MICK TAYLOR:ONCE A STONE

 (updated:May 6,2013;see update at the bottom of the article)

 We all knew that Brian Jones had founded the Stones,given its name and direction in the sixties.When he was booted from the band he himself had formed,many were considering him as the adamant fella who would soon form another band after feuding with Jagger and Richards for ages.But tragedy struck by then,he was found dead in his swimming pool,he was only 27.

1969 seems to be an odd year that most of these great bands were in their breakup phase--sort of.The Beatles had their own breakup phase due to business problems and personal conflicts between John,Paul,George and Ringo in which Paul would make it official a year later.The Monkees were finished by then and Davy Jones is enjoying his solo career.Even the Bee Gees had their breakup phase during this period of time,with Robin Gibb going solo after his much publicized rift with his own brothers Barry and Maurice.And some other bands like Lovin Spoonful with John Sebastian making his first solo appearance in Woodstock.

Many people would say and agree that Brian Jones is indeed irreplaceable but the Stones had other plans in this difficult time of their career.A new decade was coming and its time to switch gears.One cannot imagine what Mick Jagger and Keith Richards might have done or accomplished if the Stones decided to breakup at the end of the sixties like their contemporaries did.But again,they didn't,instead they replaced Brian with somewhat a guitarist with awesome blues riffing and impeccable style that guided the band's sound from 1969 to the first half of the 1970s.

A GUY NAMED "MICK"

 Mick Taylor isn't to be confused with Mick Jagger,though both of them share the same names,Michael Kevin Taylor was born January 17,1949   in Hertfordshire,England and was six years junior compared to Mick Jagger's(whose real name is Michael Philip Jagger) age.Taylor learned to play the guitar at the age of nine and was active in school bands during his teens.He met John Mayall at age 16 and joined the Bluesbreakers onstage during Eric Clapton's absence in 1965.Mayall,who was heavily impressed by Taylor,later invited him to join the band as an official member after Peter Green(who would later form Fleetwood Mac) had left.

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers became a nursery for Taylor,musically.Like his predecessors before him,Eric Clapton and Peter Green.He got better and better,playing with the group for three consecutive years,from 1966 to 1969.

In 1969,when Brian Jones was booted from the Stones,Mick Taylor was recommended to Jagger by Mayall himself.With Mick and Keith impressed by Taylor's riffs,they immediately put him to work during the Let It Bleed sessions,with some unfinished tracks Jones had left behind,Taylor laid down these beautiful licks on songs such as "Country Honk" and "Live With Me". One of his memorable riffs was the Stones' 1969 single "Honky Tonk Women" where he played a beautiful blues melody alongside Keith Richards,giving a new musical direction and style to the late sixties-era Rolling Stones.

Though Let It Bleed is considered to be the Stones' album during its transitional phase,it wasn't until July 5 of that year that Taylor would make his first public appearance with the band.The Hyde Park concert was considered to be the Stones' concert for Brian.Brian Jones,who died two days earlier,drowned in his swimming pool.The event was a farewell tribute to the man who founded the Rolling Stones,given its name and direction.Jagger was noted at the time for his white transvestite outfit,he took time to tell the audience to cool off for a minute as he reads the lines of a poem giving tribute to their departed leader and founder.

ON WITH THE STONES

The Rolling Stones toured to great acclaim with Mick Taylor on guitar and was hailed by many as one of the great times the band has ever had on their 50 year career.

 Taylor played on four other Rolling Stones albums:Sticky Fingers(1971);Exile On Main St.(1972);Goats Head Soup(1973); and Its Only Rock N' Roll(1974). He defined the Stones' sound of the early 1970s,playing those cool riffs inspired by both jazz and blues.

(photos:left:Honky Tonk Women single sleeve;below right:Sticky Fingers album cover;below left:Exile On Main St album cover)

PROBLEMS WITH THE BAND

Mick Taylor's departure in 1974 was shrouded with mystery as to what might have been his reason why he suddenly left the group.

One reason being pointed out was the songwriting credits Taylor was claiming to have written with Mick Jagger in which the latter never gave him.Second was the group's bad influence on him which took toll in 1974.It was said that Mick Taylor didn't even smoke before he met the Stones,and he became a heroin addict after joining the band.Years later,it was said that he sneered on John Phillips when the latter invited him to play as a session musician on his solo album.It was said that he first snubbed and declined Phillips' offer as he was still battling his drug addiction that he didn't touch his guitar for about a year.Though Taylor played later on with John Phillips alongside his former bandmates in the Stones,but the album wasn't released until 2001.

Another reason being cited was Taylor's feud with none other than Keith Richards himself.Richards was later said to be yelling at Taylor in the studio in which any person wont take kindly.In one of his recent interviews made in 2009,he admitted that the Stones nearly broke up and that he was arguing with them all the time with him pointing out to Keith Richards' massive addiction in 1972 and 1973.Perhaps Keith was jealous at Mick Taylor and feeling he was kinda overshadowed by his presence.

(photo:The Rolling Stones with Mick Taylor,second from left)

RUMORED POLITICS BEHIND TAYLOR'S DEPARTURE

Another rumor at the time was pointing to the fact that both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards did forced Mick Taylor out of the band so that they could get their friend Ron Wood into the group as the Faces were in their breakup phase during that period of time.Though nobody has actually proven this accusation with Mick and Keith strongly denying this saying that they were upset about Taylor leaving,it remains one of the many speculations on what would have been the reason of Mick Taylor quitting the Rolling Stones.

His replacement Ron Wood,however,was less of an acclaimed guitarist compared to his accomplishments with the group.

GOING SOLO

Mick Taylor had indeed left the band in 1974,he was to pursue a solo career.One album,self-titled Mick Taylor was released in 1979.Though the LP has been praised by the music press and blues fans alike,it didn't fare well commercially perhaps due to the advent of disco music at the time.

Mick Taylor later went bankrupt,playing in small bars and touring with a group of musician friends in a small van.He was said to have refused playing songs by the Stones.One spectator later noted that Taylor would put his show to a halt everytime somebody from the audience would request a Rolling Stones song.He would walk off and wont finish his set.Perhaps the wounds of his past was still fresh that he chose not to live with it.

Taylor later collaborated with other artists such as Bob Dylan and his former Stones bandmates,playing on Keith Richards solo album in 1988.He also played and toured with Bill Wyman who also left the band in 1993.

In 2009,a British newspaper revealed Taylor's condition wherein he was broke as a joke and admitted he was no longer receiving royalties from the Stones.Taylor later pointed out his former band's change of recording contract as the reason the payments had stopped.He even mentioned his drug problems as the main reason he was flat broke as he was financing his addiction when the money was still in his hands.He would go on tour with a group of friends playing gigs at small bars to be able to pay his electric and water bills.

LEGACY

With the Rolling Stones 50th anniversary it was rumored that Taylor would take part on this important occasion.Joining his former band would be one of the best things that would ever happen in the history of rock music.

Mick Taylor's career with the band might have been short.But listening to songs like "Honky Tonk Women","Bitch" and "Brown Sugar" will make a kid  pick up a guitar today and form his own band.

Mick Taylor was never a showman and will be remembered as the guy who played those awesome riffs from our generation to the next.With hopeful fans crossing their fingers of seeing him joining his band once again perhaps for the last time.The guy with the colossal riffs but with a quiet,humble and down to-earth persona,Mick Taylor,the man who was once a Stone.

Update: Mick Taylor joins his former bandmates in the Rolling Stones see link here

KEITH RICHARDS:The riffing guv'nor

The Rolling Stones were rocking since 1962,and with the band's longevity,spanning five decades of  blues and rock,the Stones hasn't seen by fans any sign that they would ever stop.Touring to great acclaim over the last 50 years,they showed their fans that they wont ever slow down,not this time.

But  didn't you know that the Stones had nearly cease to exist? Back in 1977,their backbone Keith Richards was about to be convicted in Toronto for smuggling a couple ounces of smack,and other band members like bass player Bill Wyman was muttering about leaving."Could this be the last time?" published one newspaper,but luckily for Keith,he was set free,but not so fast,he had to do a charity concert for the blind.

Keith Richards or "Keef" as many Stones fans called him was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones-as they proclaim themselves the greatest rock n' roll band in the world.While their friends and contemporary the Beatles had broken up in 1970,the Rolling Stones got meaner and meaner and was playing under the fiery wings of "Bitch","Sympathy For The Devil" and "Honky Tonk Women" with the latter song having been hailed as one of the finest riffs by Richards along with their guitarist at the time Mick Taylor,who replaced Brian Jones in 1969.

Richards was born in Dartford,Kent on December 18,1943 and was already friends with Mick Jagger since their childhood.They later met a chap called Brian Jones who was then forming a band and eventually named it the Rolling Stones after one Muddy Waters song "Rollin' Stone Blues".And the rest as they say it,is history.Having started to get their own gig in 1962,the Stones were known for its longevity releasing new albums and writing new materials since then,though the band had started performing blues covers before starting to write their own material.But as I mentioned before,the Stones had their own ups and downs as the band nearly as I say cease to exist.Aside from the late seventies fiasco of Richards,there was an early eighties fallout between him and his songwriting partner/bandmate--lead singer Mick Jagger.There was  a heavy vibe at the time that the Rolling Stones would disband after nearly twenty years of touring and recording as Richards and Jagger went their own separate ways and started making their own solo albums.Jagger and Richards eventually made up and the Stones continued to release new albums in the late eighties,the nineties and beyond.

The Jagger and Richards partnership was considered to be Lennon and McCartney's counterpart in the Rolling Stones.Both bands have been rumored about their so-called "rivalry" though both groups were very good friends and has remained respectful of each others achievements.Encouraged by their manager,Andrew Loog Oldham in the sixties to write their own material,the Stones back then were doing blues covers,Mick and Keith considered of having their childhood friendship rekindled and thus produced a couple of songs that were considered to be the earliest Rolling Stones signature in the 1960s.They even used the pseudonym The Glimmer Twins in producing a number of catalogues under the Stones' name.

Keith Richards alone wasn't spared by controversy and was still making headlines just as recently.In 2007,he claimed he snorted his father's ashes in which a few rock fans didn't took kindly.As a result,a spokesman from his management was forced to apologize in his behalf saying that Keith was only joking about snorting his dad's cremated remains.

(photo:Keith Richards at Oakland Coliseum,1978)


Keith Richards' drug taking wasn't a secret,his was uniquely advanced that a few lesser mortals were prematurely extinguished,like Gram Parsons,for instance,who was a close friend and would often hang out with Richards' at his home in the early seventies before he died of a drug overdose a year later.Parsons,who became a member the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers,was a heavy doper like Keith himself.On the other hand,Richards who started off with the Stones in the early sixties with a cherubic face and then gradually,as drugs puts it,his cheek became hollow and as the Stones got meaner,was applying mascara and eye shadows with Jagger perhaps to maximize the band's appeal in the seventies.

With the main man's heavy doping,smoking and drinking,one would describe his face nowadays as to somewhat a rough painting on canvass.Other publications would describe the latter day Richards as the Stones' cadaverous guitarist.But a heavy doper he may be,he outlived them all,and he has never admitted having a problem with drugs--only with authorities.Rumor has it,that he never sleeps and that he couldn't remember the seventies,any of it.Well we always hear the words "If you can remember the sixties,then you were not there."Perhaps Richards had so many busts from the late sixties up to the next decade wherein authorities were less lenient to the so-called bad boys of rock.

 (photo:Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg)

Keith Richards,who was describe by fellow guitarist and contemporary Jeff Beck as the "guv'nor"(governor) of guitar riffs perhaps,he played the opening riff on "Start Me Up" with the first string missing.Discovered by accident,he is the only guitar player known to play the riff in absolute perfection using only five strings with the first one taken off.

(photo left:Anita Pallenberg)

Like other rock stars,Keith Richards has also entertained hordes of groupies along with Jagger.Groupies-girls whose prime goal was to have sex with their idols.He was also famous for stealing the girlfriend of his friend/bandmate Brian Jones.Anita Pallenberg,is a German model,she and the Stones had crossed paths and admitted to have been attracted to Jones coz he was the only one who ever talked to her when she first met the band.Brian Jones can even speak a little German,her native lingo.Jones and Pallenberg became lovers and were living together until Richards came in between them.Thus the rift between Jones and the Jagger-Richards axis took for the worst which led to the departure of Brian in early 1969.Brian Jones-who is the leader and founder of the Rolling Stones,died in July 3 of that year when he drowned in his home pool,he was only 27 years old.

Jones' former girlfriend,Anita Pallenberg,has set a home with Richards and has claimed of sleeping with all the members of the band.Rumored as a witch,she had a wild fling with Mick Jagger as well.It was alleged that actor James Fox who co-starred with both Jagger and Pallenberg in the film Performance was shocked to find them making love in the film's dressing room.Pallenberg was the girl who other people have described that "rolled from Stone to Stone".She became Keith's partner,as well as a partner in crime sharing with his own wicked ways.

Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg's romance slowly turned sour as Anita was flirting with other men even while she was still with Keith.Their union was finished when one of Anita's young lovers,a teenage boy by the name of Scott Cantrell shot himself in the head at the New York home she shared with Richards.

 The public first got a glimpse of Richards' voice with "Something Happened To Me Yesterday" in which he shared vocal duties with Mick Jagger.Though Keith had actually sang backing vocals for Mick in the past Stones albums.Another track was "Honky Tonk Women" in which Keith also sang backing vocals but he didn't do the lead vocal duties until "You Got The Silver"--from the album Let It Bleed.Though he was well known for singing lead on "Happy"--a track from the Stones' 1972 double album Exile On Main St.

One says that theres no one could ever play good Chuck Berry than  Richards himself. Berry,on the other hand,has continued to tour and mesmerize crowds even at the age of 85.And it wasn't on a few occasions that Keith and Berry had crossed paths.One occasion in which Richards was punched in the mouth by Chuck Berry and the former's involvement in the Berry tribute film would be one of the most heroic efforts in rock music history.


Some people might kid around asking when Keith Richards would ever stop performing.He'll probably be rocking until he's 150 or something.Rumor also has it that with his advance drug taking he might fell off and die onstage while performing.He once fell asleep while playing "Fool To Cry" and everybody thought "that was it"..but the man's still here.Like what was mentioned here before,he never admitted having problems with drugs--only with the authorities.He even claimed with his drug intake he never had a cold or flu in years.Though it certainly 'fried' him off.Several news had him recently quitting drinking and fighting to save his liver.

Rocking for five decades,the Rolling Stones doesn't have any signs that they ever wanna stop. Certainly,this won't be the last time we will ever hear from him.

Keith Richards,then and now

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

THE RISE AND FALL OF PAUL KOSSOFF

It was said that behind every beautiful song written is either inspired by relationship or at most times by a breakup or rejection.It was also said that the most beautiful songs ever written were mostly inspired by a brokenheart.

Well one man literally had a broken heart,tired of excess fame and management pressure,he turned into drugs.His name is Paul Kossoff.

It is always said that blues music is without a doubt, a black man's form.It was in Britain in the sixties where there had been a huge blues revival with late saturday night jammings at London's Marquee and eventually one group John Mayall's Bluesbreakers became a nursery of  the most popular British rock guitarists in the names of Peter Green,Jimmy Page,Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.A real life School Of Rock,the blues scene at that time was massive in Britain compared to the US in which Jeff Beck made a remarkable comment,wherein he states that it must've been because  the music wasn't as stigmatized in America compared to the UK.

Paul Kossoff is the son of British actor David Kossoff,who at a young age had an admiration to the guitar.Born in 1950,his obsession to the guitar and blues music made him a professional musician during his teens in the 1960s.Kossoff's first band included Black Cat Bones which failed to sway the heart of the masses and was at the time commercially forgettable.Though he was considered a professional musician at age 15,it wasn't until he got in touch with Alexis Korner that had him get in touch with two other musicians--singer Paul Rodgers and bass player Andy Fraser in which the latter was known to have been thrown from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers also for being only 15.With former bandmate Simon Kirke on drums,Free was formed and they released two albums in 1968 and 1969 which is nothing more but commercially disastrous.But in 1970,Free gained international fame with the release of their third album Fire And Water.With the ultimate success of its single "All Right Now",Kossoff and the rest of Free catapulted to huge rock stardom.

(Photo: Free clockwise L-R Paul Kossoff,Paul Rodgers,Simon Kirke and Andy Fraser)

But this sudden amount of fame took toll on Paul Kossoff that he didn't know what to do about it,perhaps how to handle it.It is always said that one musician's worst enemy is his own self on how he'll be able to top his achievement.And when a follow-up single "The Stealer" failed to follow the huge success of "All Right Now",Kossoff turned into drugs probably crushed due to fame and management pressure.Worst of all, Free broke up in acrimony when Andy Fraser left the band which made Kossoff retreat to drugs even more.In this point of time, the only reality Kossoff ever wanted is oblivion as he took more and more dubious amounts of dope which would eventually take his life later on.

After a brief amount of hiatus,Fraser was replaced by Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi in which their management thought that it will make things a lot better for Kossoff if they bring Free back together again.Perhaps due to the various amounts of drugs he has ingested,it didn't work for him as he retreated further more into drugs and declared himself unavailable to tour Japan.

(photo left:Tetsu Yamauchi became an official member of Free in 1972,replacing Andy Fraser on bass)

With the unreliability on behalf of Kossoff's,Free broke up once more and this time for good after the release of an album ominously called Heartbreaker in which he hardly participated on.

What Paul Kossoff did however,was to release a solo album called Back Street Crawler which was highly praised by some rock critics but commercially ignored.And its back to his little Notting Hill flat again to stay in bed and do drugs.It was said that it was the pain over Free breaking up that crushed Paul Kossoff and made him to retreat further into drugs,but nevertheless,he was a very much courted session musician.

The following year,Kossoff was said to have snapped out of it,probably stoned out of his mind,that in 1975 he formed a band and named it Back Street Crawler after his eponymous debut album.A tour of the UK was set,but it only suggest that Free had been a good band and was at the time a tough act to follow.Considering that Kossoff was never a songwriter,aside from the fact that he only had a few co-credits on those classic Free albums,he never wrote a song himself.And the BSC material was out of his hands too.

(photo above:Paul Kossoff's eponymous debut album Back Street Crawler,1973)


In September 1975,he had a massive heart attack,probably due to the cause of his frequent drug taking.It was said that he was clinically dead for about 35 seconds and luckily enough,the doctors managed to revive him.Against all medical advice,he launched into touring with BSC and sadly at Glasgow's Apollo he ended up staggering onstage playing out of tune.Eventually he fell off,most people say it was due to his condition,and it was back in the hospital again for him this time to be treated for the injuries he got when he fell offstage.

1976 seemed to have good news at last for Paul,he traveled to the United States to discuss with the execs at Atlantic Records.Tragically,he died in his sleep while on a flight from Los Angeles to New York,it was a recurrence of his previous heart attack last September,he was only 25 years old.

His father made a tribute to him by doing a one man tour of his stage performances on what supposed to be a way of saying thank you for his life being spared in September,but the tour went ahead anyway.

Drugs have destroyed lives of people and our idols in the music scene were no exception,Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison even took inspiration from acid and wrote songs about it.But they all ended up falling to its evil spell with their lives prematurely extinguished.Though they became "legends" and "saints" nonetheless.


                                                                 ...And sadly,Paul Kossoff died a broken man.

Free with their biggest hit "All Right Now"



  (c) Keith Vernon Adagio

CREAM: Rock music's power trio

Its quite astonishing to know that the band Cream existed only for more than two years,from 1966 to the latter part of 1968.But the group's influence,charisma and charm would last a lifetime.Their now legendary status has inspired other bands particularly that of hard rock and other heavy metal groups to experiment with the so-called  'power trio' format.Fascinating enough,when the band reunited in 2005 and did two major concert tours in Madison Square Garden and Albert Hall after 27 years since the band's breakup,most of the audience on their reunion concert were young people,most of which were not even born yet during the band's heyday in the sixties.

Clapton,Bruce and Baker were all certified and already established musicians with excellent resumes on their previous groups even before Cream was formed.With Eric Clapton playing with the then bluesy Yardbirds and left the band when the latter went into  more pop and commercially influenced.

Bassist Jack Bruce had a stint and was Eric's bandmate with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers when Clapton left the Yardbirds to be a blues purist.Drummer Ginger Baker on the other hand had a brief stint with Manfred Mann before forming the group with Bruce and Clapton.

 ERIC CLAPTON


Born on March 30,1945,his exceptional talent in blues guitar was quickly noticed on his first band the Yardbirds.He got the nickname slowhand way back in the sixties with his first band because he would often break a string and the audience would clap their hands slowly as he replaces a new one.

Clapton was reportedly unhappy when the Yardbirds was handled by Mickie Most and thus brought the band into a more commercial phase and took them away from their blues roots.

Pissed with the kind of musical direction the band was taking,Clapton left the Yardbirds and decided to become a blues purist.He eventually joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1965 where he met and first teamed up with future Cream bandmate Jack Bruce.

 JACK BRUCE


Bassist Jack Bruce was born on May 14,1943 in Scotland,having a brief stint with bands in the early sixties with little commercial success,he joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers where he first met guitarist Eric Clapton.

Bruce was known to be a connoisseur of fretless bass guitars.He once told an interviewer that the first time he got hold of the bass,he fell in love with it because it was loud and easier to play.He even called the electric guitar somewhat a damn instrument and would always prefer the bass.


GINGER BAKER


Ginger Baker was the band's drummer.He was once the object of envy of John Bonham when the latter saw him with his post-Cream group Air Force.Bonham reportedly grabbed two sticks on each hand and started pounding off the famous drum riff on Zeppelin's song "Four Sticks"[hence,the title name was given] which can be found on the band's fourth album.

Baker on the other hand,was a virtuoso in his own right.Having that weird oversized drum kit,he pounded off his way to rock stardom.Heavily influenced by jazz drummers from the late 1950s,he helped established Cream's unique drum sound sealing the group's now legendary status.


ALBUMS

FRESH CREAM

Released in 1966,this is,incredibly,the band's debut album.Consists mainly of blues covers,the band had indeed a fresh start considering all  members were already established musicians and had been with famous groups before Cream was formed.

The album had a string of hits including "I Feel Free",a mix of blues,pop and psychedelic rock written by Pete Brown with music by Jack Bruce.

The album was largely dominated in the role of lead vocals by bass player Jack Bruce,with Eric Clapton sharing and sometimes serving as alternate vocalist.

TRACK LISTING:

1.I Feel Free (Jack Bruce-Pete Brown)
2.N.S.U. (Jack Bruce)
3.Sleepy Time Time (Jack Bruce-Janet Godfrey)
4.Dreaming (Jack Bruce)
5.Sweet Wine (Ginger Baker-Janet Godfrey)
6.Cat's Squirrel (instrumental-traditional arrangement)
7.Four Until Late (Robert Johnson with arrangements by Eric Clapton)-Eric Clapton on lead vocals
8.Rollin' And Tumblin' (McKinley Morganfield)-Muddy Waters cover
9.I'm So Glad (Skip James)
10.Toad (Ginger Baker)
Unless otherwise stated-lead vocalist is Jack Bruce.

 DISRAELI GEARS

While Fresh Cream is a formidable debut,its the second album Disraeli Gears that Cream's sound eventually came on its own and had the band earned its respect as one of rock music's mighty gods.

The album has become an instant classic because of its unique style and sound.One song in particular,"Sunshine Of Your Love" remains a staple for budding rock guitarists and is one of the most famous classic rock songs ever to come out.

Other songs that defines Disraeli Gears' rock prowess are "Tales Of Brave Ulysses" in which Homer's book Odyssey was re-interpreted by the band in a psychedelic and hard rock form,"Strange Brew",a typical blues with awesome guitar licks and vocal by Eric Clapton, "SWLABR" which is an acronym for She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow--a song filled with lyrics describing psychedelia or perhaps on how substances affect the minds of our songwriters/rock idols during that time.

The album is also known for the balance of vocal duties between Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton and for the first time,Ginger Baker sang lead vocals on one song called "Blue Condition" which was also written by him.Eric Clapton sang more lead vocals on this album than the first one released by the band a year earlier.Disraeli Gears peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 album charts in 1968.

TRACK LISTING:

1.Strange Brew (Clapton-Pappalardi-Collins) lead singer:Eric Clapton
2.Sunshine Of Your Love (Clapton-Bruce-Brown) lead singer:Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton
3.World Of Pain (Pappalardi-Collins) lead singer:Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce
4.Dance The Night Away (Bruce-Brown) lead singer:Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce
5.Blue Condition (Baker) lead singer:Ginger Baker
6.Tales Of Brave Ulysses (Clapton-Bruce-Sharp) lead singer:Jack Bruce
7.SWLABR (Bruce-Brown) lead singer:Jack Bruce
8.We're Going Wrong (Bruce) lead singer:Jack Bruce
9.Outside Woman Blues (Reynolds) lead singer:Eric Clapton
10.Take It Back (Bruce) lead singer:Jack Bruce
11.Mother's Lament (traditional) lead singer: Ginger Baker,Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton

Disraeli Gears was re-issued in 2004 in  a deluxe two CD format with an additional second disc containing the mono mixes and several outtakes.

WHEELS OF FIRE

Released in 1968,the band's third album was a huge success,rocketing to number one on the Billboard 200 charts.The album was also noted for its ambitious double disc format combining both studio and live material.

The album's strongest song "White Room" was heavily noticed with the band's awesome use of feedback.Not to mention Clapton's wah wah laden guitar solos which has influenced and continues to influence would be musicians and rock fans both young and old.




TRACK LISTING

Disc one:In the Studio

1.White Room (Bruce-Brown)
2.Sitting On Top Of The World (Vinson-Chatmon-Burnett)
3.Passing The Time (Baker-Taylor)
4.As You Said (Bruce-Brown)
5.Pressed Rat And Warthog (Baker-Taylor)
6.Politician (Bruce-Brown)
7.Those Were The Days (Baker-Taylor)
8.Born Under A Bad Sign (Booker T-William Bell)
9.Deserted Cities Of The Heart (Bruce-Brown)

Disc Two:Live at Filmore

1.Crossroads (Robert Johnson arr.Eric Clapton)
2.Spoonful (Willie Dixon)
3.Traintime (Bruce)
4.Toad (Baker)

Shortly after its release,Cream announced the news of the band breaking up and held their farewell concert tour that started in Oakland,California and ended at London's Royal Albert Hall.

GOODBYE

Goodbye is the band's fourth and last album.Released in March of 1969,the album came out shortly after the band broke up.

Like its predecessor,the album was also noted for its content with the combination of both studio and live material.

One song from the album called "Badge" was written By Eric Clapton  and George Harrison.George eventually returned a favor and played guitar on Cream's last album after Eric Clapton played in the White Album.

TRACK LISTING:

1.I'm So Glad (Skip James)
2.Politician (Bruce-Brown)
3.Sitting On Top Of The World (Vinson-Chatmon-Burnett)
4.Badge (Clapton-Harrison)
5.Doing That Scrapeyard Thing (Bruce-Brown)
6.What A Bringdown (Baker)


FAREWELL TOUR 1968

Its quite astonishing to know that Cream announced their break-up while the band was still at the peak of their career.However,it was a smart move for the band to do such coz the group became even larger than life after doing so....


2005 REUNION

Cream's reunion concert held in October 2005 surprised many rock fans as much as they did upon hearing the announcement of their break-up and farewell tour 27 years earlier.Thanks to the band's astonishing achievement and classic albums,it wasn't surprising that kids who weren't alive during the band's heyday were also there almost outnumbering the elders who were the first hand fans of the group.It wasn't surprising that even a 14 year old boy who attended most probably with his parents and saw the band play onstage got mesmerized and even made a beautiful comment on Rolling Stone stating his admiration that Clapton is indeed a guitar god. A concrete proof that a lot of bands from the sixties have that unique and timeless appeal that would last for generation after generation.Considering that a lot of bands and  songwriters which were the Beatles' contemporaries[with the fab four leading the era as one of rock music's immortals] were still unbeaten and unmatched by newer bands of today.

Cream by the way,were inducted in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993 where the band was last seen together again,though they did not go on tour.Eric Clapton is the first rock star to be inducted in the Hall Of Fame three times:one as a member of the Yardbirds,as a member of Cream and as a solo artist.

The awesome music of the sixties was known for its prowess,mystery and the genius of the people who wrote the songs.One book is not enough to describe or explain how or why such music had so much appeal and how beautiful each melody is.But one thing stands above the rest and Im pretty sure every rock fan is thankful for....Thank God Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds!



(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

JIMMY PAGE:From the Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin

There was a cottage somewhere in an English countryside.Two men,Peter Grant and Richard Cole were busy preparing with their men behind them,fully dressed in suits and with Grant still puffing his cigar,they proceed to ride on a vintage 1926 Flint car,armed with their Thompsons,they attack a house full of gangsters gambling inside their hideout.They blast everyone off and everybody in sight  including the beast-looking fellow dropped dead on the floor.Sounds familiar? This was actually the beginning or should I say a fantasy sequence and some sort of introduction to a film called The Song Remains The Same featuring Jimmy Page and his band Led Zeppelin.Ironically,its is the only film ever made by the band where all four of them acted[with their manager and roadie] and at the same time played onstage featuring their 1973 tour.

 Jimmy Page--whose fantasy sequence in the film featuring him climbing a hill with a hermit holding a lantern waiting  at the top,he grabs the hermit's hand and Jimmy transformed into a hermit too.Though the fantasy sequences were not really explained in its entirety,Page once told  an interviewer that those scenes were actually the band's inner thoughts.The band,Led Zeppelin--with  their leader,producer and guitarist Jimmy Page--considered by many as one of the greatest guitarist ever to walk on this planet.

James Patrick Page was born on January 9,1944 in Heston,Middlesex,England.He started to learn how to play the guitar at age 12 with influences ranging from skiffle to blues and rockabilly.One of his early influences were BB King,Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon.A frail and sickly child,he would pour his heart out on music as he tries to emulate these blues artists' sound pumping from his radio.At 13,he would always bring a guitar at school only to have it confiscated and handed back to him later after class.He once told an interviewer that during the time he was very young,blues and rock music was so limited they would tune in on the American Armed Forces Radio broadcasting all the way from Germany.Back then in his early teens people would also swap blues records as the kids his age(including childhood friend and future Yardbirds bandmate Jeff Beck) crouch along with their respective guitars and imitate that one unique sound from the records they listen to.

Jimmy Page revolutionized the way albums were recorded,he used that distant miking technique to have that solid drum sound on these fantastic Led Zeppelin records.Jimmy Page said,"I always thought that drums are an acoustic instrument and acoustics need to breathe.Back in the early days during my sessions,people have their mics leaning directly on the drum kit,the drummers would play like crazy but when you finally hear the record,they would sound as if they were playing on cardboard boxes.So I thought the idea of putting the mic away from the drum kit and the result was a solid drum sound".Page also employed the use of backward echo,something that he discovered during his days as a session musician.


EARLY YEARS AS A MUSICIAN AND SESSION WORK

At age 15,Page joined his first group Neil Christian And The Crusaders during which at that time he considered touring in its most primitive form.One time,the band's van broke down and they had to hitchhike all the way to their gig.Because they only had guitars in hand they would often use other people's amps which sounded horrible,plus the fact that they didn't have money at the time,they had to sleep in the club's storage rooms in between the tables and cabinets where it was horribly cold.With difficulties the band were facing,Page kept on getting ill with glandular fever that he decided to quit the band and went back instead to art college.

It was in school that Jimmy realized what his true passions were--to be a musician.He would often attend these saturday night jams at the Marquee in London where all musicians would flock over and exchange licks and guitar riffs with each other or simply just play around and jam together.This is the place where Jimmy Page met Eric Clapton and members of the Stones like Keith Richards and Brian Jones.This is also the place where Page was first approached to do session music in which he gladly accepted with the reason of enjoying his passion of playing music,earning money and at the same time wont be able tour and worry about getting ill.

During his early work as a session musician,Page claimed not being able to read music at first.But by then he had to,as the projects became more and more complicated.




Among his earliest works were with other British artists popular at the time:Brian Howard and the Silhouette, Tony Meehan and Jet Harris and Carter-Lewis and the Southerners.These artists were then popular in England alone and gradually disappeared in obscurity.





His session works were ambient and he would often go from one genre to another--ballad,pop,rock and blues.Among the other artists he worked with were,as follows:

1.Burt Bacharach-"Always Something There To Remind Me" and other instrumental scores.
2.Petula Clark   
3.John Mayall's Bluesbreakers--where he met Eric Clapton again after Eric left the Yardbirds where he was also offered a slot.
4.Herman's Hermits
5.Lulu
6.Tom Jones-- where he played guitar on the song "Its Not Unusual"
7.Nico--real name Christa Paffgen,model and singer.
8.The Rolling Stones
9.David Bowie--who was known back then as David Jones
10.Donovan--where he played lead guitar on the song "Sunshine Superman"
11.The Who

Jimmy Page also played on commercial jingles in the early sixties which were often played in between radio shows in Britain back then.However,there was also a rumor about Jimmy Page playing lead guitar on the song "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks.That myth lingered on for years and nearly became a musical fact until Page himself denied it saying he got nothing to do with the song's guitar solo where he also said that Ray Davies(guitarist and lead singer with the Kinks) was miffed and was a little upset over that misunderstood fact.

Page was first offered a slot into joining the Yardbirds when Eric Clapton left the band to become a blues purist.He turned down the offer and recommended his childhood friend Jeff Beck instead,he claimed he was a little shy because he was friends with Eric Clapton too and he said he wasn't so sure about the politics behind Clapton's departure.Plus the fact that he was still worried about getting sick again while touring.

THE YARDBIRDS

 Page was offered again the second time to join the Yardbirds when bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the band.During this time of his career,Jimmy Page was having a rough time with his session works as he was slowly becoming unhappy with his job when people started to approach him to do muzak.Jimmy suddenly find his session works becoming too silly that he decided to quit his job and join the Yardbirds on bass in 1967.By the time the Yardbirds was a quintet,Jimmy Page was able to use his skills as a session musician on one of the group's songs--one track called "Ten Little Indians" in which Page regard as one of the most silly songs he ever recorded.With producer Mickie Most on the consoles,Page recalls Most telling them "Oh c'mon just try it,if it doesn't sound good we wont release it."And of course,it always gets released.With the song's poor brass arrangement,Page had the idea of making it a little interesting by using what he calls "backward echo",something that he has learned  during his session days where he would turn the tape over and employ the echo for the specific sound on a spare track,then turning it back over and you get the echo preceding the signal.The result was interesting--it made the track sound like it was going backward.Nevertheless,the whole song still sounded silly and it reminds Page of his latter days as  a session musician.


In the nick of time,Jeff Beck burned out and left the Yardbirds in early 1968,with the now foursome band,Jimmy Page switched from bass to lead guitar,with Chris Dreja switching from rhythm guitar to bass.

( photo:The Yardbirds circa 1967,left to right:Jeff Beck,Jim McCarty,Chris Dreja,Jimmy Page and Keith Relf )




With Jimmy Page in control of the group,he slowly led the Yardbirds(now a quartet) into a more experimental and hard rocking sound.First,with Jake Holmes' song "Dazed And Confused" which was rearranged by Page himself and was presented to the group with Keith Relf doing the vocals.Page at the time already used the bow creating that howling sound on the guitar,with the song's lyrics and credit to Holmes,Page neatly scraped that violin bow on his guitar creating that ghoulish sound and ghostly howl.Jimmy Page later rearranged the song,changed the lyrics and the upbeat tempo taking all the credit to himself.Page said he changed the upbeat tempo  from acoustic blues(which was originally done by Holmes) to hard rock to avoid a plagiarism suit.The latter version of the song was recorded by Led Zeppelin with Robert Plant on vocals which was considered as one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time.

By mid-1968,conflicts between musical tastes and interests began to emerge with each band members.Vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf was more interested in folk music,Chris Dreja is becoming increasingly obsessed with photography,drummer Jim McCarty was more interested in classical music while Jimmy Page was more into hard rock and some things what Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience were doing.

The now foursome Yardbirds began flopping on their new singles as their producer Mickie Most  failed to reignite the band's commercial success.As the summer of 1968 approaches,the band was already managed by Peter Grant--who would later on be Led Zeppelin's manager.They toured the States that summer to great acclaim in which sadly,the last time the band would ever do.The last single ever to be released by the band was "Good Night Sweet Josephine" in which the sound was in the same vein as their Mickie Most-produced songs in the earlier days.Its B side however,"Think About It" features a proto-Zeppelin sound by Jimmy Page with huge riffs and guitar solos,something that Led Zeppelin would do and accomplish later on as one of the biggest bands of the late sixties and the seventies as a whole.

TRANSITION

 Vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf  left the band to pursue a more folk rock direction.Bass player Chris Dreja also left to become a rock photographer.Drummer Jim McCarty also left the band and formed an acoustic duo with Keith Relf.The only man left alone in the group was Jimmy himself,with the band's breakup,Page alone is entitled to its name and sound.As he tries to put the Yardbirds back together--with new manager Peter Grant who also managed the Animals and Bad Company.He recruited fellow session musician John Paul Jones on bass.For the lead singer his real first choice was Terry Reid who was also managed by Mickie Most,Reid declined to avoid a breach of contract with his present manager and recommended instead the then unknown singer Robert Plant.There has been also reports that Page was also interested in Procol Harum's singer Gary Brooker to replace Keith Relf as the Yardbirds lead singer.Robert Plant by then recommended John Bonham to fill in as drummer,thus completing the lineup for the newly established Yardbirds.

They later toured in 1968 as the New Yardbirds to avoid a lawsuit by former member Chris Dreja who claimed the rights to the Yardbirds' trademark and name.



LED ZEPPELIN

Perhaps realizing that this is not the same band as it used to be,plus the fact that the name New Yardbirds  doesn't appeal much to audiences who were.mostly fans of the former group,the band decided to change its name to Led Zeppelin basing on the suggestion by the Who's Keith Moon that the band would go down like a "Lead Zeppelin" when he first saw the New Yardbirds onstage.Lead was quickly changed to Led by Page to avoid mispronounciation.

 This newly christened band,released a self titled debut album in early 1969(most of the album's tracks were recorded the year before).A Page-produced self titled album with a holocaust of huge guitar riffs and awesome drumming,the debut album as we say it,was an instant smash hit with classic after classic and it is still hailed by music magazines particularly Rolling Stone and Mojo as one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time.

( left photo:Led Zeppelin's self titled debut album released in early 1969)

Led Zeppelin was recorded in a very short span of time,only 30 hours including the mixing of the whole album.Page took pride in producing and arranging the album with the band very well rehearsed and was fresh from their Scandinavian tour of 1968.Not to mention,his tremendous work in the studio as a session musician.


Glyn Johns was the engineer of the album's sessions who also recorded later on with the Beatles' Let It Be and the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed.As awesome as the pun could ever be,Page told a story of how he and Glyn Johns would often argue over arrangement and over the mixing of the album.One particular track,"You Shook Me" wherein Page had the idea of making the song more interesting by using backward echo-the same technique he had used on the Yardbirds' "Ten Little Indians".Johns began arguing with Jimmy Page saying that such technique can't be done-Page replied by telling him that he had already tried it before and was pissed with Johns still arguing out of it by telling him that he is after all the producer and he'll be telling him what to do.The awesome result of the track's effect has surprised Glyn Johns,who as an engineer wouldn't expect that knowledge from a guitar player.

Jimmy Page would soon hire different engineers on every Led Zeppelin album in the future to let the people know that he is the one responsible for the band's awesome sound.

Led Zeppelin's second album however had sealed the band's status as not just another hippie rock band of the late sixties but a rock group worthy of timeless appeal as their contemporaries were at that time.


Led Zeppelin II saw Page teaming up with producer Eddie Kramer who also produced albums by Jimi Hendrix.With Andy Johns as engineer[Glyn Johns' brother],the record's awesome combination made this second album as one of their masterpieces.A precious gem that is still unbeaten by rock bands of today.

Jimmy Page later denied rumors about him and Jimi Hendrix jamming together and being friendly.Theres been a rumor about Page and Hendrix meeting through Eddie Kramer who also produced the latter's albums.Truth is,even though Jimmy Page wanted to meet Hendrix and wanted to hear him play live,he was too busy with his work with Led Zeppelin during the late sixties so when Hendrix was playing somewhere,Led Zeppelin was playing somewhere else too.When Page decided to go and see Hendrix play he was so exhausted coz Zeppelin just finished touring and would often shrug his shoulders saying "I'll meet him next time"...and of course,there never was a next time,Hendrix died on September 18,1970. Page later said that he was really upset about himself not seeing Jimi Hendrix in person--he really wanted to meet him and hear him live.

 One leading contribution Page has as a producer by the way is miking the drums in an ambient way.That is placing the microphone not directly but with a little distance hence to make the sound have enough room to breathe and the result was a bigger drum sound we heard on those fantastically recorded Led Zeppelin albums.

(left photo:Jimi Hendrix)

Led Zeppelin worked for three years straight without having any breaks as Page believed the band has got to do If they really want to create an impact.Well,it certainly paid off.

With Eddie Kramer on Led Zeppelin II Jimmy Page used a lot of backward echo and bow guitar on one of  the album's  most famous tracks "Whole Lotta Love" where they also used Theremin to enhance the song's effects.The theremin was also used by Page during live concert performances with the band.

(left photo: the Theremin)

Led Zeppelin worked on album number three after the 1969 US tour,the album uncannily titled Led Zeppelin III was considered a contrast on both their two previous albums.Released on October 1970,the album was more dominated with acoustic songs and  with more English folk traditions.The album's cover however,was considered by Page as a disappointment.Zeppelin was on a deadline,the band had just finished recording the entire album but they still didn't have the art cover,so they ended up with this art which seem like a teeny bopperish with little chunks of corn and nonsense the band knew has nothing to do with the sound inside it.However,Led Zeppelin III made it to the top of the Billboard album charts on October 31,1970 and remained there for three weeks.

As a musician and producer,Page wanted artistic control in a vice grip,he delivered the first and second albums to Atlantic Records after the band had already finished recording.Atlantic,on the other hand,aware of Page's tremendous work both as  a session musician and as a member of the Yardbirds,were very keen to have him."They were pretty hip people",quips Page who knew exactly what to do on every aspect,how the album would sound and where and when the guitars would come in.

But the record company's awesome cheer would soon go into at first misunderstanding.Flabbergasted,Atlantic was shocked to hear that the fourth album delivered to them in November 1971 where the band decreed that there'll be no album title,no record company logos,credits and catalogue numbers.The company threatened legal action but Page stated the untitled album meant not to antagonize the record label but it was instead the band's reply to the music press for believing that the band's popularity was after all by hip and not talent.With their first three albums in spite of being rated as rock classics still had bad reviews on other music magazines.

Though the untitled album spawned hit after hit Page jokes about still having bad reviews on the fourth album.



Most of the album's tracks were recorded by the band at Headley Grange, a rustic poorhouse from the 1700s.The house used to shelter the poor and the insane at that time and Led Zeppelin converted it into one of the world's largest recording booth.Haunted,Jimmy Page told a story on how he encountered spirits there having chosen to live on the toppermost floor during the band's stay.

Built in 1795,Headley Grange freaked both Robert Plant and John Bonham out.With the house's miserable past,everybody were sure it was haunted and Page himself wasn't surprised in finding spirits in the place.

Jimmy Page,being an awesomely talented guitarist and producer,have figured out upon visiting the house that the place had good acoustics that he immediately booked the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio and began work with ace engineer Andy Johns.With band members constantly moving their respective equipments inside the house,you can hear the cool results not only on the fourth album but the band has also polished some tracks on what would be their sixth album Physical Graffiti. (top right photo:Headley Grange)

"We revitalized the energy at Headley,the place became lighter as a result of our stay there",recalls Page.It certainly did,the spirits haunting the said house must've been captured or vanished perhaps by Zeppelin's magic spell. (upper right photo:Headley Grange)


GROUPIES,RELATIONSHIPS AND RUMORED USE OF THE OCCULT

Wherever rock stars went there tends to be lots and lots of groupies,girls who usually hang out with famous rock stars and do whatever for their own pleasure,but not all rock idols were impressed by them including former Yardbirds Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton-with the latter saying that its only your name they wanted to make love with.

Jimmy Page,who is obviously happy having groupies around,had some relationships with several women including with one of the famous Plastercasters--two women who had the pleasure of  having rock stars' genitals casted and molded over plaster of paris and have them as a souvenir--they also had Keith Moon and Jimi Hendrix's as well.Not to mention one famous groupie Pamela Des Barres who also had a brief relationship with both Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler.But none could be legendary other than Page's relationship with the  14 year old model Lori Maddox in 1972.

Though some critics say Page got away with a child abuse suit,Page and other members of Zeppelin claimed they weren't aware at the time that Maddox was only 14 years old.As Lori herself confessed that as a model for Star magazine in the early seventies,she described on how the publications make 14 year olds look like they were 40.

(upper right photo:Jimmy Page and Lori Maddox)

So Jimmy Page had a relationship with a minor,and he definitely got away with 'murder'.But none could be legendary than his rumored fascination with the English occultist Aleister Crowley.

Crowley,who is also known as the English Beelzebub,and dubbed as the world's most evil man was said to have influenced Page by enhancing Zeppelin's popularity using the occult according to Crowley's dicta,Page has always denied such rumor,often referring to Led Zeppelin's immense popularity fueled by the band's talent and not merely by hype.Not to mention his tremendous working experience in the studio as a session musician which propelled Led Zeppelin in its artistic form as we know them all today.

However,Page do admit on reading a lot about Crowley and how he was fascinated over the magician's principles.He also took pride of owning some of the magician's personal belongings--including Crowley's ceremonial robe and knives.He also bought Boleskine House who once belonged to the magician.Not to mention his use of the "Zoso" magical symbol, which is the magic term for Saturn,was often used by sorcerers and magicians in the early 16th century.

(photo right:the Zoso symbol;photo upper left:Aleister Crowley)

The Zoso was used by Page on the untitled album(aka Led Zeppelin IV) and on the band's one and only featured movie The Song Remains The Same.

Going back to Crowley,its unquestionable on how the man has appealed on most rock stars,he has a huge impact not only on Zeppelin but on other rock bands of the sixties,particularly the Beatles wherein he also appeared on the sleeve of the band's 1967 album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.wherein he is situated between Sri Yukstewar Giri and Mae West.John Lennon had always remarked that the people they included on the collage of Sgt Pepper were the ones who had influenced their lives both as a Beatle and a private individual.John Lennon was also known to be impressed by Crowley's dicta particularly the magician's philosophy "Do What Thou Wilt".Other rock bands such as the Doors were also known to be fascinated over Crowley particularly one heavy metal godfather Ozzy Osbourne.


 MID-SEVENTIES CAREER AND HIATUS

In the mid seventies in spite of   success of albums such as Houses Of The Holy(1973) and Physical Graffiti(1975) in which the latter contains tracks that were recorded by the band during the fourth album's sessions in Headley Grange,Led Zeppelin had experienced some sort of a temporary setback when Robert Plant,his wife Maureen and Jimmy Page's daughter got into a road accident wherein Plant suffered fractured elbows,hips and ankle and had to be in a cast.His wife suffered a fractured skull and had to be in the hospital for some time.

By the time the band released their seventh album Presence in 1976,one can sense on how the band was facing difficulties at the time,Page admitted they had to record their seventh album while Robert Plant was still in a cast and they still dont know whether he would walk again or not."We were kinda down",says Page "..and its all up to me to come up with all the riffs maybe thats why Presence is so guitar heavy".Page also stated that he and engineer Keith Harwood would mix the album until they pass out and whoever wakes up first would wake the other and they would mix the album until they fall asleep again.

Though Presence catapulted to number one on Billboard in 1976,it remains as one of their poorest efforts compared to the success of their earlier albums. (upper left photo: Presence album cover)

LAST US TOUR

 Led Zeppelin had their final concert tour of the United States in 1977,however,the tour was cut short following the death of Robert Plant's son Karac of freak respiratory complaint.The tour is also noted for Jimmy Page losing a considerable amount of weight.Page was reportedly addicted to heroin at the time and it was said that most of Zeppelin's road crew got hooked as well.

Jimmy Page once told a story of getting "high"  wherein he didn't care at all and just climbed over one of these tall buildings in New York City and sitting over these box air conditioners outside the windows,sitting there just seeing the whole city around,he talked about being careless and admitted he could've died instantly by doing so.But as far as drugs were concerned,people who use them often think they were invincible.Well,Page did lived to tell the whole story didn't he? While a fewer less mortals had their lives extinguished prematurely like what happened to singer Gram Parsons,but I think we should not move to that.


LAST ZEPPELIN ALBUM,LAST TOUR,AND DEATH OF JOHN BONHAM

Led Zeppelin made one more album in 1979 called In Through The Outdoor.Unlike Presence,which was more dominated by Jimmy Page,this album--unfortunately what would be the band's last was more dominated by bass player John Paul Jones.it is also the very first time Jones worked closely with singer Robert Plant collaborating on some songs.However,Jimmy Page stated a feeling of not fully satisfied with the results,saying that he finds the album a little soft.Page was by then rumored that he has seemed to lost enthusiasm with the band as to how he had little contribution over the album,Jimmy Page strongly denies this saying that he was discussing plans for a hard driven rock album with John Bonham shortly after the album's release.Of course,the planned album was never to be.

The album's reception had mixed reviews,however,In Through The Outdoor went to number one on September 15,1979 and stayed at the top spot of the Billboard charts for seven weeks.The RIAA awarded the album in the US as 6x platinum,selling over six million copies.

(photo:In Through The Outdoor album cover as it appears on CD)

Led Zeppelin toured Europe to great acclaim in the summer of 1980.This tour however,would be the last for the band.

Shortly after this tour,Led Zeppelin was eager to record and release a new album.On September 24,1980, drummer John Bonham was on his way to Page's Windsor house for rehearsals on what would be their next album.Bonham was reportedly drunk by the time he reached the house after dropping by the bar where he drank several shots of Russian vodka.In the rehearsals,it was said that he continues to drink until the rehearsal mutated into a party.It was always the band's habit to record at a comfortable working environment and see what happens next."We were never a band who do 96 takes of the same thing",says Page,"If the track isn't happening,we tend to drop it and move on to another song."


The rehearsals,as I have said,mutated into a party with John Bonham drinking continously until he passed out.He was carried into a room to sleep it off,the following day,he didn't respond to wake up calls and when his bandmates turned him over he was already blue.John Bonham,the extraordinary drummer who played drums with his fists,had died at the age of 32.


LED ZEPPELIN BREAK-UP


Following John Bonham's death due to alcohol intoxication,the surviving members of  Led Zeppelin announced in December 1980 that the band would no longer continue.Perhaps Jimmy Page also felt that John Bonham was irreplaceable.

(photo:John Bonham,Led Zeppelin drummer May 31,1948-September 25,1980)



POST-ZEPPELIN


After Led Zeppelin broke up both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant embarked on separate solo careers while they still communicate as friends,they always tell the press that they rarely talk to fellow Zeppelin John Paul Jones in which they didn't really clarify the main reason why they did such.Robert Plant had a moderately successful solo career while Page worked on the soundtrack album of Charles Bronson's film Death Wish II and subsequently its sequel in 1985 Death Wish III.Jimmy Page also formed a supergroup in the mid eighties with former Free lead singer Paul Rodgers,calling the group The Firm,their debut album peaked at number 17 on the US charts.

1985 also saw Led Zeppelin performing for the first time in five years,persuaded by Bob Geldof,the surviving three performed at Live Aid with Phil Collins and another guest drummer on drums.The reunion was cut short and it was ruled out that they only reunited for Live Aid and the members of Zeppelin went back on  their own separate ways after that.Three years later,the band reunited again this time with John Bonham's son Jason on drums on the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records in 1988.However,a concert tour with the three surviving members failed to materialize.

In 1994,Jimmy Page reunited with former bandmate and songwriting partner Robert Plant and formed a duo.They toured the US with enormous success and released three albums,one particular album, "No Quarter:Jimmy Page And Robert Plant Unledded" wherein John Paul Jones was said to have not been notified of the said supposedly Led Zeppelin reunion.It was also noted at the time that the former Zeppelin bass player filed suit concerning the No Quarter title as he claimed he is also entitled to the name Led Zeppelin.The case was said to have been settled out of court. The duo disbanded in 1998 after releasing two more albums.


LED ZEPPELIN REUNION AND MORE RUMORED REUNIONS

 With Led Zeppelin being inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame in 1995,rumors started to buzz in the music industry,"is Led Zeppelin going to reunite and tour again?" They did however ,reunited again two years after Jimmy Page received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys.It sure surprised every single rock fan,considering Led Zeppelin didn't won any Grammy awards in the sixties and seventies throughout their 12 year career as a recording unit,unlike their contemporary which is the Beatles.Page was said to have been having thoughts of though Zeppelin were really popular across the globe,he merely thinks they weren't really grammy material,and when he was presented with a lifetime achievement award it was obvious on how the guitarist was happy to receive it.

Led Zeppelin reunited again in 2007 to play a concert tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun who died a year earlier when he hit his head and slipped into a coma while attending a Rolling Stones concert in 2006.The reunion concert was a one-off performance.However,it was both in  2007 and 2008 when rumors started to buzz again about Led Zeppelin reuniting,releasing a new album with new material and touring to great acclaim.Robert Plant denied such rumors and said that he didn't want to tour again as Led Zeppelin,Plant even pointed out that he didn't want to tour with a bunch of grumpy old men and be like the Rolling Stones.He collaborated and toured instead with Alison Krauss in 2009.

On December 2012,Page along with surviving members Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were given an award at the Kennedy Center Honors hosted by Jack Black and presented by President Obama.The said event is the US's  highest award giving body for influencing American culture through music and arts.

Will Led Zeppelin reunite again? I guess releasing a new album with all new material seemed impossible with the absence of John Bonham as rock music's drumming fist of fury.But we'll never know whats in the mind of Jimmy Page,he maybe thinking of having Led Zeppelin back together or not at all.In the meantime,we can always go back to their albums that always sounded fresh.The true classic albums that defines Led Zeppelin's immortality and timeless appeal.

(photo:Jimmy Page in the 2000s)



(c) Keith Vernon Adagio