Jimmy Page

Who is Jimmy Page?

Jimmy Page is an English musician who rose to fame as the guitarist and leader of the popular rock band ‘Led Zeppelin.’ Also a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he began his career as a studio session musician in London. As a young boy, he was greatly impressed by Elvis Presley and started playing the guitar at the age of 12. Though he initially received some lessons, he was largely self-taught. As a teenager, he used to play at local halls and joined the band ‘The Crusaders’ when he was 15. However, an illness forced him to put his musical career on hold, after which he decided to focus on his studies. But he could not distance himself from music for long; he started performing when he was still a student. Within years, he made a name for himself as a skilled instrumentalist, and eventually went on to found the rock band ‘Led Zeppelin’ along with singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. The band became famous as the progenitor of heavy metal and hard rock and achieved phenomenal success.

Career

He became a much sought after session guitarist during the 1960s and played with many popular bands, including ‘The Rolling Stones.’

In the mid-1960s, he joined the blues-influenced rock band ‘Yardbirds.’ Though the band was initially successful, it soon fizzled out and was disbanded in 1968.

Jimmy Page reconfigured the band in 1968 with a new line-up which included himself, vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham, and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones. The new band was called ‘Led Zeppelin.’

The band released their debut album ‘Led Zeppelin’ in 1969. It featured a fusion of blues and rock music, and became a commercial success. It had tracks, such as ‘Good Times Bad Times,’ ‘Dazed and Confused,’ and ‘Communication Breakdown.’

The band became very popular following the release of their debut album. Hence, the members of the band were encouraged to release three more albums in quick succession over the next couple of years: ‘Led Zeppelin II’ (1969), ‘Led Zeppelin III’ (1970), and ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ (1971).

‘Led Zeppelin’ went on to become one of the best-selling bands in the United States. They released a total of nine studio albums, all of which reached the top 10 of the US Billboard album chart, with six of them reaching the No.1 spot.

Tragedy struck when the band’s drummer John Bonham died in 1980. The band disbanded, and Page was inconsolable after the loss of his dear friend. For a long time, he refused to touch the guitar.

Eventually, he returned to music and started performing again on stage. During the 1980s, he collaborated with bands like ‘The Firm’ and ‘The Honeydrippers.’ He also reunited with former bandmates of ‘Led Zeppelin’ to perform live on a few occasions.

During the 1990s, he was deeply involved in remastering the ‘Led Zeppelin’ catalogue. The decade also saw him reuniting with Robert Plant for a performance in MTV's ‘Unplugged’ series, which was recorded and released as ‘No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.’

Page has since continued to enthrall his fans with his music and live performance. He performed alongside Leona Lewis at the 2008 ‘Summer Olympics.’ He also co-produced the documentary ‘It Might Get Loud.’

He has also performed at the ‘Royal Albert Hall’ in London and was featured in the two-hour long BBC Radio 2 show ‘Johnny Walker Meets.’ The multi-talented guitarist has plans of forming a new band in order to produce fresh music for his beloved fans.