Tuesday, May 24, 2016

On This Day 24 May

No more perfect choice to award the late, great B.B. King with the Polar Music Prize than Jimmy Page.

2004 24 May On This Day Jimmy Page presents B.B. King with Polar Music Prize

2004 Polar Music Prize guest list and seating.
  • 1968 Yardbirds - San Francisco, California @ Fillmore Auditorium (day 2)
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Chicago,IL US at Kinetic Playground (day 2)
  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - London UK at Earls Court Arena (day 4)
  • 2004 24 May On This Day Jimmy Page presents B.B. King with Polar Music Prize
Polar Music Prize press release for 2004 ceremony

This was day four of five for Led Zeppelin at Earls Court in 1975.  Dave Lewis says in his book, Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, "Jimmy performed one of his best ever solos on Stairway to Heaven, building slowly before taking off on a seemingly never-ending spiral of virtuosity."


1975 Plant & Page of Led Zeppelin at Earls Court Exhibition Centre London - Urban Image photo
1975 Earls Court 

1975 Jimmy Page at Earls Court Exhibition Centre London - Urban Image photo



♪ Rock Me Baby (B.B. King) YouTube
♪ Rock Me Baby (Jimmy Page with Bad Company, Schaefer Music Festival NYC 1974) YouTube
♪ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin - Earls Court 24 May 1975) YouTube
♪ Lux Aeterna (György Ligeti) YouTube
♫  Jimmy Page presenting Polar Music award to BB King

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

Monday, May 23, 2016

On This Day May 23

Day three of the Earls Court concerts in 1975 and, in 1969, two concerts half a continent apart in one day. Let no one say it's all fun and games and Riot Houses in the life of rock stars.

1968 23 May On This Day The Yardbirds - San Francisco,CA at Fillmore Auditorium
  • 1967 The Yardbirds - Bristol England at The Corn Exchange
  • 1968 The Yardbirds - San Francisco CA at Fillmore Auditorium
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - (show 1 of 2 this day) San Jose  CA at Santa Clara Pop Festival
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - (show 2 of 2 this day) Chicago IL at Kinetic Playground
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - Albuquerque NM at University Arena
  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - London at Earls Court Exhibition Hall
  • 1976 Page and Plant jam with Bad Company at the LA Forum
  • 1986 The Firm - Costa Mesa CA at Pacific Amphitheatre
  • 1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Portland OR at Portland Memorial Coliseum
  • 1998 Page & Plant North America Tour - Jacksonville FL at Coliseum
  • 2012 Jimmy Page at Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee party
1969:
On this day Led Zeppelin performed two shows, one in San Jose CA and one in Chicago, thanks to a Lear jet provided by the promoters of the Santa Clara Pop Festival to fly the band to Chicago after their San Jose festival performance.  

Even though Led Zeppelin only had one album out at this time, they appeared with some big names at the festival. The three-day festival lineup included: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane, The Chambers Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon, Spirit, Canned Heat, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Youngbloods, Steve Miller, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Taj Mahal, Noel Redding, Lee Michaels, Blues Image, Santana, Aum, Elvin Bishop, Poco, People!, Lynn County, The Loading Zone, Sweet Linda Divine, Cat Mother, Doc Watson & New Lost City Ramblers. Eric Burdon wound up not appearing.


1975 Led Zeppelin - London,England at Earls Court Exhibition Hall - Melody Maker front page 24 May

1975 Led Zeppelin - London,England at Earls Court Exhibition Hall - NME front page 24 May
1976:
Various sites report that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant jammed with Bad Company at the LA Forum on this day, though it was no doubt actually May 16, as indicated by advertising for Bad Company's gig.  Page and Plant joined in for an encore performance of I Just Wanna Make Love To You. According to Dave Lewis, John Bonham was there but didn't play because of an injured hand.
1976 Page and Plant jam with Bad Company at the LA Forum

1976 Page and Plant jam with Bad Company at the LA Forum

2012 Jimmy Page at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee party at the Royal Academy



♪  Dazed and Confused (The Yardbirds, Fillmore Auditorium 1968) YouTube
♪ No Quarter (Led Zeppelin, Albuquerque 1973) YouTube
♪  Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin, Earl's Court 23 May 1975) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Jacksonville 1998) YouTube


♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

Sunday, May 22, 2016

On This Day 22 May

Awards, accolades and just plain fine music on this day.
2006 22 May On This Day Led Zeppelin receive Polar Music Prize
2006 22 May On This Day Led Zeppelin receive Polar Music Prize
  • 1967 Yardbirds - London at BBC Radio
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio TX at HemisFair Convention Center Arena
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Fort Worth TX at Tarrant County Convention Center
  • 1985 The Firm – London at Wembley Arena
  • 1986 The Firm - Inglewood CA at The Forum
  • 1995 Page & Plant Unledded North American Tour - Landover MD at Air Arena 
  • 1998 Page & Plant North American Tour - Miami FL at Miami Arena
  • 2006 Led Zeppelin receive Polar Music Prize
  • 2014 Jimmy Page attends the Ivor Novello Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England.


1973 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio Photo: Carl Dunn

1973 Led Zeppelin - San Antonio Photo: Carl Dunn

1985 Jimmy Page with The Firm at Wembley 

The Times review of The Firm – 22 May 1985 London at Wembley Arena
2006:
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson, publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA.  The prize was named for Anderson´s record label, Polar Music. The Polar Music Prize is one of the most prestigious and unique music prizes in the world, awarded to individuals, groups and institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements.

Led Zeppelin recorded In Through The Out Door at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden November - December 1978.
2014 Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck at Beck's Ivor Novello Award  Photo: Dave J Hogan



♪ Dazed and Confused (The Yardbirds 1967) YouTube
♪ 1977 White Summer/Black Mountain Side (Led Zeppelin, Fort Worth 1977) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Miami 1998) YouTube
♫ Jimmy Page & Jeff Beck PRS interview, Ivor Novello Award


♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

Friday, May 20, 2016

On This Day 21 May

Session man 1965
1965 21 May On This Day Jimmy Page session for Vashti Bunyan

1965 - Other tracks Jimmy Page played on during the week of May 21
Vashti Bunyan is a British singer-songwriter who in 1965 was under contract to Andrew Oldham (manager and producer of The Rolling Stones at that time).  Even having Jimmy Page on guitar didn't help her gain popularity back then.  Over thirty years later her debut 1970 album (which didn't include the song with Jimmy Page) garnered a cult following and Bunyan was able to renew her musical career.

Bunyan talks about recording  'Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind’ in a March 2001 interview 
"I was in heaven during the recording. This was especially so during the recording of my own song, hearing it arranged by David Whittaker and played by 'real' musicians. Nicky Hopkins and Big Jim Sullivan. Jimmy Page was a session musician then and was in there too."

  • 1965 Jimmy Page session for Vashti Bunyan
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Houston, TX at The Summit
  • 1984 The Firm - St. Annes-on-Sea, England at St. Ives Hotel Ballroom
  • 2014 Jimmy Fallon show interview airs (filmed 05/19/14)
  • 2014 On stage at the Olympia Paris for remasters promo


Record Mirror article published 21 May1977.  Award ceremony was 12 May 1977

2014 Jimmy Fallon show interview aired on NBC (filmed 05/19/14)


2014 Jimmy Fallon show interview aired on NBC (filmed 05/19/14) showing off the remasters

2014 On stage at the Olympia Paris for remasters promo.  Photo Guino Patrice

2014 Poster for Jimmy Page's appearance at the Olympia Paris for remasters promo.

2014 On stage at the Olympia Paris for remasters promo.  Photo Guino Patrice



♪ Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (Vashti Bunyan, Jimmy Page guitar 1965) YouTube
♪  Guitar & theremin solo (Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin, Houston 1977) YouTube

On This Day 20 May

1967 On This Day 20 May - Yardbirds - Jouy,France at HEC Business School. 
  • 1967 The Yardbirds - Jouy France at HEC Business School.  
  • 1984 Jimmy Page with Roy Harper- Norwich, England at Kenley Fayre
  • 1985 The Firm - Edinburgh, Scotland at Playhouse Theatre
  • 1995 Page & Plant (Unledded North American Tour) San Jose, CA at San Jose Arena
  • 1998 Page & Plant (North American Tour) Tampa FL at Tampa Ice Palace




1967 Yardbirds Paris
1984:
Jimmy Page appeared at a number of folk festivals with Roy Harper in 1984. Harper had been touring with a band that at that time included bassist Tony Franklin, who was to join Jimmy Page in The Firm. In 1985 Harper and Page put out the album, Whatever Happened to Jugula, the fifth album of Harper's that Jimmy Page had contributed to.
1995 Page & Plant  San Jose, CA 

2014 Metal XS interview



♪  Satisfaction Guaranteed (The Firm Edinburgh 1985) YouTube
♪  Thank You/Bring It On Home (Page & Plant San Jose 1995) YouTube
♪  Ramble On (Page & Plant San Jose 1995) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant Tampa 1998) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

Thursday, May 19, 2016

On This Day 19 May

Page and Plant in Pensicola on this day in 1998 and a few days' break in 1975 for Led Zeppelin before the next three Earls Court shows.

1998 19 May On This Day Page & Plant - Pensacola, Florida at Pensacola Civic Center
There were two days of soundchecks and rehearsals at the venue prior to opening night in Pensicola.  The year-long tour took Page & Plant back and forth across the Atlantic several times.

  • 1967 Yardbirds - Elizabethville (Paris) France at L'Hermitage
  • 1968 Yardbirds - Santa Barbara, CA at Francisco Torres
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - Fort Worth, TX at Tarrant County Convention Center
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Baton Rouge, LA at LSU Assembly Center
  • 1986 The Firm Mean Business Tour- Houston TX at The Summit
  • 1995 Page & Plant Unledded North American Tour - Oakland CA at Oakland Coliseum 
  • 1998 Page & Plant North American Tour - Pensacola FL at Pensacola Civic Center 
  • 2011 Jimmy Page at Ivor Novello Awards where Paul Rodgers receives award for songwriting 

1986 The Firm (Mean Business Tour) Houston, Texas at The Summit
1998 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant promo photo for US Tour.  Mick Hutson photo
  
2011 19 May Jimmy Page, Cynthia Rodgers, Paul Rodgers - Ivor Novello Songwriting Award

2011 May Les Inrocks Magazine

2014 Jimmy Page and Jack White backstage of the Jimmy Fallon Show (episode aired May 21) - Photo Ross Halfin 


♪  Dazed and Confused  (Led Zeppelin, Ft. Worth 1973) YouTube  
♪  Concert clips + arrival at airport (Led Zeppelin, Baton Rouge 1977) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Oakland 1995) YouTube
♪  Full set (Page & Plant, Pensacola 1998) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

On This Day 18 May

In 1977 on this day Led Zeppelin played in Birmingham and in 1985 The Firm played in Birmingham - different countries on different continents, though. And of course, on this day in 1975 Led Zeppelin played the second of five sold-out nights to 17,000 fans at Earls Court Arena, London England.
In 1977 On This Day Jimmy Page was in one Birmingham or another
  • 1967 Yardbirds- Versailles, France
  • 1968 Yardbirds - Lewiston ID at Casey's
  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Minneapolis MN at Tyrone Guthrie Theatre
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - Dallas TX at Dallas Memorial Auditorium
  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - London at Earls Court Exhibition Centre
  • 1977 Led Zeppelin - Birmingham AL at Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena
  • 1985 The Firm - Birmingham England at NEC Arena 
  • 2006 Scarlet Page photo exhibition opening, "Your Child", at the Proud Gallery in Camden
1975:
Earl's Court, day 2. Robert Plant's voice not what it once was, but the boys were hot, hot, HOT.  It's worth hunting for one of this day's bootlegs to hear the whole set. YouTube's been pretty well stripped of videos from this day's show. 

Jimmy Page - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

John Paul Jones & Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Robert Plant & Jimmy Page - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court
Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page on Theremin - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court


♪  Rock And Roll (Led Zeppelin, Earls Court 1975) YouTube
♪  Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin Birmingham 1977) YouTube
♪  Cadillac (The Firm, Birmingham UK 1985) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube