James Patrick Page was born on 9 January 1944 and is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin.
102 Facts About Jimmy Page
2.
Jimmy Page's style involves various alternative guitar tunings and melodic solos, coupled with aggressive, distorted guitar tones.
3.
Jimmy Page is noted for occasionally playing his guitar with a cello bow to create a droning sound texture to the music.
4.
Jimmy Page began his career as a studio session musician in London and, by the mid-1960s, alongside Big Jim Sullivan, was one of the most sought-after session guitarists in Britain.
5.
Jimmy Page was a member of the Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968.
6.
Since 2000, Jimmy Page has participated in various guest performances with many artists, both live and in studio recordings, and participated in a one-off Led Zeppelin reunion in 2007 that was released as the 2012 concert film Celebration Day.
7.
Jimmy Page is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time.
8.
Jimmy Page was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once as a member of the Yardbirds and once as a member of Led Zeppelin.
9.
Jimmy Page was born to James Patrick Jimmy Page and Patricia Elizabeth Gaffikin in the west London suburb of Heston on 9 January 1944.
10.
Jimmy Page's father was a personnel manager at a plastic-coatings plant and his mother, who was of Irish descent, was a doctor's secretary.
11.
Jimmy Page was educated from the age of eight at Epsom County Pound Lane Primary School, and when he was eleven he went to Ewell County Secondary School in West Ewell.
12.
Presley's song "Baby Let's Play House" is cited by Jimmy Page as being his inspiration to take up the guitar, and he would reprise Moore's playing on the song in the live version of "Whole Lotta Love" on The Song Remains the Same.
13.
Jimmy Page appeared on BBC1 in 1957 with a Hofner President acoustic, which he'd bought from money saved up from his milk round in the summer holidays and which had a pickup so it could be amplified, but his first solid-bodied electric guitar was a second-hand 1959 Futurama Grazioso, later replaced by a Fender Telecaster, a model he had seen Buddy Holly playing on the TV and a real-life example of which he'd played at an electronics exhibition at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.
14.
At the age of 13, Jimmy Page appeared on Huw Wheldon's All Your Own talent quest programme in a skiffle quartet, one performance of which aired on BBC1 in 1957.
15.
Jimmy Page had difficulty finding other musicians with whom he could play on a regular basis.
16.
Jimmy Page was mainly called into sessions as "insurance" in instances when a replacement or second guitarist was required by the recording artist.
17.
Jimmy Page was the favoured session guitarist of record producer Shel Talmy.
18.
Jimmy Page played rhythm guitar on the sessions for the Who's first single "I Can't Explain".
19.
Also in 1965, Jimmy Page produced one of Dana Gillespie's early singles, "Thank You Boy".
20.
Jimmy Page formed a brief songwriting partnership with then romantic interest Jackie DeShannon.
21.
Jimmy Page composed and recorded songs for the John Williams album The Maureeny Wishful Album with Big Jim Sullivan.
22.
Jimmy Page worked as session musician on Donovan Leitch's Sunshine Superman, on Engelbert Humperdinck's Release Me, the Johnny Hallyday albums Jeune homme and Je suis ne dans la rue, the Al Stewart album Love Chronicles and played guitar on five tracks of Joe Cocker's debut album, With a Little Help from My Friends.
23.
Jimmy Page recorded with Keith Richards on guitar and vocals in Olympic Sound Studios on 15 October 1974.
24.
Jimmy Page took the tapes to Switzerland and someone found out about them.
25.
Jimmy Page left studio work when the increasing influence of Stax Records on popular music led to the greater incorporation of brass and orchestral arrangements into recordings at the expense of guitars.
26.
Jimmy Page stated that his time as a session player served as extremely good schooling:.
27.
In late 1964, Jimmy Page was approached about the possibility of replacing Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, but he declined out of loyalty to his friend.
28.
In February 1965, Clapton quit the Yardbirds and Jimmy Page was formally offered his spot, but unwilling to give up his lucrative career as a session musician and worried about his health under touring conditions, he suggested his friend Jeff Beck.
29.
On 16 May 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios.
30.
Jimmy Page offered to replace Samwell-Smith, and this was accepted by the group.
31.
Jimmy Page initially played electric bass with the Yardbirds before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass.
32.
Jimmy Page explained that he had a very specific idea in mind as to what he wanted Led Zeppelin to be, from the very beginning:.
33.
Jimmy Page initially refused to touch a guitar, grieving for his friend.
34.
Jimmy Page made a return to the stage at a Jeff Beck show in March 1981 at the Hammersmith Odeon.
35.
Also in 1981, Jimmy Page joined with Yes bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White to form a supergroup called XYZ.
36.
Jimmy Page joined Yes on stage in 1984 at Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany, playing "I'm Down".
37.
In 1982, Jimmy Page collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the Death Wish II soundtrack.
38.
On 13 December 1983, Jimmy Page joined Plant on stage for one encore at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.
39.
Also in 1984, Jimmy Page recorded with Plant as the Honeydrippers the album The Honeydrippers: Volume 1 and with John Paul Jones on the film soundtrack Scream for Help.
40.
Jimmy Page subsequently collaborated with Rodgers on two albums under the name The Firm.
41.
In 1986, Jimmy Page reunited temporarily with his former Yardbirds bandmates to play on several tracks of the Box of Frogs album Strange Land.
42.
Jimmy Page released a solo album entitled Outrider in 1988, which featured contributions from Plant, with Jimmy Page contributing in turn to Plant's solo album Now and Zen, which was released the same year.
43.
However, the band members considered this performance to be sub-standard, with Jimmy Page having been let down by a poorly tuned Les Paul.
44.
Jimmy Page performed with the band's former members at Jason Bonham's wedding.
45.
Jimmy Page was heavily involved in remastering the Led Zeppelin catalogue.
46.
Jimmy Page participated in various charity concerts and charity work, particularly the Action for Brazil's Children Trust, founded by his wife Jimena Gomez-Paratcha in 1998.
47.
In 2001, after guesting with Fred Durst and Wes Scantlin's performance of "Thank You" at the MTV Europe Video Music Awards, Jimmy Page continued his collaboration with Robert Plant.
48.
In 2005, Jimmy Page was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his Brazilian charity work for Task Brazil and Action For Brazil's Children's Trust, made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro later that year and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award with Led Zeppelin.
49.
In 2008, Jimmy Page co-produced a documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim entitled It Might Get Loud.
50.
Jimmy Page participated in the three-part BBC documentary London Calling: The making of the Olympic handover ceremony on 4 March 2009.
51.
On 4 April 2009, Jimmy Page inducted Jeff Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
52.
Jimmy Page announced his 2010 solo tour while talking to Sky News on 16 December 2009.
53.
In January 2010, Jimmy Page announced an autobiography published by Genesis Publications, in a hand-crafted, limited edition of 2,150 copies.
54.
Jimmy Page was honoured with a first-ever Global Peace Award by the United Nations' Pathways to Peace organisation after confirming reports that he would be among the headliners at a planned Show of Peace Concert in Beijing, on 10 October 2010.
55.
On 3 June 2011, Jimmy Page played with Donovan at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
56.
Jimmy Page made an unannounced appearance with The Black Crowes at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on 13 July 2011.
57.
Jimmy Page played alongside Roy Harper at Harper's 70th-birthday celebratory concert, in London's Royal Festival Hall on 5 November 2011.
58.
In November 2011, British Conservative MP Louise Mensch launched a campaign to have Jimmy Page knighted for his contributions to the music industry.
59.
In 2013, Jimmy Page was awarded a Grammy Award "Best Rock Album" for Celebration Day.
60.
In May 2014, Jimmy Page was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
61.
In December 2015, Jimmy Page was featured in the two-hour long BBC Radio 2 programme Johnny Walker Meets, in conversation with DJ Johnny Walker.
62.
In October 2017, Jimmy Page spoke at the Oxford Union about his career in music.
63.
Jimmy Page is among the people interviewed for the documentary film If These Walls Could Sing directed by Mary McCartney about the recording studios at Abbey Road.
64.
Jimmy Page is widely considered, by both musical peers and guitarists, one of the greatest and most influential guitarists.
65.
Guitarists influenced by Jimmy Page include Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley, Joe Satriani, John Frusciante, Kirk Hammett, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Slash, Dave Mustaine, Mick Mars, Alex Lifeson, Steve Vai, Dan Hawkins, and Char, among others.
66.
Jimmy Page used a Danelectro 3021, tuned to DADGAD, most notably on live performances of "Kashmir".
67.
Jimmy Page plays his guitar with a cello bow, as on the live versions of the songs "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times".
68.
On MTV's Led Zeppelin Rockumentary, Jimmy Page said that he obtained the idea of playing the guitar with a bow from David McCallum, Sr.
69.
Jimmy Page used his Fender Telecaster and later his Gibson Les Paul for his bow solos.
70.
Jimmy Page frequently employed a scaled-down version of the Theremin known as the Sonic Wave, first using the instrument during live performances with the Yardbirds.
71.
Jimmy Page owns two hurdy-gurdies, and is shown playing one of the instruments in the 1976 film The Song Remains the Same.
72.
The second hurdy-gurdy owned by Jimmy Page was produced by Christopher Eaton, father of renowned English hurdy-gurdist Nigel Eaton.
73.
Jimmy Page usually recorded in studio with assorted amplifiers by Vox, Axis, Fender and Orange amplification.
74.
Jimmy Page used a limited number of effects, including a Maestro Echoplex, a Dunlop Cry Baby, an MXR Phase 90, a Vox Cry Baby Wah, a Boss CE-2 Chorus, a Yamaha CH-10Mk II Chorus, a Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional Mk II, an MXR Blue Box and a DigiTech Whammy.
75.
Jimmy Page is credited for the innovations in sound recording he brought to the studio during the years he was a member of Led Zeppelin, many of which he initially developed as a session musician:.
76.
Jimmy Page developed a reputation for employing effects in new ways and trying out different methods of using microphones and amplification.
77.
Jimmy Page has stated that, as producer, he deliberately changed the audio engineers on Led Zeppelin albums, from Glyn Johns for the first album, to Eddie Kramer for Led Zeppelin II, to Andy Johns for Led Zeppelin III and later albums.
78.
Jimmy Page uses a really small amplifier and he just mikes it up really well, so that it fits into a sonic picture.
79.
Jimmy Page was with American recording artist Jackie DeShannon during the 1960s, who is cited as a possible inspiration for the Jimmy Page composition and Led Zeppelin recording "Tangerine".
80.
Also during the 1970s, Jimmy Page had a well-documented, one-year-long "relationship" with "baby groupie" Lori Mattix, beginning when she was 14 or 15 and while he was an adult of 28.
81.
From 1986 to 1995, Jimmy Page was married to Patricia Ecker, a model and waitress.
82.
Jimmy Page later married Jimena Gomez-Paratcha, whom he met in Brazil on the No Quarter tour.
83.
Jimmy Page has been in a relationship with actress and poet Scarlett Sabet since August 2014.
84.
In 1967, when Jimmy Page was still with The Yardbirds, he purchased the Thames Boathouse on the River Thames in Pangbourne, Berkshire and resided there until 1973.
85.
In 1972, Jimmy Page bought the Tower House from Richard Harris.
86.
From 1980 to 2004 Jimmy Page owned the Mill House, Mill Lane, Windsor, which was formerly the home of actor Michael Caine.
87.
Jimmy Page previously owned Plumpton Place in Sussex, formerly owned by Edward Hudson, the owner of Country Life magazine and with certain parts of the house designed by Edwin Lutyens.
88.
Jimmy Page has acknowledged heavy recreational drug use throughout the 1970s.
89.
In 1975, Jimmy Page began to use heroin, according to Richard Cole.
90.
Cole claims that he and Jimmy Page took the drug during the recording sessions of the album Presence, and Jimmy Page admitted shortly afterward that he was addicted to the drug.
91.
Jimmy Page reportedly overcame his heroin habit in the early 1980s, although he was arrested for possession of cocaine in both 1982 and 1984.
92.
Jimmy Page was given a 12-month conditional discharge in 1982 and, despite a second offence usually carrying a jail sentence, he was only fined.
93.
Jimmy Page published two books: a facsimile of Crowley's 1904 edition of The Goetia and Astrology, A Cosmic Science by Isabel Hickey.
94.
Jimmy Page has maintained a strong interest in Crowley for many years.
95.
Jimmy Page was like an eye to the world, into the forthcoming situation.
96.
Jimmy Page was commissioned to write the soundtrack music for the film Lucifer Rising by Crowley admirer and underground movie director Kenneth Anger.
97.
Jimmy Page ultimately produced 23 minutes of music, which Anger felt was insufficient because the film ran for 28 minutes and Anger wanted the film to have a full soundtrack.
98.
Anger claimed Jimmy Page took three years to deliver the music and the final product was only 23 minutes of "droning".
99.
Jimmy Page countered that he had fulfilled all his obligations, even going so far as to lend Anger his own film editing equipment to help him finish the project.
100.
Jimmy Page released the Lucifer Rising music on vinyl in 2012 via his website on "Lucifer Rising and other sound tracks".
101.
The Equinox Bookstore and Boleskine House were both sold off during the 1980s, as Jimmy Page settled into family life and participated in charity work.
102.
Early in his career, Jimmy Page played on a number of recordings by British rock and pop artists as a session guitarist.