Gibson's Revolutionary Hall Of Fame - Jimmy Honoured

[kenog]

Source:- www.gibson.com

I have included a comment at the end made by a guy who saw The Yardbirds when they played Wichita. Jimmy borrowed the guy's amp top. He ended up having dinner with The Yardbirds afterwards!

Revolutionary Hall of Fame: Jimmy Page

Sean Patrick Dooley 12.17.2010

Gibson.com is pleased to present the inaugural class of the Gibson Revolutionary Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors musical artists whose contributions went beyond mere entertainment and actually altered the art form, the business or the technology of popular music. This year's inductees were chosen in a recent poll on Gibson.com, asking fans and pros to decide the Top 50 Most Revolutionary Artists of the Past 100 Years. The list of inductees is composed of the top five vote recipients from the readers poll, as well as the top five from the overall combined poll of fans and professionals. As there was some overlap between the lists, a total of seven artists have been honored. Today we celebrate one such honoree: Jimmy Page

One of the most influential, revered and copied guitarists and songwriters in history, Jimmy Page's contributions to the very fabric of rock and roll cannot be overstated. Page created some of the most monstrous and memorable riffs ever heard, especially during his Led Zeppelin heyday, and his unbridled virtuosity new no limits. He was a pioneer in blending acoustic and electric guitars into single compositions, and his stage presence was nothing short of mesmerizing. A two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (with The Yarbirds and Led Zeppelin), Page resides near the top of virtually every Top Guitarist list, including #2 on Gibson.com's list of "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time."

Born James Patrick Page in the West London suburb of Heston, Page's parents moved the family a few times around the London area before settling in Epsom in Surrey. It was here where the 12-year old future guitar legend acquired his first guitar. He enrolled in guitar lessons and actually took a few, but they didn't take well, so he largely taught himself how to play after learning a few chords from a schoolmate. His main teachers and influences were found in the many records he listened to, legends like Scotty Moore and James Burton. Page loved rockabilly and skiffle, which was huge in England at the time, and he was a big fan of the blues masters, pioneers like B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Elmore James and Buddy Guy.

Page's first brush with fame came when he was a 13-years old guitarist in a skiffle quartet, a group of young teenagers who performed on the televised talent show All Your Own.

Page eventually dropped out of secondary school to pursue his musical dreams, but finding other musicians to play with regularly proved difficult. When singer Neil Christian saw 15-year old Page playing a local gig, he hired the youngster for his own band, The Crusaders. After contracting infectious mononucleosis, Page was forced off the tour after two years. He did a little soul searching and decided to give his music career a break. He enrolled at Sutton Art College in Surrey to pursue his love of painting.

During this two-year period, however, he never gave up the guitar, and he would often hop on stage at The Marquee and play with other groups and guitarists, including Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. This exposure eventually led to some serious and steady session work with Decca Records, where he earned the nickname "Little Jim". He played on sessions for established artists like Brenda Lee, Dave Berry, Marianne Faithfull, Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones ("Heart of Stone"), Van Morrison ("Baby Please Don't Go"), The Who and The Kinks.

In late 1964, Page declined an offer to replace his friend, Eric Clapton, in The Yardbirds. Clapton ended up leaving the group a few months later, which opened the door for Page to join, but he was not interested in giving up his lucrative session work, so he suggested Jeff Beck as Clapton's replacement. In 1966, Page, Keith Moon, bassist John Paul Jones and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins joined Beck in the studio to record "Beck's Bolero." Enamored with the idea of forming a supergroup, Page toyed with the notion of creating a new group featuring himself, Beck, Moon and John Entwistle. Entwistle joked that the group would go over like a lead balloon, to which Moon suggested the name Lead Zeppelin. That project never got off the ground.

After attending a Yardbirds concert at Oxford, Page went backstage and offered to join the group after Paul Samwell-Smith announced he was leaving. Page initially played bass before switching over to twin lead guitar with Beck. The new lineup bore little fruit, so Beck left, leaving Page and company to carry on as a quartet. When Yardbird bandmates Keith Relf and Jim McCarty left in 1968, Page recruited vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul John. They carried on briefly as The New Yardbirds but eventually changed their name to Led Zeppelin. (They dropped the "a" in "Lead Zeppelin" at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant.)

In 1968, Grant landed the band a $200,000 advance from Atlantic Records, which was a record sum for a new band, as well as full creative control. Led Zeppelin made their live debut at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on October 4, 1968; their American concert debut came three months later in Denver. Led Zeppelin's self-titled debut album, which Page reported was recorded in just 36 hours of studio time, was released on January 12, 1969.

Led Zeppelin II followed, and with each successive album, the band grew bigger, and Page's mystique and reputation as one of the most versatile and revered guitarists and songwriters grew immensely. Two more albums followed, including the more acoustic-flavored Led Zeppelin III, then what many believe to be Led Zeppelin's ultimate masterpiece, Led Zeppelin IV. From 1971 through 1977 they were the biggest and most influential band on the planet, surpassing even The Rolling Stones.

After the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, Led Zeppelin called it quits, releasing the statement: "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were." The statement was signed "Led Zeppelin".

Jimmy Page's legacy as a ground-breaking guitarist and composer is immense, and his overall impact and influence is virtually unmatched. His ability to couple striking technical prowess with remarkably haunting, monstrous, exotic and ethereal melodies was unmatched in the '70s. Truly one of the 20^th Century's most revolutionary artists.

JOHN JACKSON

I remember Jimmy playing bass and Beck playing guitar when the Yardbirds first played in Wichita, Kansas. The next time Jimmy was playing guitar - I don't remember who was playing bass. The regular bass player I think. Anyway Jimmy borrowed my amp's top as his had blown up. On one of those two appearances their drummer passed out and one of our local guys filled in. I think his name was Neil. Anyway after ward we went to the Holiday Inn and ate a late dinner with them. I still remember to this day Keith asking the cashier "Might I borrow your pen" to sign the check - of course in his English accent. Who at the time would have known!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveAJones]

I'll have to inquire if Dreja or McCarty have any recollection of these "Wichita" gigs or the events described. Over the past ten years I've researched Page-era Yardbirds performances extensively and there is only one confirmed in the state of Kansas:

Nov 7, 1966 Chanute, KS Chanute Memorial Auditorium...Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour (Gary Lewis and The Playboys / Sam The Sham and The Pharohs / Brian Hyland, etc)

[Earl Of Sandwich]

"...bassist John Paul John."

Ha ha.