It’s an oft-repeated truism: if the Beatles defined the 60s, then Led Zeppelin defined the 70s. The Fab Four won Best Group in Melody Maker’s annual fan poll for eight consecutive years, before finally being dethroned – by Led Zeppelin.
At the time, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham commented: “The kids are changing and so is the music changing. I think these days, the public you know, let’s not just say the kids because we’ve had all sorts of people at concerts. I think they’re coming to listen to what you’re playing. Not just to look at you and see what you are.”
But the respect between the two groups ran deep. John Lennon was a fan of Led Zeppelin, noting that Jimmy Page was a “bloody good guitarist”. It’s funny he should say that – there’s an enduring, though often disproved, belief that Jimmy Page played session guitar for parts of the film score on Beatles flick A Hard Day’s Night.
Indeed, there are a few odd connections between the two groups. George Harrison once opined that Led Zeppelin “don’t do ballads”, a comment – meant in an endearing way – that Jimmy Page took as a challenge.
Constructing ‘The Rain Song’, he even quoted from Harrison’s own Beatles classic ‘Something’ in the opening chords. Jimmy Page later reflected: “I wrote ‘Rain Song’, which appears on ‘Houses of the Holy’,” Page continued, “In fact, you’ll notice I even quote ‘Something’ in the song’s first two chords.”
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Finally, there’s also a theory that Jimmy Page is loosely connected to the way The Beatles spelled their name. Initially the Silver Beetles, they changed the spelling – and there are numerous ideas as to why they did it.
Visiting Oxford University in 2017, Jimmy Page reflected: “I was actually here before when I was 16 years old. There was a poet called Royston Ellis who was actually hanging out with The Beatles at some point. As he was sort of a beat poet … from over here, he encouraged The Beatles to change their [name] — they were The Silver Beetles at one time, with two Es — and he said, ‘Why don’t you make it like the beat poets?’
“Basically, he was a poet, and he came here to give a talk, and I was accompanying him on guitar for a couple of his poems. So it’s very interesting that here I am after all of these years.”
So, there you go – the connections between two defining British groups. Happy 80th birthday, Jimmy Page!
Related: Spotlight Special – Led Zeppelin
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