Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has shared insights about the band’s formative period in a recent interview with Uncut Magazine. The legendary musician detailed the crucial early decisions that shaped the band’s unique sound and dynamic.
“Take it back to the very first rehearsal. I said, ‘Let’s play ‘Train Kept A-Rollin”: I played that forever, ‘Train Kept A-Rollin’, even in my first groups,” Page recalled. “I don’t know who knew it or who didn’t. It didn’t make any difference, because I was going to drive it.”
“After that, I took him to my house in Pangbourne, we rehearsed and it got going from there,” he continued. “So all that energy is sparking up right from that first rehearsal, it’s there.”
Page emphasized a specific approach with drummer John Bonham: “The first night of rehearsals, I said to Bonham, ‘I want you to play drums just exactly the way you’d like to play.’ Not like I’d heard him play with Tim Rose or with the Band Of Joy, but how he wanted to play as John Bonham.”
The guitarist had a clear vision for the band’s development. “It was important to develop those qualities. Knowing what the band could achieve, I knew what I was writing for each next album.”
These revelations offer insights into the formation of one of rock’s most influential bands. Their journey began in the summer of 1968.
The Formation Process
