Jimmy Page: How His Guitar Playing Improved Because of Led Zeppelin

Jimmy Page became a talented guitar player at a young age. He played in a touring band (albeit relatively local gigs), morphed into a renowned session guitarist, and later became a force with the Yardbirds. Still, Page said his guitar playing improved because of his Led Zeppelin bandmates.

Jimmy Page’s guitar playing improved to match his Led Zeppelin bandmates

Page formed some close friendships while playing the Yardbirds. He and eventual bassist Chris Dreja remained tight when the band splintered. (Dreja took the back cover photo on Led Zeppelin I). 

The genial Page probably didn’t mean to throw his Yardbirds bandmates under the bus when he said his guitar playing improved when he formed Led Zeppelin. But that was the subtext when Page described how and why his guitar playing rose to the next level (per Light & Shade author Brad Tolinski):

“[M]y playing was also improving, and it was developing around the band. I didn’t play any of this stuff when I was doing studio work or even in the Yardbirds. I was just inspired with this energy that we had collectively. I don’t think there was any way to look backward.”

Jimmy Page

Page’s words spoke specifically of the band’s work on the Led Zeppelin III standout “Since I’ve Been Loving You.” The song has one of Page’s best guitar solos, but the entire band worked in unison to achieve a monumental high point. Robert Plant’s vocals handle both the quiet and more anthemic moments, and drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones (who also plays keys on the song) sit back and let the slow blues tune unfold. It was the toughest Led Zeppelin III song to record, and every band member delivered.

“With ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You,’ we were setting the scene of something that was yet to come. It was meant to push the envelope,” Page told Tolinksi. “We were playing in the spirit of blues but trying to take it into new dimensions dictated by the mass consciousness of the four players involved. It’s sort of, ‘Well, this is how it was done in the past, but it now has to move.’ It’s got to keep moving. There’s no point in looking back. You’ve got to keep moving onwards.”

Page and his bandmates pushed the envelope throughout their career

Page’s plan for Led Zeppelin I was to capture listeners’ attention right away. The opening song, “Good Times Bad Times,” more than delivered. Page also showcased his developing guitar playing on the album.

Take “Dazed and Confused.” As Guitar World correctly notes, the guitarist copied large swaths of his solo from the Yardbirds’ B-side “Think About It” for “Dazed and Confused.” Yet his solo on the Led Zeppelin song is miles beyond because he had to keep up with Jones’ galloping bass and Bonham’s pulverizing playing.

Most Led Zeppelin albums had at least one song that moved the goalposts for the band specifically and music in general. 

“Whole Lotta Love” and its experimental psychedelic section from Led Zeppelin II. “Since I’ve Been Loving You” from III. “Stairway to Heaven” and “Four Sticks” from IV. Physical Graffiti’s “In My Time of Dying,” “Kashmir,” and “Ten Years Gone.” Epic Presence opener “Achilles Last Stand.” 

Jimmy Page said his guitar playing improved with Led Zeppelin because he had to keep up with his bandmates. His comment pertained to “Since I’ve Been Loving You” specifically, but the band’s output proves that notion proliferated throughout their career.

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