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JPJ almost leaving the band


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I understand that in '73 John Paul Jones came very close to leaving Zeppelin to become choirmaster or something of the sort. Has he ever spoken in detail about this this period why he almost left it all behind?

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From my opinion, he just got overwhelmed. Peter Grant talked him out of it. I don't think it was ever brought to the table, and taken all too seriously within the band. JPJ may have seriously contemplated it, but not with the band.

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I understand that in '73 John Paul Jones came very close to leaving Zeppelin to become choirmaster or something of the sort. Has he ever spoken in detail about this this period why he almost left it all behind?

The touring up till that time was hectic and non-stop; it is my understanding he felt it was affecting his family life

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The touring up till that time was hectic and non-stop; it is my understanding he felt it was affecting his family life

That's my opinion too, but has he ever talked about it publicly?

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That's my opinion too, but has he ever talked about it publicly?

Not that I recall. And I don't think the choirmaster thing was meant to be taken literally. More like "Maybe I could be a choirmaster, or live on an island or something". Not that I'm quoting. I just think after four years of relentless recording and touring he just got a little burned out. Thankfully, the respite after Robert's throat surgery, and the delivery of a little thing called the clavinet allowed him the time and inspiration to recharge his batteries.

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Not that I recall. And I don't think the choirmaster thing was meant to be taken literally. More like "Maybe I could be a choirmaster, or live on an island or something". Not that I'm quoting. I just think after four years of relentless recording and touring he just got a little burned out. Thankfully, the respite after Robert's throat surgery, and the delivery of a little thing called the clavinet allowed him the time and inspiration to recharge his batteries.

I very well may be wrong but , I thought he had a concrete offer in some cathedral. The name of which I can't remember anymore.

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from "peter grant, the TBL interview" by dave lewis:

DL: how serious was it in late 1974 when jpj told you he wanted to quit the band?

pg: oh, very serious. he turned up at my house and told me he'd had enough and said he was going to be the choirmaster at winchester cathedral. we had this heart to heart...anyway i said if you want to leave, you've got to do what you got to do. but i said think about it...

DL: did the others get to knowabout jonesys' unrest or was it kept low-key?

pg: it was kept very low key. i told jimmy of course, who couldn't believe it...

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from "peter grant, the TBL interview" by dave lewis:

DL: how serious was it in late 1974 when jpj told you he wanted to quit the band?

pg: oh, very serious. he turned up at my house and told me he'd had enough and said he was going to be the choirmaster at winchester cathedral. we had this heart to heart...anyway i said if you want to leave, you've got to do what you got to do. but i said think about it...

DL: did the others get to knowabout jonesys' unrest or was it kept low-key?

pg: it was kept very low key. i told jimmy of course, who couldn't believe it...

Thank you. My memory is getting worse. I now remember reading that a few years ago.

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Thank you. My memory is getting worse. I now remember reading that a few years ago.

by the by, if anybody has not read this peter grant interview, it's available in dave lewis "the tight but loose files: celebration II"

very nice piece of journalism and peter grant is an exceptional character.

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Jimmy was well connected and MIGHT have found a comparable bassist. That said, he would still be looking to this very day for a comparable Musician.

This would have been a crushing blow. Thank God it never happened.

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Jimmy was well connected and MIGHT have found a comparable bassist. That said, he would still be looking to this very day for a comparable Musician.

This would have been a crushing blow. Thank God it never happened.

Thank GOD is an understatement; who could have replaced the sound of john paul jones "the piano"?????jonesie was the "power house" behind the last 3 albums led zeppelin recorded ..They were HIS baby's.If jpj had gone i think Bonzo would have been very ,very lost as to having to "click" with someone else would have been a night mare.

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Well the questions have really been answered. The way Zeppelin toured the first 5 years of the band really it would wear on anyone. They really had no break from the band from 1968 to 1971. They were either in the studio or on tour just about every day for about 4 years. That's tough on anyone. So Jonesy was probably considering taking the Winchester Cathedral job. But good thing he decided against it. I think it helped that Zepp basically took a break for a year. They did record some but it was on a much more loose schedule.

If Jones left the band who replace him, or does Zeppelin replace him? I think they do replace him simply because of how big Zeppelin was then and they still had some creativity to go. Jimmy and Robert and Bonzo loved their music and were still very passionate. And I'm not saying Jones wasn't passionate btw he was just tired of it all. But there would be 2 guys replacing Jones, making Zeppelin a 5 piece band. At bass probably Chris Dreja. I don't know about a keyboardist. There's no way they could find one guy that could do both bass and keyboards as good as JPJ.

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Irreplaceable for sure! He was always described as being a bit apart from the other guys too. They were all party animals and JPJ must have had his moments too but nothing compared to the other three....perhaps this got to be too much as well. He may often have been the butt of their jokes as well as Jimmy and Robert were kind of at the same level while Bonham was such an animal that you just didn't mess with him too much....which leaves guess who.....

John Paul Jones was often described as the guy who showed up just on time so as not to spend as much time in the scene (or whatever his motivation was)....and then there's the Royal Orleans story.......

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I've just got to say I've always thought Peter Grant was speaking very tongue in cheek when he made the comment about Winchester Cathedral. If memory serves correct he

has also made comments to the effect of all John really wanted was to ease up on the touring and having had his say was quite content to stay in the band. Do you really

believe the prestigious Winchester Cathedral would hire a life long rock musician to hold such a prominent position in their church? I highly doubt it.

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Irreplaceable for sure! He was always described as being a bit apart from the other guys too. They were all party animals and JPJ must have had his moments too but nothing compared to the other three....perhaps this got to be too much as well. He may often have been the butt of their jokes as well as Jimmy and Robert were kind of at the same level while Bonham was such an animal that you just didn't mess with him too much....which leaves guess who.....

John Paul Jones was often described as the guy who showed up just on time so as not to spend as much time in the scene (or whatever his motivation was)....and then there's the Royal Orleans story.......

That's right, under-appreciated but never forgotten. The Jones parked the car joke was inexusable.

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...but funny as hell :D .........he probably had to deal with a lot of that ribbing over the years.....

It was probably the most hurtful thing that ever passed between any of the members.

Although former LED ZEPPELIN frontman Robert Plant seems open to the possibility of putting out another album with PAGE AND PLANT, his collaboration with ex-ZEP guitarist Jimmy Page, a reunion with the band's bass player, John Paul Jones, remains much more unlikely. "My relationship with 'Jonesy' is hampered by one misinterpreted word, and that was at the first press conference that Page and I did to go with the Unledded stuff," Plant told Times Online. "The first question to me was, 'Where's John Paul Jones?' I said, 'He's parking the car' — and that was it. No cards, no hellos. I apologized and went to one meeting and got on one knee as he was walking out, to tie my shoelace as well, and said, 'John, surely now we're way too old for this?' But he just sidestepped me and walked out. But I love him and want you to know, John, that if you have me back we can go back to the one card a year."

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I've just got to say I've always thought Peter Grant was speaking very tongue in cheek when he made the comment about Winchester Cathedral. If memory serves correct he

has also made comments to the effect of all John really wanted was to ease up on the touring and having had his say was quite content to stay in the band. Do you really

believe the prestigious Winchester Cathedral would hire a life long rock musician to hold such a prominent position in their church? I highly doubt it.

Whether the comment was tongue-in-cheek or not, I have absolutely no doubt that any establishment that needed an accomplished musician - religious or otherwise - would have no hestitation whatsoever in hiring Jonesy.

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It was probably the most hurtful thing that ever passed between any of the members.

I have to dispute this. The lack of support offered by Jonesy and JP to Robert after the death of his son was far more crucial to the interpersonal relationships of the band than Robert's "parking the car" comment.

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Whether the comment was tongue-in-cheek or not, I have absolutely no doubt that any establishment that needed an accomplished musician - religious or otherwise - would have no hestitation whatsoever in hiring Jonesy.

Also remember that JPJ was classically trained from the time he was born almost. He was an choirmaster by the age of 14 according to his website. He was arranging music for his entire life.

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Hopefully, in the future someone will interview Jones in depth and we could have more insight about him. He is so talented and yet so little is known about him.

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