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Jimmy Page's mystery girl?


Ripellino

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Hi everyone I'm new, always been a huge fan of Led Zeppelin but new to the forum. I've joined tonight to see if there is any truth in something a friend told me the other night. His father is in the music business and was close to the band in the early 70's. He was telling me that his dad claims that the third Zeppelin album is a sort of "cenotaph" to what Jimmy Page still regards as his most important relationship. She was a young art student he fell in love with and planned to marry in the early 70's but who then left him for a close friend of his (another musican) after he failed to curtail his womanising while on tour. It seems he had expected her to turn a blind eye to his bad behaviour due to his status and her leaving him was a huge slap in the face and nothing he expected.

The third Zeppelin album can be read as a sort of narrative about the break down of a relationship from his betrayal, to his anger at his friend who he felt "stole" her, his regret and finally his acceptance of the situation and him wanting to wish them well because he had failed to make her happy. Supposedly he still very much regretted losing her many years later.

I've been listening to Zep Three and I can sort of see the theme or storyline in the album but I've never heard anything about Jimmy Page having some big romance or engagement at that time apart from Charlotte Martin and this wasn't her. I can't find any info on this mystery art student and I was told the relationship lasted a couple of years.

Anybody have any info on this?

On a side note I used to know a girl who went on a couple of dates with Robert Plant in the mid 90's she was like 30 years younger than him and very beautiful but it didn't last more than a few dates.

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The lyrics for LZIII were written by Plant, except for traditional songs like Shake Em On Down (Hats off To Harper), and it seems unlikely he was writing about Jimmy's love life.

Edit: except Tangerine, of course--the only source for such a theory.

Led Zeppelin III is not a concept album honoring some mythological girl Jimmy met in art school. This is preposterous. :rolleyes:

Well I wasn't too convinced about this myself as the dates given seem to conflict with the time he was with Charlotte. I suspect that Tangerine was inspired by an art school girlfriend and the rest of the story grew from that. Does anybody know who he dated while at art school?

Thanks!

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Well I wasn't too convinced about this myself as the dates given seem to conflict with the time he was with Charlotte. I suspect that Tangerine was inspired by an art school girlfriend and the rest of the story grew from that.

Thanks!

Jimmy was first introduced to Charlotte Martin by Roger Daltrey and his lady Heather Taylor at the Royal Albert Hall on January 9, 1970 (Jimmy's 26th birthday).

Some suspect Tangerine may have been inspired by his relationship with Jackie DeShannon in '64'-'65. Whatever the case may be it's clear some of the lyrics are lifted from 'Knowing That I'm Losing You', allegedly written by Keith Relf and known to have been recorded by The Yardbirds in April 1968 with Jimmy Page on guitar.

Knowing That I'm Losing You

The Yardbirds (Recorded April 1968)

How will you spend your time my love

Crying through the clouds above, my love

The tears will fall as rain

We're falling from a tree

The time it takes to see

The rising of the sun

The time it takes to run

Measuring a summer's day

You'll only find it slips away, to grey

The hours will bring you pain

(Guitar Solo)

[in the background]

Aaaah, Aaaah, Aaaaah, Aaaah

The hours will bring me pain

We're falling from a tree

The time it takes to see

The rising of the sun

The time it takes to run

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Does anybody know who he dated while at art school?

Jimmy attended a Ravi Shankar concert with a girl who was a friend of Shankar…they met afterward and Shankar wrote down sitar chords for him. I don't have the year confirmed yet but it very well occured during his art school days. He's proudly said he owned a sitar before George Harrison. I wouldn't be surprised to hear there were many girls. He'd already discovered them as a teen in the 50s, once bringing an ice cream to a girl at Granada Cinema in Epsom and asking her out (but she refused!).

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Jimmy was first introduced to Charlotte Martin by Roger Daltrey and his lady Heather Taylor at the Royal Albert Hall on January 9, 1970 (Jimmy's 26th birthday).

Some suspect Tangerine may have been inspired by his relationship with Jackie DeShannon in '64'-'65. Whatever the case may be it's clear some of the lyrics are lifted from 'Knowing That I'm Losing You', allegedly written by Keith Relf and known to have been recorded by The Yardbirds in April 1968 with Jimmy Page on guitar.

Knowing That I'm Losing You

The Yardbirds (Recorded April 1968)

How will you spend your time my love

Crying through the clouds above, my love

The tears will fall as rain

We're falling from a tree

The time it takes to see

The rising of the sun

The time it takes to run

Measuring a summer's day

You'll only find it slips away, to grey

The hours will bring you pain

(Guitar Solo)

[in the background]

Aaaah, Aaaah, Aaaaah, Aaaah

The hours will bring me pain

We're falling from a tree

The time it takes to see

The rising of the sun

The time it takes to run

Jimmy attended a Ravi Shankar concert with a girl who was a friend of Shankar…they met afterward and Shankar wrote down sitar chords for him. I don't have the year confirmed yet but it very well occured during his art school days. He's proudly said he owned a sitar before George Harrison. I wouldn't be surprised to hear there were many girls. He'd already discovered them as a teen in the 50s, once bringing an ice cream to a girl at Granada Cinema in Epsom and asking her out (but she refused!).

Thanks for that info Steve. If I get the chance to ask my friends dad in person about that story I will! The third Zep album is my favorite so I was excited to hear some background on it however implausible.

I think it makes sense that Tangerine is about a girl he met back at art school, before he got famous and everything got crazy for him. I guess he must have missed having a normal relationship and perhaps wrote Tangerine looking back to that time.

I guess we will never really know!

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Thanks for that info Steve. If I get the chance to ask my friends dad in person about that story I will! The third Zep album is my favorite so I was excited to hear some background on it however implausible.

I think it makes sense that Tangerine is about a girl he met back at art school, before he got famous and everything got crazy for him. I guess he must have missed having a normal relationship and perhaps wrote Tangerine looking back to that time.

I guess we will never really know!

IMHO a connection to his intense relationship with DeShannon is more plausible (though unconfirmed!). She and Charlotte are the only two love interests depicted in his book. Regardless, I've never heard of any serious girlfriends during his brief stint in art school.

Anyway I think you are just pulling our chains as first you suggested the whole album was a cenotaph to some mystery lover he had in art school and now you've narrowed it down to just one song. It's cool. I presented some information to consider.

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Ripellino, Robert wasn't dating any 17 year olds back in the 90's was he?

Maybe he was doing a Jimmy. (If you get what I mean ;))

She may have been 18 or 19 when she dated him. I don't think it was anything other than a couple of dates max. They went to a whitesnake concert together apparently.

This girl was really beautiful back in the day and caused a lot of mayhem, breaking up a few long term relationships without really knowing what she was doing because if she gave a guy a sniff that she might be interested he'd be after her like a shot (the Kate Moss effect). She was annoying really, very self centred but you could really see why she had the ability to attract someone like Robert Plant. I have no idea what she is doing now.

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IMHO a connection to his intense relationship with DeShannon is more plausible (though unconfirmed!). She and Charlotte are the only two love interests depicted in his book. Regardless, I've never heard of any serious girlfriends during his brief stint in art school.

Anyway I think you are just pulling our chains as first you suggested the whole album was a cenotaph to some mystery lover he had in art school and now you've narrowed it down to just one song. It's cool. I presented some information to consider.

Steve I think it was me who had my "chain pulled" by my mate or his dad at least. I don't know a whole lot about the personal lives of any of the band members. I only narrowed down to the Tangerine song because of Aquamarines suggestion. However it's all good. It's a testement to the power of the music that it still provokes thought and converstion more than 40 years after it was written.

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He's proudly said he owned a sitar before George Harrison.

thank God he didn't do anything with it....cuz they SSUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK

had its brief woodstock moment of fame......basically when everyone was stoned and tripping out on their way to becoming the counterculture trendmongering dipsticks of today

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  • 1 month later...

Jimmy attended a Ravi Shankar concert with a girl who was a friend of Shankar…they met afterward and Shankar wrote down sitar chords for him. I don't have the year confirmed yet but it very well occured during his art school days. He's proudly said he owned a sitar before George Harrison. I wouldn't be surprised to hear there were many girls. He'd already discovered them as a teen in the 50s, once bringing an ice cream to a girl at Granada Cinema in Epsom and asking her out (but she refused!).

On a side note Shanker didnt right down sitar chords, he wrote down the tunnings because Jimy didnt know how to tune it.

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And you don't know how to spell...

On a side note Shanker didn't right down sitar chords, he wrote down the tunings because Jimmy didn't know how to tune it.

There I fixed it for you in case your pea brain couldn't figure it out.

And its irrelevant about the spelling.It was late at night and I hit n twice and forgot an m big deal, I hate people like you, you must have nothing better to do, and must have a shit life. That's my incite on you from your incredibly rude sentence.

PS: I will some grammatical error so you can correct me and show how much of more intelligent person you are than me. you must be some kind of professor, or the grammar police.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

The lyrics for LZIII were written by Plant, except for traditional songs like Shake Em On Down (Hats off To Harper), and it seems unlikely he was writing about Jimmy's love life.

Edit: except Tangerine, of course--the only source for such a theory.

Tangerine to my knowledge was supposedly written for Jackie De Shannon.

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Have you read the rest of the thread?

Yes I have; Did he or didn't have a "mystery girlfriend"? and Is LED III suposedly about her or some theme album related to the mystery girl? I was just suggesting that Tangerine has been associated with Jackie De Shannon (Shadwicks book, Mick Wall, etc.) therefore not about "mystery girl". I was also attempting to address the fact that Led III was not written "primairly by Plant" it was collaboration between Jimmy & Robert when they retreated to Bron-Yr- Aur in 1970 with their family/girlfriend. C. Martin was with Jimmy on the trip and it is estimated that they conceived Scarlet doing the math from her birthdate back. So I I don't think there's mystery girl associated with Led III.

I might add (this is not directed at you) but to the forum as a whole, I find some of the bickering, comments like "you can't spell" and other touchy responses irritating and not what this forum or any other should be about. Can we respect one another and each person's perspectives without the negativity?

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