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Introduction
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page was born in Heston, England on January 9, 1944. Page started playing guitar at 13 years of age. While in college, he worked as a producer, and got to work with such acts as The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and The Who. When he was 21, he joined the band The Yardbirds, and later, in 1968 formed his new band, Led Zeppelin. He became one of Rock and Roll's most respected guitarist during the 1970s, and continues to inspire rock musicians to this day ("James Patrick Page"). -
First U.S. Interview
On December 27, 1968, Page sat down for his first interview in the United States. A journalist documented the interview. “Jimmy Page walked into the office, smiled, and sat down. His slim build was covered with clothes, cornucopia of color, topped off with a silver velour jacket. The impression that his clothes made on others didn't even seem to faze Jimmy, as he talked about his new group, Led Zeppelin” (“Jimmy Page – First U.S. Interview”). -
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This description gives the first impression that Page is humble, showy, and confident all at the same time, hinting at his colorful personality. Once the interview gets started, Page is asked about his experience with The Yardbirds. "[The Yardbirds] were too much into their own bag. They were great at experimenting, allowing me to move in and out of the expression every good musician needs – but then they started to get erratic” (“Jimmy Page – First U.S. Interview”). -
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Page explains that although playing with The Yardbirds allowed him to show his creative musical abilities, the band was unstable, leading him to eventually creating Led Zeppelin, his own band. -
1976 Radio Interview
In 1976, Jimmy Page was invited for an interview with Alan Freeman, a radio host. During this interview, Page discussed some critics’ perceptions of his band. Page responds, “They realized that we were a group that was intent on change, and it was far more of a dramatic quality within our particular brand of music than, say, the ‘heavy metal’ groups” (“Jimmy Page Radio Interview”). When his band is referred to negatively as a “heavy metal group”, Page dismisses it, and says that the critics -
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don’t understand their music. Page was determined to change the status quo of music at the time and make a name for himself during his band’s early career in the seventies. -
"Celebration Day"
On December 10, 2007, Led Zeppelin reunited to play one final show in London. The lineup consisted of three of the four original members, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, along with Jason Bonham, the son of the late original drummer, John Bonham. In order to appeal to fans around the world, the concert was recorded, and turned into a film, dubbed “Celebration Day”. This allowed people everywhere -
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to experience the concert long after the final chord was struck for the band (“Led Zeppelin Celebration Day”). Page also met with BBC news interviewer Kirsty Lang for an interview about the concert. “At the time, we had this one opportunity to play. There was no warm-up gig and no follow up gig. We put a lot of work into it to make sure we were fully up to speed” (“Jimmy Page in Conversation”). After decades of separation, Page got the band back together -
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to play one more show with the original lineup as a farewell to their fans. He wanted to make sure the band was ready because they only had one shot to give the fans what they wanted. Simply putting together this farewell concert shows that Page and his band wanted closure with their fans after their abrupt separation in 1980. It shows the band as loyal to its fans as well as inspiring to other bands. -
Looking Back: Page Responds to Some Early Criticism
In November of 2012, Jimmy Page was invited to be interviewed by Rolling Stone. During the interview, Page was asked about his experiences with Led Zeppelin, particularly how the critics responded to their early records. Page explains: “there was a certain amount of acid poured on us. I could see it as venomous then. How I see it now? It went over their heads. I will give the reviewers the benefit of the doubt – each album was so different to the others. -
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After Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II, you get III: ‘What's this about? Acoustic guitars?’ There were crazy conclusions: ‘They're doing a Crosby, Stills and Nash.’ That's because your ears weren't open to the first album, when there was quite a bit of acoustic guitar too” (“Cover Story”).During the seventies, Led Zeppelin was scrutinized for being ahead of their time. Page and his band were innovators in the early rock scene, and he is looked upon as one of the pioneers of rock music.
