Jimmy Page

In an epic interview with TG Editor Chris Bird, Jimmy discusses his evolution as a player, the fine details of his unique style, tone, and composition, his famous guitars, and the creative process that went into the holy trinity of Led Zeppelin songs – Whole Lotta Love, Kashmir and Stairway To Heaven...

- Chris Bird

It is an extraordinary story, and as Jimmy Page puts it, quietly but firmly, only he is qualified to tell it. He has a new book published this month, titled simply Jimmy Page: The Anthology. It is what he calls “an autobiography with photographs”, and a “companion volume” to 2010’s Jimmy Page By Jimmy Page. The focus is on his music and guitars, his artistry, and his evolution as a player. But there is also the sense, as he explains it, that Page is setting the record straight, in answer to the many unauthorized biographies of himself and his band Led Zeppelin.

“There’s so much mythology about me,” Page says. “In all those other books, because people don’t have all of the information – they make things up. So at least with my book, I could be really authoritative because I was the one who knew what happened. So, let’s do it. Let’s start telling the stories as they really are.”

Speaking to Total Guitar from his home in London, where he has remained since the outset of the global pandemic, Page is in a relaxed mood, happy to talk about every aspect of his life’s work: the groundbreaking music he made, first with The Yardbirds and then with Led Zeppelin; and the tools of his trade, iconic guitars such as the Black Beauty, and the amps and effects with which he explored new sounds.

Born on January 9th, 1944 in Heston, Middlesex, James Patrick Page began playing guitar at the age of 12. Inspired by pioneering rock’n’roll guitarists including Scotty Moore and James Burton, he performed in various groups while attending art school, before establishing himself as a session player and producer, working on a number of hit records for major artists, among them the Who, The Kinks, Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones.