Jimmy Page

"And she's buying, a stairway, to heaven..." These iconic words were sung by Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, the 1970's English hard rock band. Jimmy Page founded Led Zeppelin as a way for him to express his musical capabilities as a guitarist after his previous band, The Yardbirds, broke up. James Patrick Page was born in 1944, in Heston, England. Page's first guitar was a Spanish guitar he received at the age of 15, ("Lowe, Donald."). Working as a session guitarist in England, he "played on 50 to 90 percent of the popular rock records made in England from 1963 to 1965," and therefore made a name of himself in England ("Led Zeppelin."). In 1966, Page was offered a position as bassist for a then-popular English band, The Yardbirds. He first refused, but accepted when invited again two years later to fill in for Eric Clapton, another guitarist who left to pursue a solo career. Page eventually switched to guitar, doubling with Jeff Beck, popularizing the double-guitar lineup. However, after a few hits, the band broke up. Page then decided to form the New Yardbirds to play the rest of The Yardbirds' concert dates that had been ignored amidst the chaos of the breakup. As such, Led Zeppelin was born. Jimmy Page then went on to inspire the rest of the world with music, and to make lasting music history with his guitar. Jimmy Page's unique style helped him change others with music, and his unparalleled innovation allowed him to inspire others with music.

Jimmy Page is a legendary guitarist and an idol to the rest of the world with his leading skills, displayed by Led Zeppelin's massive success. Led Zeppelin became exceptionally successful, as said by The Biography Channel Website: "Led Zeppelin soon [after their first album] developed a strong following. In addition to their recordings, Led Zeppelin stands tall as one of the most successful live acts of the 1970's," ("Jimmy Page."). Led Zeppelin's style was way ahead of the rock movement of the 1960's; with unique and never-before-heard tones dominating their entire repertoire of songs, the band dominated the musical industry of the day. No two albums on Led Zeppelin's discography contain the same style of songs, further demonstrating their musical prowess and creativity.  With Page as the primary songwriter for the band, it became innovators of a completely new genre of music: "Other bands used their blueprint to create various brands of heavy metal rock, but no one found as much variety in the genre as Led Zeppelin," ("Lowe, Donald."). When Jimmy Page started Led Zeppelin, his original plan was to infuse blues with psychedelic rock; the band eventually used that goal to create completely new sounds in music, effectively grandfathering the style of heavy metal rock. Their creation eventually led to the fame of other bands majoring in heavy metal, including Black Sabbath, Rush, Queen. Led Zeppelin, under the leadership of Jimmy Page, made musical history as the most famous rock band of the 70's to 80's, while inspiring many artists along the way.

Jimmy Page used his legendary and unique musical talents to inspire other musicians to work. When Led Zeppelin was first conceived, the band signed with Atlantic Records to produce albums. The contract gave the band considerable artistic freedom for a band so young, which lead to their myriad of variety with their songs, ("Lowe, Donald."). When the contract expired, they were able to use their own fame to create a record label of their own, Swan Song. Many bands signed to Led Zeppelin's new label, partially because of the band's status as major rock stars, hoping to receive a shot of being as famous as Led Zeppelin: "Signings to the label included Dave Edmunds, Bad Company, the Pretty Things, and Maggie Bell," ("Led Zeppelin."). Led Zeppelin was so successful that they were able to start their own music label, Swan Song. Other bands signed to Swan Song, hoping to achieve the same success as Led Zeppelin. The band used their own success as a way to help other bands get contracts that other major music labels would not give, just because they wanted to give everyone a chance. Jimmy Page, with Led Zeppelin, had the ability to inspire others with not only their own label, but their own pioneered style: "Originally a strictly blues-influenced band, Led Zeppelin added a heavy, louder style known later as hard rock or heavy metal. Other bands used their blueprint to create various brands of heavy metal rock, but no one found as much variety in the genre as Led Zeppelin," ("Lowe, Donald."). With Page's vision of blues-influenced rock melded in psychedelic rock of the day, the band created a new subgenre of rock music, known as heavy metal. Heavy metal became extremely popular, further demonstrating Jimmy Page's musical prowess and status as hero.

Leading and changing others while making change as well as being able to inspire them to follow in their own footsteps are both criteria for someone to be worth of the title "Hero," and Jimmy Page fits well into the both of them. This quote from Ayn Rand, Russian novelist, is an exact description of Page: "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve." Page does exactly just that: he makes legendary advances in music, meanwhile leading a pathway for others to follow. There were a myriad of choices as to what Jimmy Page could've done for a living instead of playing guitar, as the music business of the day was synonymous risky business. But he followed what he wanted to do inside his heart and enlisted others to help him. Not only was a band starting their own label rare in 1964 almost unheard of, they used the label as means to help others who had difficulty expressing their creativity. Jimmy Page is my biggest inspiration in music, with his astounding musical genius, unquestionable music talents, and unparalleled creativity. He was always criticized for being too radically different by the musical critics, from magazines, newspapers, etc., of the day, but he ignored his unpopularity with the critics and focused on his popularity with his encouraging fans, and he prospered as a genius. Being so radically different from other artists, Jimmy Page is still living proof that music has the potential to unite people to change, and brings the world together. Though Page's career with Led Zeppelin was met with criticism throughout, the world loved them and they kept playing music. In the words of Led Zeppelin, "A new day will dawn, for those who stand strong. And the forests will echo with laughter."

Works Cited

Cary, Christopher W., and Cary Christopher W. "Jimmy Page." Musicians And Composers Of  The Twentieth Century (2009): 1.Biography Reference Center. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

"Jimmy Page." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Mar 21 2013, 11:32             http://www.biography.com/people/jimmy-page-9542555.

"Led Zeppelin." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 23. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 216- 218. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

Lowe, Donald. "Page, Jimmy." Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990. Ed. Stephen Wasserstein, Ken Wachsberger, and Tanya Laplante. Vol. 2. Detroit: Schirmer Reference, 2004. 509-511. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

"Robert Plant." Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 56. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Biography In Context. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.