Biography
Jimmy Page stands among rock’s most pivotal and adaptable figures, having shaped guitar playing and songcraft across eras through his foundational role in Led Zeppelin. Guitarists spanning the late 1960s into the present absorbed his approach, whose towering riffs outlined the path later taken by heavy metal, even as he moved freely across folk, country, funk, blues, and further territories rather than confining himself to one idiom. He contributed to the writing or co-writing of Zeppelin’s catalog while also serving as producer on every release. Born January 9, 1944, in Heston, Middlesex, England, Page began playing guitar at thirteen after hearing Elvis Presley’s “Baby Let’s Play House,” taking a handful of lessons yet remaining largely self-taught. Opting against immediate university study, he joined Neil Christian & the Crusaders and toured England, only to be sidelined by glandular fever; during recovery he briefly considered abandoning music for painting and enrolled at an art college in Sutton, Surrey.
The gritty blues-rock of the early-1960s Rolling Stones reignited his musical drive, leading him to establish himself as one of England’s premier session guitarists and producers rather than forming a band at once. Though details of every date have grown unclear, confirmed credits include work with the Who, Them, Donovan, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones. In 1966 he stepped away from sessions to join the Yardbirds, first on bass and soon on guitar, sharing the stage with Jeff Beck. The band, initially rooted in blues-rock, began exploring psychedelic and hard-rock directions once Page entered the lineup. Despite evident decline—Beck departed shortly after Page arrived—Page appeared on Little Games and accompanying tours until the group disbanded in 1968. Honoring remaining European dates, he assembled the New Yardbirds with longtime session bassist John Paul Jones plus newcomers Robert Plant on vocals and John Bonham on drums; after that tour the quartet adopted the name Led Zeppelin and delved into the then-emerging realm of hard rock and heavy metal.
Between 1969 and 1975 the band issued Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti, yielding enduring radio staples such as “Dazed and Confused,” “Whole Lotta Love,” “Immigrant Song,” “Black Dog,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and “Kashmir,” while establishing itself as an essential live attraction. Page also collaborated with folk artist Roy Harper, notably on the 1971 album Stormcock under the alias S. Flavius Mercurius. By the mid-1970s Led Zeppelin ranked among the world’s dominant rock acts, launching its own label, Swan Song, yet Page’s growing heroin use and other substance issues culminated in full addiction by the late 1970s and early 1980s, impairing his playing. His deepening interest in the occult drew further concern, extending to the purchase of a Loch Ness mansion once owned by Aleister Crowley.
Further Zeppelin releases appeared into the early 1980s—The Song Remains the Same and Presence in 1976, In Through the Out Door in 1979—until the deaths of Plant’s young son in 1977 and Bonham from alcohol-related causes in 1980 ended the group’s run; Page withdrew from public view and largely set his instrument aside for an extended period. He resurfaced in 1982 with the Death Wish III soundtrack, the outtakes collection Coda, and participation in the A.R.M.S. tour alongside Beck and Eric Clapton to benefit multiple sclerosis research. In 1984 he contributed to the Honeydrippers’ hit EP of rock-and-roll oldies alongside Plant, Beck, and Nile Rodgers, then formed the Firm with former Free and Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers; the self-titled debut achieved solid sales, but the group dissolved after the less warmly received follow-up, Mean Business.
Zeppelin’s surviving members reunited with drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins for Live Aid at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium in July 1985, delivering an under-rehearsed performance; they reconvened in 1988 at Madison Square Garden for Atlantic Records’ twenty-fifth-anniversary concert, this time with Jason Bonham on drums, again producing a flawed set. That same year Page appeared on Plant’s Now & Zen and released his first solo album, Outrider, supporting it with a career-spanning tour. Further reunion speculation arose in the early 1990s; when Plant declined to participate, Page teamed with David Coverdale—whose voice had long drawn Plant comparisons—on the 1993 album Coverdale/Page, whose planned world tour was scaled back to a handful of Japanese dates. In 1994 Plant and Page resumed collaboration without Jones, resulting in the acoustic album No Quarter, a popular MTV Unplugged special, and a sold-out world tour. The following year Led Zeppelin entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Page’s second such honor after the Yardbirds’ 1992 induction. Plant and Page issued Walking into Clarksdale in 1998, yet the album quickly faded from view, and the pair parted ways by decade’s end. Page subsequently toured and recorded with the Black Crowes, releasing Live at the Greek in 2000; a planned follow-up tour ended prematurely after Page sustained a back injury. In June 2001 he joined Plant onstage to mark Roy Harper’s sixtieth birthday.
Page received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for charitable work and, with the rest of Led Zeppelin, entered the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2006. A one-off charity performance reuniting the surviving members with Jason Bonham took place at London’s O2 Arena in 2007. In 2008 he appeared in and co-produced the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud, which also featured Jack White and U2’s the Edge. In 2012 Page, Plant, and Jones accepted the Kennedy Center Honors from President Barack Obama amid reunion speculation tied to upcoming deluxe reissues of the band’s first three studio albums. By 2014 those rumors had largely subsided, and Page announced plans to assemble a band for his first solo tour since 1988.
The gritty blues-rock of the early-1960s Rolling Stones reignited his musical drive, leading him to establish himself as one of England’s premier session guitarists and producers rather than forming a band at once. Though details of every date have grown unclear, confirmed credits include work with the Who, Them, Donovan, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones. In 1966 he stepped away from sessions to join the Yardbirds, first on bass and soon on guitar, sharing the stage with Jeff Beck. The band, initially rooted in blues-rock, began exploring psychedelic and hard-rock directions once Page entered the lineup. Despite evident decline—Beck departed shortly after Page arrived—Page appeared on Little Games and accompanying tours until the group disbanded in 1968. Honoring remaining European dates, he assembled the New Yardbirds with longtime session bassist John Paul Jones plus newcomers Robert Plant on vocals and John Bonham on drums; after that tour the quartet adopted the name Led Zeppelin and delved into the then-emerging realm of hard rock and heavy metal.
Between 1969 and 1975 the band issued Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti, yielding enduring radio staples such as “Dazed and Confused,” “Whole Lotta Love,” “Immigrant Song,” “Black Dog,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and “Kashmir,” while establishing itself as an essential live attraction. Page also collaborated with folk artist Roy Harper, notably on the 1971 album Stormcock under the alias S. Flavius Mercurius. By the mid-1970s Led Zeppelin ranked among the world’s dominant rock acts, launching its own label, Swan Song, yet Page’s growing heroin use and other substance issues culminated in full addiction by the late 1970s and early 1980s, impairing his playing. His deepening interest in the occult drew further concern, extending to the purchase of a Loch Ness mansion once owned by Aleister Crowley.
Further Zeppelin releases appeared into the early 1980s—The Song Remains the Same and Presence in 1976, In Through the Out Door in 1979—until the deaths of Plant’s young son in 1977 and Bonham from alcohol-related causes in 1980 ended the group’s run; Page withdrew from public view and largely set his instrument aside for an extended period. He resurfaced in 1982 with the Death Wish III soundtrack, the outtakes collection Coda, and participation in the A.R.M.S. tour alongside Beck and Eric Clapton to benefit multiple sclerosis research. In 1984 he contributed to the Honeydrippers’ hit EP of rock-and-roll oldies alongside Plant, Beck, and Nile Rodgers, then formed the Firm with former Free and Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers; the self-titled debut achieved solid sales, but the group dissolved after the less warmly received follow-up, Mean Business.
Zeppelin’s surviving members reunited with drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins for Live Aid at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium in July 1985, delivering an under-rehearsed performance; they reconvened in 1988 at Madison Square Garden for Atlantic Records’ twenty-fifth-anniversary concert, this time with Jason Bonham on drums, again producing a flawed set. That same year Page appeared on Plant’s Now & Zen and released his first solo album, Outrider, supporting it with a career-spanning tour. Further reunion speculation arose in the early 1990s; when Plant declined to participate, Page teamed with David Coverdale—whose voice had long drawn Plant comparisons—on the 1993 album Coverdale/Page, whose planned world tour was scaled back to a handful of Japanese dates. In 1994 Plant and Page resumed collaboration without Jones, resulting in the acoustic album No Quarter, a popular MTV Unplugged special, and a sold-out world tour. The following year Led Zeppelin entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Page’s second such honor after the Yardbirds’ 1992 induction. Plant and Page issued Walking into Clarksdale in 1998, yet the album quickly faded from view, and the pair parted ways by decade’s end. Page subsequently toured and recorded with the Black Crowes, releasing Live at the Greek in 2000; a planned follow-up tour ended prematurely after Page sustained a back injury. In June 2001 he joined Plant onstage to mark Roy Harper’s sixtieth birthday.
Page received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for charitable work and, with the rest of Led Zeppelin, entered the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2006. A one-off charity performance reuniting the surviving members with Jason Bonham took place at London’s O2 Arena in 2007. In 2008 he appeared in and co-produced the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud, which also featured Jack White and U2’s the Edge. In 2012 Page, Plant, and Jones accepted the Kennedy Center Honors from President Barack Obama amid reunion speculation tied to upcoming deluxe reissues of the band’s first three studio albums. By 2014 those rumors had largely subsided, and Page announced plans to assemble a band for his first solo tour since 1988.
Albums
Love Never Fails
2015
The Very Best of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham
2012
Think It Over - EP
2011
Rock and Roll Highway
2011
No Introduction Necessary [Deluxe Edition]
2002
Outrider
1988
She Just Satisfies/Keep Moving
1965
Live
