zeppelin - Cologne (Köln), Germany at Köln Sporthalle
• 1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Luneburg, Germany at New Music Festival

The 1972 Seattle Led Zeppelin concert was the concert that wasn't supposed to happen.  It wasn't the band's fault. Originally scheduled for Vancouver BC, Canadian authorities decided to not grant Led Zeppelin a license to perform before the band even got a chance, due to previous troublemakers at other bands' shows.

Led Zeppelin fans ended up being bused down to Seattle for the show.

1972 Led Zeppelin show is moved from one country
to another and fans show up anyway

1980 Jimmy Page & Dave Lewis

2005 Jimmy Page meets Chris Cornell for the first time.
Good things have already resulted from this introduction.
We all wonder of there is more to come. (Photo Ross Halfin)

2005 Tommy Iommi and Jimmy Page on the way to Holland (Photo Ross Halfin)

A WORK IN PROGRESS - Music will be added on another day. Thank you for your patience.