In 1966, Jimmy Page joined the blues-influenced rock band The Yardbirds to replace bassist Paul Samwell-Smith. Shortly after, Page switched from bass to lead guitar, creating a dual lead-guitar lineup with Jeff Beck. Following the departure of Beck in October 1966, The Yardbirds, who were tired from constant touring and recording, began to wind down. Page wanted to form a supergroup with himself and Beck on guitars, and The Who's rhythm section—drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle. Vocalists Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were also considered for the project. The group never formed, although Page, Beck and Moon did record a song together in 1966, "Beck's Bolero", which is featured on Beck's 1968 album, Truth. The recording session also included bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones, who told Page that he would be interested in collaborating with him on future projects.
The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968 at Luton College of Technology in Bedfordshire, England. They were still committed to performing several concerts in Scandinavia, so drummer Jim McCarty and vocalist Keith Relf authorised Page and bassist Chris Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfill the band's obligations. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page's first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined the offer, but suggested Robert Plant, a Stourbridge singer for the Band of Joy. Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending drummer John Bonham from nearby Redditch. When Dreja dropped out of the project to become a photographer (he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin's debut album), John Paul Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, contacted Page about the vacant position. Being familiar with Jones' credentials, Page agreed to bring in Jones as the final piece.
The group played together for the first time in a room below a record store on Gerrard Street in London. Page suggested that they try playing "Train Kept A-Rollin'", a rockabilly song popularised by Johnny Burnette that had been given new life by the Yardbirds. "As soon as I heard John Bonham play," recalled Jones, "I knew this was going to be great... We locked together as a team immediately." Shortly afterwards, the group played together on the final day of sessions for the P.J. Proby album, Three Week Hero. The album's song "Jim's Blues" was the first studio track to feature all four members of the future Led Zeppelin. Proby recalled, "Come the last day we found we had some studio time, so I just asked the band to play while I just came up with the words... They weren't Led Zeppelin at the time, they were the New Yardbirds and they were going to be my band."
The band completed the Scandinavian tour as The New Yardbirds, playing together for the first time in front of a live audience at Gladsaxe Teen Clubs in Gladsaxe, Denmark, on 7 September 1968. Later that month, the group began recording their first album, which was based upon their live set at the time. The album was recorded and mixed in nine days, with all costs covered by Page himself. After the album's completion, the band was forced to change their name after Chris Dreja issued a cease and desist letter, stating that Page was only allowed to use the New Yardbirds name for the Scandinavian dates. One account of the band's naming has it that Keith Moon and John Entwistle, drummer and bassist for The Who, respectively, suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a "lead balloon", a traditional joke describing disastrous results. The group deliberately dropped the 'a' in lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, to prevent "thick Americans"[21] from pronouncing it "leed". The word "balloon" was transformed into "zeppelin", perhaps an exaggeration of the humour, and to Page the name conjured the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace.
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Two thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. Never previously noticed the stupendiously long thumb nail on Page's LEFT hand.
2. I remember watching 'The Song Remains the Same' with several friends when that movie was in new release in the theatres. Although I enjoyed it- found it tedious past a point. My reception was paled by my friends, whom I only found out later, had all dropped acid. Ha! no wonder I was the designated driver for the night. =)
Yes, I agree. It is interesting to watch but almost painful at times. So much theatrics and Robert Plant Whining! It's good that there are a few really good although not as commenrcially successful vidceos of Led Zep that are absolutely a trip to watch (sans the acid). Page is a very interesting guitar player and he is hard to overlook as one of the best.
ReplyDeleteHerre's more Led ZeP:
ReplyDeleteBman's Blues Report: I Can't Quit You Baby - Led Zeppelin