Thursday Thirteen

In honour of Jimmy Page's birthday, today's T13 is all about the greatest guitarist of all time.

1. Born James Patrick Page on Jan 9th 1944, Heston, North London, Middlesex, UK.
2. His first guitar was a 1949 Gibson.
3. At age 14 he appeared on the Search For Stars talent quest programme on British TV.
4. The first band he was in was Red E Lewis and the Red Caps.
5. He played on the 1962 single "The Road to Love" by The Crusaders.
6. Became a regular session muso for Decca Records in 1963.
7. In 1964 he appeared on The Rolling Stones "Heart of Stone", Marianne Fathfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", The Kink's "You Really Got Me".
8. It's estimated that approximately 60% of all recorded rock music in the UK between 1963 and 1966 featured Jimmy Page somewhere in the mix.
9. Joined The Yardbirds in 1965, initially as bass player. but soon switched to electric guitar. The band featured the twin leads of Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.
10. The Yardbirds disintegrated in 1968 but Page stayed on as The New Yardbirds.
11. Page had worked with John Paul Jones (bass) previously and they soon recruited John Bonham (drums) and Robert Plant (vocals). A new name for the band was adopted - LED ZEPPELIN.
12. The greatest band the world has ever seen reigned supreme until the death of John Bonham in 1980. Blues, rock, folk, they did it all. Check out the soaring eastern-influenced Kashmir as an example of their mastery.
13. Not only did Jimmy Page play guitar (electric, acoustic, 6-string and 12-string) for Led Zeppelin, he also wrote most of the material (in conjunction with Robert Plant and also with the rest of the band), and also produced all the band's material.

 
 
 

T13