PAGE in HISTORY
BE BELONGS TO an exclusive group of guitarists who rose to prominence in the 1960s and became the leading influencers of modern music for decades to come. But Jimmy Page looks back on his nearly 60-year career with a simple appreciation for the fact that it happened at all.
“I’m just blessed to have had a life where I was able to make my living out of my passion,” Page says today. “Not only that, but to have been able to have made some important musical statements along the way in various genres, and to have made people happy and inspired people in the way that I was inspired. And that passes on the baton to the next generation.”
Reflection has been on Page’s mind quite a lot lately as he’s prepared a new book for publication. Titled Jimmy Page: The Anthology, the new tome from Genesis Publications finds the former Led Zeppelin guitarist delving into the iconic guitars, stage costumes, vinyl records and other mementos from his long career. The book is the follow-up to his Genesis book of 2010, a photographic autobiography that presented a visual history of his musical life.
In the same way, Jimmy Page: The Anthology is a personal journey through the objects and artifacts of one of rock music’s most important guitarists, narrated entirely in Page’s own words, and with contextual photography spanning six decades. Beyond the photos of Page and his various groups, photos of his guitars—including his “Dragon” Fender Telecaster and “Number One” Gibson Les Paul Standard—are what stand out. As Page notes, “I was seduced by the beauty of what a six-string instrument could do, whether it was acoustic or electric, and I was never happy to stay in one style for too long. I always wanted to challenge myself.”
As the book came toward its release date, we were fortunate to speak with Page about the book, his career and the insights that led him to lay the foundation for what became heavy metal. He was generous with his time and memories. As you’ll read in the following extensive interview conducted by contributing writer Ian Fortnam, Page touches on many aspects of his career, from his nascent interest in rock and roll to Led Zeppelin’s influential reign in the 1970s, with plenty of discussion along the way about guitars, production and the concepts that led him to forge the sound of heavy metal.
The first image in Anthology is a photograph of you singing in the choir at St. Barnabas Church in Epsom, presumably your first experience of public performance. Were you a willing chorister, or did you need coercion from your parents?
No, not at all from my parents, actually. I voluntarily went to the church and joined up with the choir. I was compelled to. One reason why I would do that is because, in those days, rock and roll appeared on the airwaves and then it was stamped on by the BBC, et cetera, so you would find ways to actually hear music. We were lucky in Epsom, because there was an external swimming baths, and it had an area where their were amusements—pinball machines and a jukebox. It was like a pilgrimage to the jukebox, but the big boys used to go there, and I was quite young at that point. The church had a youth club where there’d be a dance and they’d play records, but to be in the youth club, you had to be in the choir. And I enjoyed being a choirboy, actually. I really did.
And you got to wear the surplice []. It must have
