On this day 09 August

 Phony lords, real rebels, and music to unite them all

1994 09 August On This Day Page & Plant Marrakech, Morocco

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Arnolds Park, IA at Roof Garden Ballroom
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Leesburg, IN at Tippy Ballroom
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Anaheim, CA at Anaheim Convention Center Arena
• 1969 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant with Screaming Lord Sutch at Experience Club 
• 1994 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Marrakesh, Morocco

RIP Robbie Robertson (1943 - 1923)

♪ The Weight (Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White - closing credits for It Might Get Loud, 2008)

1969:
David Edward Sutch (1940-1999) was not of the nobility although he was known as 3rd Earl of Harrow, and although he was the UK's longest serving party leader, he was never elected to office. In fact, Screaming Lord Such was an English musician who gave himself his own title, started his own political party, and used the money earned from concerts to pay for his political campaigning . Lord Sutch was a shock-rocker before the term was invented. His 1970 debut album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends was produced by Jimmy Page and featured Jimmy Page and John Bonham among others. It was named as the worst album of all time in a 1998 BBC poll, which is kind of too bad since aside from Sutch's vocals the music is just fine.

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Anaheim (photo RM Dechellis)

1969 David "Screaming Lord" Sutch & Jimmy Page

1994:

For all you grammar police types out there, Marrakech and Marrakesh are both acceptable spellings for the former Moroccan imperial city.

Alan Lomax (1915-2002) was an American field collector of folk music traditions from around the world.

Jimmy Page mentions the Berber women's fierceness and no wonder. Berbers are an ancient nomadic people of the deserts of Northern Africa. Before they were called Berbers, their name meant “free man“.  Berber women are no less determined than Berber men to preserve their ethnic identity and the fierce independence of their people. One of the great Berber religious and military leaders was the Berber queen, Kahina, who in the 7th century led resistance to Arab Islamic expansion in Northwest Africa. She was a believer in the scorched earth policy.

The word Gnawa has three meanings: The people, originally brought to Morocco as slaves and free farmers (some as slaves to the Berbers); a religious/spiritual order; and the deeply hypnotic trance music associated with the religious/spiritual order that is used in the magical treatment of physical and psychic ailments.  The music has a parallel with American blues, music that also has roots in slavery.  More on Gnawa music.

1994 Jimmy Page/Page & Plant Marrakech

1994 Page & Plant with Moroccan musicians

♪  Thumping Beat (Jimmy Page and Lord Sutch 1970) YouTube
♪  'Cause I Love You (Jimmy Page, John Bonham and Lord Sutch 1970) YouTube
♪  City Don't Cry (Page & Plant, Live in Marrakech 1994) YouTube
♪  Wah Wah (Page & Plant, Live in Marrakech 1994) YouTube

On this day 08 August

 Expect the unexpected.

1998 08 August On This Day Jimmy Page with Puff Daddy
♪  Come With Me/Kashmir(Godzilla soundtrack) Soundcloud

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Detroit Lakes, MN at Detroit Lakes Pavilion
• 1967 The Yardbirds - Ann Arbor, MI at The Fifth Dimension
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - San Bernardino, CA at Swing Auditorium
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Montreux, Switzerland at Montreux Casino Hall
• 1998 Jimmy Page with Puff Daddy 

The Yardbirds 08 August 1969

1969:
Jimmy Page broke a string right off the bat at this show, and it was so hot in the southern California auditorium that his guitar wouldn't stay in tune.

1971:
The casino at Montreux was so packed that Peter Grant tried to talk Claude Nobs into piping music outside to the overflow crowd.

Montreux  08 August 1971

1998:

For some reason some people seem horrified that Jimmy Page collaborated with Puff Daddy (as he was then known) on this hip-hop rap version of Kashmir, yet it is an example of the wide-ranging musical mind of Jimmy Page to have done so. In fact, the song went platinum in the US. Jimmy Page and "Daddy" (as Jimmy Page refers to him on his website) performed the song on Saturday Night Live. In the censored version of Come With Me, Godzilla's roar masks Daddy's obscenities, yet Gozilla isn't given credit as a guest artist.

Note that while 08 August is the date stated on the website to be when JP first heard the final mix, the movie soundtrack, film, and single had already been released by then.

• Jimmy Page & Puff Daddy performed the song on Saturday Night Live 09 May 1998
• The soundtrack album was released 19 May 1998
• The film was released 20 May 1998
• The single was released 9 June 1998
• The single peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart on 25 July1998
• The remix maxi-single was released 28 July 1998

♪  Led Zeppelin, San Bernardino 1969

♪  Newsreel footage 16mm (Led Zeppelin Montreux 1971) YouTube

♪  Come With Me/Kashmir (Godzilla soundgrack, Jimmy Page with Puff Daddy, a.k.a Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, a.k.a. P Diddy) YouTube

On this day 07 August

 A joy to hear anytime anyplace

1971 07 August Led Zeppelin at Montreux

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Mentor, MN at Maple Lake Pavilion
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Berkeley, CA at Berkeley Community Theatre
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Montreux, Switzerland at Montreux Casino Hall

1971 Led Zeppelin at Montreux

1971 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Montreux

1971:
With the help of Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün of Atlantic Records,  in 1967 Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel founded the Montreux Jazz Festival. Originally a jazz festival, it opened up to other music genres in the 1970s.  Led Zeppelin played Montreux that year and the next.

In British slang, a nob is an important person, a person of social distinction.  In 1970 Eva Von Zeppelin threatened to sue the band for making money off her family name.  “Then we shall call ourselves the Nobs when we go to Copenhagen,” shrugged Page. “The whole thing is absurd.”

Did Led Zeppelin choose to call themselves The Nobs for a little while because of Claude or because of Eva? Jimmy Page hasn't explained.




♪  16mm film (Led Zeppelin, Montreux 1971) YouTube

♪  Led Zeppelin (Montreux Switzerland at Montreux Casino Hall, 07 August 1971)

On this day 06 August

 

1998 06 August Jimmy Page and Robert Plant at Tom Kenny wedding in Ireland
♪  Roisin Dubh by Innisfree Ceoil

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Chicago, IL at Chicago Civic Opera House
• 1969 - Led Zeppelin - Sacramento, CA at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
• 1998 - Page & Plant - County Kerry, Ireland at Tom Kenny's wedding reception

1998:

Tom Kenny, an Irish lighting designer, has worked with many bands over the years including Led Zeppelin. In 1994, Bill Curbishley, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's manager, asked Kenny to do the lighting for the Page and Plant tour.

In Tom Kenny's words:  “This was the first time Jimmy and Robert had worked together in years and both were jaded with the typical concert. ... My ever-changing live lighting approach really suited the band's emotionally inspired, fiery performances every night. We did another amazing tour in 1998 and I've worked with both Jimmy and Robert on solo projects since. 

Later that year Jimmy Page and Robert Plant performed at Tom Kenny's wedding.  

2012:

Adidas Underground was a series of events "popping up" in varying London locations.  They combined art, music, fashion and other unique experiences.  In 2012, twelve different evenings were put on to celebrate the London 2012 Games.  One of them was held on this day, with the Stone Roses performing in front of celebrities, VIPs, competition winners and Olympic medalists - not to mention Jimmy Page.  And, as so often happens when JP is around, everybody had to get their photo taken with him.

2012 06 August Jimmy Page at Adidas Underground for a surprise one-off Stone Roses performance

Olympic rower Pete Reed & Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page & fashion designer Pam Hogg

Here's some Robert Johnson for you because why not.

♪  Sweet Home Chicago (Robert Johnson) YouTube
♪  Crossroad (Robert Johnson) YouTube
♪  Kind Hearted Woman Blues (Robert Johnson) YouTube
♪  Travelling Riverside Blues (Robert Johnson) YouTube
♪  Travelling Riverside Blues (Led Zeppelin) YouTube

On this day 05 August

Can you imagine Jimmy Page playing in a department store?  Those were the days...

1966 05 August Jimmy Page with Yardbirds in Minneapolis
♪  Psycho Daisies (The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page bass 1966) Soundcloud

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Minneapolis,MN at Dayton Department Store,8th Floor Auditorium 

1966

Or maybe 1966 wasn't the only time.. Jimmy Page played "Whole Lotta Love" at the New York Stock Exchange opening bell on May 11, 2005 in support of Warner Music Group. Not a lot of difference between that and a department store, I think. 

Looks like not a lot of noteworthy stuff was going on in Jimmy Page's life on this day, so I'm taking the day off, too. The music links below are not necessarily from 05 August.

1966 Jimmy Page with Yardbirds in Minneapolis

Jimmy Page July 2015 Toronto (Moe Doiron photo for Globe and Mail)

♪  Psycho Daisies (The Yardbirds, Jimmy Page bass 1966) YouTube
♪  Baby Come On Home (Led Zeppelin  Coda) Dailymotion
♪  How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin, Royal Albert Hall 1970) YouTube

On this day 04 August

 Always a good idea to play it safe when you're sexing.

1986 04 August On This Day Jimmy Page - San Antonio,Ibiza at Heartbreak Hotel

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Dallas, TX at Texas State Fair Arena
• 1979 Led Zeppelin - Knebworth House 
• 1986 Jimmy Page - San Antonio,Ibiza at Heartbreak Hotel 
• 2009 Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck & friends at pre-Hall of Fame session

1975:
Robert Plant was seriously injured in a car accident while on vacation in Greece on this day in 1975 and all concerts for the rest of the year were cancelled.

..my kind of vision, or the carefree element I had, disappeared instantly when I had my automobile accident in 1975. That kind of ramshackled "I'll take the world now" attitude was completely gone.
~ Robert Plant - In His Own Words 

1979:
Dave Lewis has written a whole book about Knebworth, so there’s not much more I can add except even after all these years the Knebworth concerts are still emotional events. 

1979 04 August Jimmy Page laser music magic at Knebworth (photo Alan Perry)

1979 04 August Jimmy Page at Knebworth (Photo Alan Perry)

1979 04 August Led Zeppelin backstage

1986:
The Spanish island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean Sea is known for its nightclubs and white sand beaches. Ulysses was lured there by the song of sirens and Nostradamus predicted it would be the final refuge of humanity at the end of the world.

In 1986 it wasn't the celebrity party hot-spot it is today, but it was already a destination for those in the know.  In 1985 Robert Plant filmed the video for his single “Sea of Love” (Jimmy Page guitar) on Ibiza, and Jimmy Page was back the following year to play with the jam band, Safe Sex, at the Heartbreak Hotel in San Antonio.

1986 Jimmy Page with Safe Sex at Ibiza
[Note this bootleg cover photo for Safe Sex is actually from the Les Paul birthday party]

2009

Jimmy Page & friends practicing safe sex - no, sorry!  On this day they were practicing for Jeff Beck's Hall of Fame induction.

♪  8mm film (Led Zeppelin, Knebworth 1979) YouTube

♪  Led Zeppelin Knebworth 04 August 1979 

♪  Sea of Love (Robert Plant with Jimmy Page guitar, 2006 remaster) YouTube

♪  Jimmy Page with Safe Sex (Jimmy Page, Ibiza 1986) YouTube

On this day 03 August

 A great guitar is a thing of magic in the hands of a great guitarist who wields great magic.

2009 03 August On This Day Jimmy Page checks out the Gibson Les Paul "Number Two" prototype

• 1967 The Yardbirds - Racine, WI at New Sound Dance ClubYMCA
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Houston, TX at Houston Music Hall

2007 Q Magazine cover (Ross Halfin photo)

2007:
Ross Halfin on the Q cover Guitar Heroes issue and how it was done.

Edge was shot in Dublin. He was very professional, turned up a half hour late, apologised and stayed on to make up the time. He asked if I'd ever shot them early on. I told him I'd discovered America and toured with Rush, ACDC, UFO, Ozzy, Aerosmith and that ilk. I liked Edge a lot. The U2 camp is like being in the army, it's run with military precision.

Jack White was in Nashville and we shot at 9am - he's got a daughter so he's up early.

Jimmy Page was in Fulham on the hottest day of the year. I shot quite a lot that wasn't used.

Johnny Marr was in sunny Manchester (look at the sky on the inside spread). I'd never met him, he was a good bloke - as they say in ancient Rome. We talked about Rory Gallagher and how he acted towards people, always gracious.

Slash was in LA, at the bar of the Sunset Marquis Hotel. He did the interview sitting under giant prints of himself.

Matt Bellamy was at the Soho Hotel in London. Terry Hall (Matt's sexy PR) told me I had 15 minutes in a tiny bedroom, with the backdrop taking up the whole room. Steve Peck from Q stepped in and stretched it to 45 minutes while Terry chain-smoked and wouldn't stop talking inbetween blowing smoke all over the room.

Dave Grohl was in Los Angeles. Diamond Dave was so hyper. I was useless, not focused, shot in the evening while I was so jetlagged - I just wanted to go to bed.. At the end of the day I think it worked out well. The Master can still work well, even when half asleep.

Joe Perry was in London inbetween taking a nap and eating at Nobu with Jimmy Page.

~ Ross Halfin Diary August 2007

Features of Gibson's Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul

Gibson's Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul guitar

2009:

Jimmy Page has played and owns bunches of guitars, and has played and owns bunches of Gibson guitars. His Les Paul "Number One" is the guitar he got from Joe Walsh in early 1969, and it quickly became his go-to guitar, bumping his Fender Telecaster from that position. "Number One" was used to record Led Zeppelin II and was in use through to the 2007 O2 concert and the 2008 Foo Fighters concert at Wembley Stadium. 

"Number Two" was purchased to supplement "Number One", possibly to avoid damaging the first guitar any further (just think about the force on a guitar when it's slapped with a bow) or maybe to have two guitars with very similar sound but with different tuning available on stage. "Number Two" was put into action after the initial modifications in the beginning of 1975 and was in use through to the 2007 O2 concert. 

From the Gibson website:

Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul.

Every musician knows that late ’50s Sunburst Les Paul Standards are hard enough to come by as it is. Obtaining a pristine and exemplary ’59 ’Burst and modifying it for heightened performance and vastly expanded tonal options? Unheard of… unless, of course, you’re Jimmy Page. That’s exactly what the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, perhaps the world’s most iconic Les Paul player, did with his own ’59 Les Paul Standard, and now—thanks to the extreme efforts of Gibson’s Custom Shop and the intimate cooperation of Jimmy Page himself—the artist’s hallowed “Number Two” Les Paul is available to mere mortals, in the form of the Custom Shop Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul. Produced in strictly limited numbers, with two levels of aging, this guitar captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time, and it is likely to disappear from authorized Gibson dealers in record time.
[Mage Music note: this model is no longer available from Gibson]

Image from Gibson website for Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul guitar

♪  Rock and Roll (Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters, Wembley, 2008) YouTube
♪  Ramble On (Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones with Foo Fighters, Wembley, 2008) YouTube