Jimmy Page on 50 years of Led Zeppelin
Guitarist Jimmy Page was so bursting with creative inspiration 50 years ago that he felt compelled to paint his favourite instrument, a 1959 Fender Telecaster, with a psychedelic dragon. He calls it “the Excalibur” that he wielded through the eventful year of 1968, when his old band, The Yardbirds, crashed, and his new band, Led Zeppelin, was born just two months later.
“My life was moving so fast at that point,” Page, now 74, said as he reflected on Led Zeppelin’s 50th anniversary in an interview.
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. It was in my instinct,” he said.
He found his first ally in singer Robert Plant, whom he invited to his house to talk music. 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... each tour was extraordinary, and the growth, respect and love of the band, and the people that were flooding to see us,” he said. The first record had Page famously using a violin bow on the dragon guitar.
The guitar had been a cherished gift from guitarist Jeff Beck. Page wanted to “consecrate” it, so he went at it with psychedelic paints, and summoned the dragon. He left the guitar behind at his home in England on an early US tour in 1969. When he returned, he found that a friend had painted it over in his style as a “gift” for Page.
“It was a disaster,” he said. Page angrily stripped off all the paint and it sat in storage for decades.
Flash forward 50 years. Page was assembling a book for the band’s anniversary, and the dragon guitar kept popping up in pictures. He 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 and recreate its old look.
He loved the result so much that he approached musical instruments’ manufacturer, Fender to make an anniversary rendition for the public. 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. AP
Money is not really a problem anymore. I know people who make videos for ₹80 lakh, and I also know kids who shoot MVs all by themselves.
RAFTAAR MUSICIAN