Yet another reason, it's a pity the Coverdale/Page collaboration didn't continue.

IMO, turd is too harsh a description for Taurus. It has a pleasant, meandering quality that sounds soothing. Randy California's estate should peddle the song to companies that sell mood music for spas, message parlors and telephone hold systems.

The ultimate rock star defense: "Dude, we're talking about the late Sixties and the Seventies. Drugs and booze were there for the taking, much like the groupies. I spent much of that period high or wasted so my memory of specific events is kinda fuzzy."

RIP. The above link won't work for me but didn't Paul Kantner have a daughter with Grace Slick?

It may have come down to the cow bell. Without it I might have listened to Blurred Lines and thought: "this song has a nice retro vibe." The inclusion of the cow bell made me think: "this sounds like that Marvin Gaye song they always play at family reunions and block parties."

As a matter of fact, I do. Not that I claim special powers or anything. Many celebrities divulge their health problems to the public so their deaths, while sad, aren't a surprise. Also, I'm sure you're aware that the average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.74 years. Nowadays, to die before the age of 70 in the U.S. is to die early; particularly if you can afford the best health care.

Damn, Glenn Frey just died. Another rock star death I didn't see coming. First Lemmy, then Bowie and now Frey. What the heck is going on?

Did Satriani tour with Deep Purple several years ago or am I misremembering?

Happy belated birthday, Mr Page. To quote the Isley Brothers: "It's your thing, do what you want to do. I can't tell you, who to sock it to."

Check out the Wikipedia entry on Jimmy Page for the answers to most of your questions. From what I've read, Page left school at 16 to pursue his musical career. He later attended art school for about a year or so. Not many British rockers from Page's generation attended university but, lots of them attended art school: John Lennon, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Wood, Chris McVie and Freddie Mercury all come to mind.

A few corrections: 1) Jones met Page when they were both working as session musicians BEFORE Page joined the Yardbirds. According to Jones, they first worked on the same session in 1965, but he had been aware of Page since seeing him play guitar with Neil Christian and The Crusaders during the early 1960's. 2) From what I've read, it was Chris Dreja, not Jones, who accompanied Page and Grant to Birmingham to see Robert Plant perform.

Thanks for sharing this with us. I had heard of Tony Franklin over the years, but I didn't realize he is younger than I am. Working with legends like Page and Rogers at such a young age!

Goodness! He died two days after his diagnosis. Not even enough time to get his affairs in order. My condolences to his family.

Cornish game hen Beef briscuit Baked ham slices Dressing Cottage cheese casserole Kale sweet potatoes pecan pie apple pie

There is a lesson to be learned here, imo. An artist has to be willing to look ridiculous in order to grow. Maybe it's best not to wait for divine inspiration. Instead pick a musical "style" that interests you and see where it takes you. Even if the project flops, you'll learn something along the way; make valuable contacts, etc.

I only counted one link within one Kate Stone post. Did I miss another?

I don't think the Coverdale/Page album was a disaster by any means. As other posters pointed out, Page did some of his best post-Zep playing on that album and they did have decent chemistry. However, I do think it was a missed opportunity. Like most British rockers of their generation, Page and Coverdale both know their blues. An album of blues covers, properly credited would have been a great project for them. One song I think Coverdale could have done justice to in his prime is A Change Is Gonna Come. True, it's more of a soul anthem than a blues song, but it's got that potent mixture of anguish and hope. Then again, I've always thought Coverdale could have been a good blue-eyed soul singer.

IMO, Outrider was a more forward move for Page than the Firm. Much of the that band's music sounds rather pedestrian to me. The musicianship was solid for the most part but their songs were the same old, same old.

The tapes in question are nearly 40 years old. Any material will degrade over time; it's why so many Hollywood films from the Thirties and Forties have been lost. I don't know if this is the reason why Page made the choices he did with the companion discs but it's something you should consider.

Good point.

It would explain some things about his post-Zep career.

Homemade chili; saltine crackers and cole slaw

I didn't feel like cooking this evening so I stopped at a local vegetarian restaurant and ordered a lentil burger, roasted carrot & beet salad and truffle fries. The lentil burger is tasty but the truffle fries are to die for; delicious spears of Yukon Gold potatoes oven roasted with garlic, Parmesan cheese and a splash of truffle oil.

Trampled Underfoot: An Oral History of Led Zeppelin by Barney Hoskyns.

Page added guitar solos to the above but was he Plant's main collaborator on either project?