On this day 06 September

 Grabber

1988 06 September On This Day Jimmy Page's Outrider Tour starts with Atlanta
♪  Wasting My Time (Jimmy Page, Outrider 1988) Soundcloud

• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Honolulu,HI at International Center Arena
• 1977 Jimmy Page with Carl Simmons, Phil Carson, Bill Kinsley, Brighton, England at Metropole Hotel for WEA Records Convention
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Atlanta,GA at The Omni
• 1998 Page & Plant - George,WA at The Gorge Amphitheatre

1977
Led Zeppelin's scheduled shows in the US had been cancelled after Karac Plant's death.in late July. On this day Jimmy Page went with Phil Carson (London-based Senior Vice President of Atlantic Records UK) to WEA Records' annual convention, held that year at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton, England, not far from Jimmy Page's Plumpton Place home and studio. WEA is an acronym for Warner-Elektra-Atlantic. It was renamed Warner Music in 1991. No doubt someone recorded the jam session, but I haven't found any recordings that explicitly say that it's that jam session, identifying who was playing.

♪ Led Zeppelin (Honolulu HI at International Center Arena, 06 September 1970)

♪ Jimmy Page Outrider Tour (Atlanta GA at The Omni, 06 September 1988)

 

On this day 05 September

 ...a traveler of both time and space

1966 05 September On This Day Jimmy Page recorded A Degree of Murder soundtrack with Brian Jones
♪ A Degree of Murder (Brian Jones) Soundcloud

• 1966 Jimmy Page recorded A Degree of Murder soundtrack with Brian Jones.
• 1969 Tous En Scene TV show, filmed June 19, aired on French TV
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Chicago, IL at International Amphitheatre
• 1998 Page & Plant - Vancouver, Canada at General Motors Place
• 2008 It Might Get Loud premiers at Toronto Film Festival
• 2013 Jimmy Page at London launch of Lou Reed limited edition book, Transformer

It's all connected:

Jimmy Page was employed as producer, session musician and A&R scout for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records label in 1965. Jimmy Page produced and played on Nico’s 1965 singles for Immediate, I'm Not Sayin' / The Last Mile.

Oldham was manager and producer of The Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967. Brian Jones was the founder and original bandleader of the Rolling Stones, and in 1966 Jimmy Page worked with Brian Jones recording the soundtrack to the 1967 movie, A Degree of Murder. Jones' broke up with his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, and shortly after was seen enjoying the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 with Nico.

Nico had met Bob Dylan a few years before and had traveled with him around Europe while Dylan worked on songs for his fourth album, 1964's Another Side of Bob Dylan.  During that time Dylan wrote a song for Nico's 1967 Chelsea Girl album called I'll Keep It With Mine.  Chelsea Girl was released in October 1967 by Verve Records, The Velvet Underground's label. According to some sources, Bob Dylan had introduced Nico to Andy Warhol, who had done a "screen test" of Dylan in 1965 or 1966, and Warhol introduced her to Lou Reed's band, The Velvet Underground.

  

The album The Velvet Underground & Nico was produced in 1972 by Andy Warhol. While it didn't sell many copies at the time, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number thirteen on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".  But then, Rolling Stone ranked Led Zeppelin's first album only 29th (that was in 2015, it's now dropped farther down),.  The magazine's music critics never have much liked Led Zeppelin, so take their ranking for what it's worth.

To continue...

Transformer was Lou Reed's second solo studio album. One of the tracks, Walk On The Wild Side, became Lou Reed's signature song. The 1972 album was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and the cover art photography was by Mick Rock, David Bowie's official photographer.  Rock continued photographing Lou Reed and other musicians over the decades.

Mick Rock has put out a number of photographic books. He and Lou Reed launched a Genesis Publications limited edition book, Transformer, in London in September 2013. Jimmy Page was at the event. Reed died October 27, 2013.  

"The Yardbirds used to cover I'm Waiting For My Man a lot; we used to drop it into the middle of  I'm A Man. I'm pretty certain we were the first people to cover The Velvet Underground."  ~Jimmy Page, Julian Marszalek interview, Quietus November 2014

1966

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

1966 recording A Degree of Murder soundtrack

2008

2008 Jimmy Page at It Might Get Loud premier, Toronto Film Festival

Jimmy Page, in It Might Get Loud

Jimmy Page, in It Might Get Loud

2013

2013 Jimmy Page and Lou Reed at launch of Reed's limited edition book, Transformer

2015

♪

♪  A Degree of Murder (soundtrack part 1, Brian Jones feat. Jimmy Page 1966) 

♪  A Degree of Murder (soundtrack part 2, Brian Jones feat. Jimmy Page 1966) 

♪  A Degree of Murder (soundtrack part 3, Brian Jones feat. Jimmy Page 1966) 

♪  Page & Plant (Vancouver BC, 05 September 1998) 
♪  It Might Get Loud excerpt (Jimmy Page 2008) 

On this day 04 September

 Jimmy Page, here, there and everywhere

1964 04 September On This Day Joe Cocker singles released
♪ I'll Cry Instead (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) Soundcloud

• 1966 The Yardbirds - Honolulu, HI at International Center, Exhibition Hall
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Inglewood, CA at The Forum
• 1970 Led Zeppelin with Fairport Convention - West Hollywood, CA at Troubadour Club 
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Toronto, Canada at Maple Leaf Gardens
• 1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company - Central Park, NYC at Schaefer Music Festival
• 1998 Page & Plant - Vancouver, Canada, rehearsal at General Motors Place 

1970:
Following the show at the Forum, the four members of Led Zeppelin and Peter Grant showed up at the Troubadour Club for Fairport Convention 's second set and jammed with them. Sandy Denny was Fairport Convention's singer. Denny was later to contribute vocals on Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore. She was the only guest vocalist Led Zeppelin ever recorded with. During later live performances of the song John Paul Jones sang Denny's vocals, with sometimes John Bonham joining in.

During the jam, Bonham attacked Dave Mattacks' drums with his usual enthusiasm. Later Mattacks had to repair the kit and replace the heads. It was reported that the bass drum jumped forward three or four inches with Bonzo's first strike.

The story goes that after the Fairport/Zeppelin jam they all moved to the after hours bar, Barney's Beanery, where Janis Joplin was hanging out. A drinking contest between Fairport's Dave Pegg, Bonham and Janis Joplin ensued. No report of a winner has surfaced.

The jam was taped, and according to Dave Lewis, it ended up in Peter Grant's possession. That recording has not surfaced, either.

1970 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin at LA Forum

1974: 

Bad Company had only begun performing live in May of 1974.  Their first album, Bad Company, was released by Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label.  Jimmy Page joined Bad Company for an encore of Rock Me Baby at the Shaefer Music Festival in New York's Central Park on September 4, 1974.  

In 1983, Jimmy Page appeared with the ARMS charity concert series.  Steve Winwood provided vocals for Jimmy Page's set at the first shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Paul Rodgers, of Bad Company, replaced Winwood for the four-city ARMS tour in the United States.  Rodgers joined Jimmy Page in The Firm in 1985 and 1986.  

1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

1974 Jimmy Page with Mick Ralphs of Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

1974 Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC

♪

♪  I'll Cry Instead (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) 
♪  Those Precious Words (Joe Cocker feat. Jimmy Page guitar, 1964) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Inglewood CA at LA Forum, 04 September 1970) 
♪  Led Zeppelin (Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens, 09 September 1971) 
♪  Rock Me Baby (Jimmy Page with Bad Company, New York 1974) 

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) 

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) 

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.

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 (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)