MAGE MUSIC

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 (San Diego at San Diego Sports Arena, 03 September 1970)

♪ Led Zeppelin (New York at Madison Square Garden, 03 September 1971)

Saturday, September 2, 2023

On this day 02 September

Experience the communion

Jimmy Page's On This Day for 2020

Fun stuff from Jimmy Page's studio that feels like communion to me..

1970 02 September On This Day Jimmy Page records Baby Who's Driving Your Car with John Williams vocals
(Note that Led Zeppelin is well documented to have been performing in Oakland On This Day)
♪ Download .wav file (zip file)

1970 Jimmy Page with John Williams record Baby Who's Driving Your Car (incorrect date)
1970 Led Zeppelin - Oakland,CA/Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
2008 Led Zeppelin - GQ Outstanding Achievement Award winners

1970:
John Williams was a vocalist and bass player for the rhythm and blues group, The Authentics. Also in that band was John's younger brother, Bernie, who had briefly been with Neil Christian & The Crusaders. (Jimmy Page had been in Neil Christian's band in 1960).

In 1965, Page worked with Andrew Loog Oldham as a talent scout & producer for Immediate Records. John Williams was signed to Immediate shortly thereafter. Probably Williams recorded The Maureeny Wishfull Album featuring Jimmy Page (guitar & sitar) and Big Jim Sullivan (guitar) sometime between 1965 and 1967, although the album was released in 1968.

The sixth Led Zeppelin US Tour was from the beginning of August 1970 through the middle of September 1970, so whenever Baby Who's Driving Your Car actually was recorded, it wasn't at Jimmy's house in England on this day in 1970. Interestingly enough even though John Williams was more of a folk singer his voice and presentation works well with the intensity of this song. But then we know who was driving that car, don't we.

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Oakland

2008 Jimmy Page at GQ Men of the Year Awards at the Royal Opera House on September 2, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

2014 Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin photo)

♪

♪ Baby Who's Driving Your Car (Jimmy Page feat. John Williams vocals, 1970)
♪ The Maureeny Wishfull Album (John Williams, feat. Jimmy Page guitar & sitar 1968)
♪ Led Zeppelin (Oakland CA, 02 September 1970)

Friday, September 1, 2023

On this day 01 September

I can't believe it...

1974 01 September On This Day Jimmy Page with Bad Company, encore at Austin Pop Festival

1966 The Yardbirds - Stockton,CA at Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium
1970 Led Zeppelin - Seattle,WA at Seattle Center Coliseum
1971 Led Zeppelin - Hollywood FL at Hollywood Sportatorium
1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company - Austin,TX at University of Texas Memorial Stadium

1974

The band was on a sabbatical from performing, but they were busy wrapping up what Robert Plant had referred to as a "rather gargantuan film". That year they also set up Swan Song Records (with Bad Company as one of the initial bands), and recorded Physical Graffiti, but Jimmy Page missed performing on stage. In fact, the band members, individually and in various combinations, jammed with other bands during their so-called sabbatical.

Four bands played at the one-off show unofficially called "ZZ Top's First Annual Texas Size Rompin' Stompin' Barn Dance and Barbeque": Joe Cocker, Bad Company, ZZ Top, and Santana. Bad Company invited Jimmy Page to join them for their encore, Rock Me Baby. JP wasn't planning to play, so he borrowed a Gibson guitar. Afterwards he said "...it was so great to get up on stage again".

It was a hot day, the food and drink ran out early, and the fans basically destroyed the AstroTurf. That was the last time until 1995 that a rock band played the University of Texas' Memorial Stadium in Austin.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

On this day 31 August

"A substantial bill of performing artists..."

1969 31 August On This Day Led Zeppelin at Texas International Pop Festival
♪ Watch video (YouTube)
♪ Audio: Janis Joplin (Soundcloud)

1966 The Yardbirds - Pismo Beach, CA at Rose Garden Ballroom
1969 Led Zeppelin - Lewisville, TX Texas International Pop Festival at Dallas International Motor Speedway
1970 Led Zeppelin - Milwaukee, WI at Milwaukee Arena
1971 Led Zeppelin - Orlando, FL at Orlando Sports Stadium

“The tours took a lot ... well, did it take a lot out of me? I don’t know whether it did. It gave as much to me as it took out. It was like being on a permanent adrenalin drip, do you know what I mean? [Playing live was] to be right on the edge of the moment.”
~ The Times 2010 (possibly the London Times, 22 August 2010)

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Texas International Pop Festival (Carl Dunn photo)

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Texas International Pop Festival (Jay Dickman photo)

1970

The Milwaukee Journal review was definitely prescient: "Led Zeppelin is so much a part of today that it can easily transform into tomorrow."

1971

Florida in August. It was hot. The audience was obnoxious. Plant: "For God's sake...SHUT UP!". Jimmy Page slipped a few bars of "You Really Got Me "(The Kinks) just before breaking into "What Is And What Should Never Be".

♪

♪ 16mm footage (Led Zeppelin, Texas International Pop Festival 1969)

♪ Led Zeppelin (Texas International Pop Festival, 31 August 1969)

♪ Led Zeppelin (Milwaukee WI at Milwaukee Arena, 31 August 1970)

♪ Led Zeppelin, Orlando at Orlando Sports Stadium, 31 August 1971)

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

On this day 30 August

British cowboy playin' rock blues. Yup. Works for me.

1969 30 August On This Day Led Zeppelin at Flushing Meadow NY
♪ Worried Blues (Buddy Guy) Soundcloud

1966 The Yardbirds - San Jose, CA
1969 Led Zeppelin - Flushing Meadows, NY

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Flushing Meadow NY

I put this Japanese promo poster for Coverdale-Page here because I've been listening to Coverdale-Page a lot lately.

1993 Japanese Coverdale-Page promo

♪

♪ Worried Blues (Buddy Guy, Folk Festival of the Blues, 1994) YouTube
♪ Jennings Farm Blues/Rough Mix (Led Zeppelin, Remaster) YouTube
♪ Travelling Riverside Blues (Led Zeppelin) YouTube
♪ Absolution Blues (Coverdale-Page) YouTube

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

On this day 29 August

You still got it, man!

~ Dave Bartholomew to Fats Domino

1971 29 August Led Zeppelin - New Orleans, LA at New Orleans Municipal Auditorium
♪ Come Back Baby (Snooks Eaglin) Soundcloud

1969 Led Zeppelin - Flushing Meadows, NY at Singer Bowl Music Festival (day 1)
1970 Led Zeppelin - Winnipeg, Canada at Winnipeg Stadium
1971 Led Zeppelin - New Orleans, LA at New Orleans Municipal Auditorium

1970:

A Youthbeat reader poll was used to help decide which acts to invite to the first (and only) Man-Pop (Manitoba Music Museum) Festival. Led Zeppelin had twice as many votes as the second place band, Three Dog Night, and more than three times as many votes as the Rolling Stones.

"If 1967 was San Francisco's fabled Summer of Love, Manitoba's own version of hippie peace, love and music took place in 1970.

"Manitoba's Summer of Love concluded on Aug. 29 with ManPop 70, a provincially funded rock festival headlined by Led Zeppelin and Iron Butterfly. This time, the rain returned with a vengeance. What began as an outdoor concert for some 14,000 at the football stadium finished up more than 15 hours later inside the old Arena. It was one of the most memorable shows ever to grace a Winnipeg venue, with Zeppelin taking the makeshift stage well past midnight."
~ Winnipeg Free Press, John Einarson 2013

The Man-Pop Festival started at one outdoor location and because of rain, ended up in an indoor arena. Not all of Led Zeppelin's equipment made it to the second location, which wasn't set up for music. As Plant later said, "...the building we were in wasn't too hot on the old acoustics was it?" Led Zeppelin came onstage around midnight and said goodnight three hours later, "...leaving the audience both exhausted and satisfied" according to the Winnipeg press.

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at Man-Pop Festival, Winnipeg

♪

♪ Ain't Got No Home (Clarence Frogman Henry 1956)

♪ Medly (Dave Bartholomew & Fats Domino)

♪ I'm Proud of What I Am (Frankie Ford)

♪ A Right Place At The Wrong Time (Dr. John & Johnny Winter 1983)

♪ Tipitina (Professor Longhair & The Metres)

♪ Documentary recording (Jelly Roll Morton The Mardi Gras Indians 1938)

♪ Bird On A Wire (The Neville Brothers)

♪ Don't You Just Know It (Hughey Piano Smith)

♪ Come Back Baby (Snooks Eaglin 1994)

Monday, August 28, 2023

On this day 28 August

Where's Jimmy?

1964 28 August On This Day Jimmy Page Session Man (Brenda Lee, PJ Proby, Lulu)
♪ Is It True (Brenda Lee, feat. Jimmy Page guitar 1964) Soundcloud

1966 The Yardbirds - San Diego, CA at San Diego Convention Hall
1970 Led Zeppelin - Detroit, MI at Olympia Stadium
1971 Led Zeppelin - St. Louis, MO at St. Louis Arena (no info available)
1985 Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham, Chris Squire & Mick Thompson jam with Opus at Ibiza Sun Power Festival
1998 Page & Plant - Reading, Berkshire, England at Reading Festival

1970

When Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones broke out their acoustical instruments the audience was unhappy. The PA system couldn't pick up the subtle sounds and nobody beyond the first rows could hear a thing. JP eventually "bounced a mike over to show his displeasure", according to one reviewer.

The recording is poor, with a lot of cutting out. Only the first third of the show got recorded.

1985:

There seems to be some confusion about what Jimmy Page was doing on this day in the 1980s. JP's website reports his having performed at the 1985 Sun Power Festival in Ibiza with Chris Squire, Jason Bonham and Mick Thompson, however Jason Bonham has said that it was 1986 when he was with Jimmy Page in Ibiza. On the other hand, the band, Virginia Wolf (Jason Bonham, drums) apparently recorded their eponymous first album in Ibiza the summer of 1985.

Note the sign behind Jimmy Page and Jason Bonham in the photo below. Opus is an Austrian band that was formed in 1973 and is still active today. The are best known for their single, Live is Life, released in 1984. The song was a European hit in the summer of 1985 and the band's fan page mentions performing in Ibiza around then. The Opus news clipping does confirm the Jimmy Page connection, the location (Ibiza) and puts it in late August. Perhaps someone can check through the page the clipping was from [PDF] and let us know if there is anything more specific about this show there.