Guitarist Jimmy Page Looks Back at 50 Years of Led Zeppelin

CORONA, Calif. (AP)

Jimmy Page once painted a dragon, and used it to slay.
The guitar guru was so bursting with creative inspiration 50 years ago that he felt compelled to pick up a brush and use his skills from art school to take poster paints to his favorite instrument, a 1959 Fender Telecaster, and decorate it with a psychedelic beast.
He calls the axe "the Excalibur" that he wielded through the wildly eventful year of 1968, when his old band, the Yardbirds, crashed, and his new band, Led Zeppelin, was born just two months later.
"My whole life is moving so fast at that point," Page, now 74, said as he reflected on Led Zeppelin's 50th anniversary in an interview with The Associated Press at the Fender guitar factory in California. "Absolutely just a roller-coaster ride."
Page said he had Led Zeppelin's sound, and first songs, fully formed in his mind before the Yardbirds were even done.
"I just knew what way to go," Page said. "It was in my instinct."

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 12: Musician Jimmy Page speaks onstage at "An Evening With Jimmy Page And Chris Cornell In Conversation" at the Ace Hotel on November 12, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

He found his first ally in singer Robert Plant, whom he invited to his house to thumb through records and talk music.
Page said he used an unlikely bit of folkie inspiration — Joan Baez — to show Plant the sound he wanted, playing her recording of the song "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and telling him to emulate the way she sang the top line of the song. Zeppelin would put the tune on its first album.

British singer Robert Plant (L) holds hands raised high with British guitarist Jimmy Page during a Led Zeppelin reunion performance at Madison Square Garden in New-York on May 14, 1988. Led Zeppelin ended a marathon all-star concert celebrating 40 years of Atlantic Records from its early years pioneering rhythm and blues to present dayrock and pop music. / AFP PHOTO / Don EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 2: Robert Plant (L) and Jimmy Page of the band Led Zeppelin attend the Kennedy Center Honors reception at the White House on December 2, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Kennedy Center Honors recognized seven individuals - Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant - for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

Page still marvels at how fast the whole thing took off after Plant brought on drummer John Bonham and Page pulled in his friend John Paul Jones to play bass.
"The whole journey of Led Zeppelin and the rise of Led Zeppelin, each tour was just extraordinary, and the growth and the respect and love of the band, and the people that were flooding to see us," Page said.
The first record also included "Dazed and Confused," with Page famously using a violin bow on the dragon guitar, which he played on every electric song on the record.

British rock band Led Zeppelin, (left - right): John Paul Jones, John Bonham (1948 - 1980), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, pose in front of an their private airliner The Starship, 1973. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 09: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham and John Paul Jones attend premiere of "Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day" at Ziegfeld Theatre on October 9, 2012 in New York City. Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant along with Jason Bonham attend premiere of Celebration Day at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. Celebration Day captures their 2007 tribute concert for Atlantic Records Founder Ahmet Ertegun at London's O2 Arena. Film will be released worldwide on October 17, 2012 by Omniverse Vision on 1,500 screens in over 40 territories, it will then be available in multiple video and audio formats on November 19, 2012. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

The guitar had been a cherished gift that guitarist Jeff Beck had given Page to thank him for recommending Beck for a job in the Yardbirds, which had brought a handsome payday.
"He'd bought a Corvette Stingray, and came roaring up my driveway with it," Page remembered. "He said, 'This is yours.' I was absolutely thrilled to bits. It was given to me with so much affection."
Page said he made immediate and intense use of the instrument, and wanted to "consecrate" it, so he went at it with paints that were used at the time for psychedelic posters, and summoned the dragon.
Page later left the guitar behind at his home in England on an early U.S. tour with Led Zeppelin in 1969. He'd come to regret it.
When he returned, exhausted and abuzz, he found that a ceramicist friend who had been serving as his house-sitter had painted over the dragon in his own mosaic style as a "gift" for Page.
"It was a disaster," he said. Page angrily stripped off all the paint and he placed it in storage, where it sat for decades.

CLEVELAND - APRIL 04: (L-R) Musicians Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones attend the 24th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Hall on April 4, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Flash forward 50 years. Page was assembling a book for the band's anniversary, and the dragon guitar kept popping up in pictures.
Page felt that maybe it was time to bring the old beast back to life. He worked with a graphic artist who helped illustrate the book, using photos to repaint the guitar, and recreate its old look.
He loved the result so much that he approached Fender, guitar maker happily signed on to make an anniversary rendition for the public. The design will be unveiled in January.
"It's absolutely identical," Page said. "You wouldn't see any difference. If anything, the colors were just slightly richer."
Four different versions of the guitar will be released next year.
Along with the book, the instruments are a tribute to the band's 50-year legacy.
Asked what kind of gift one might get for his bandmates for such a milestone, Page said, "I might give them a paintbrush, and the body of a guitar, and see if they can do something with it."

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 12: Musician Jimmy Page speaks onstage at "An Evening With Jimmy Page And Chris Cornell In Conversation" at the Ace Hotel on November 12, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

© 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.