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- His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother was a doctor's secretary. Page left school at age 16 to pursue music; after brief stints backing Beat poet Royston Ellis and singer Red E. Lewis, Page was asked by singer Neil Christian to join his band The Crusaders; Page toured with Christian for approximately two years and later played on several of Christian's records, including the November 1962 single, "The Road to Love".
During his stint with Christian, Page fell seriously ill with glandular fever and couldn't continue touring. While recovering, Page decided to put his musical career on the shelf and concentrate on his other love, painting. He enrolled in Sutton Art College in Surrey.
While still a student, Page would often jam on stage at the Marquee with bands such as the Cyril Davis All Stars, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and with guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He was spotted one night by John Gibb of The Silhouettes, who asked him to help record a number of singles for EMI, including "The Worrying Kind". It wasn't until an offer from Mike Leander of Decca Records that Page was to receive regular studio work. His first session for the label was the recording "Diamonds" by Jet Harris & Tony Meehan which went to Number 1 on the singles chart in early 1963.
After brief stints with Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, Mike Hurst's group, and Mickey Finn and the Blue Men, Page committed himself to full-time session work. His studio output in 1964 included Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", The Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone" (alternate version), Van Morrison & Them's "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Here Comes The Night", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" and "My Baby Left Me", and Brenda Lee's "Is It True". Under the auspices of producer Shel Talmy, Page contributed to The Kinks' 1964 debut album (although, despite rumors to the contrary, he did not play any of the guitar solos); and he sat in on the sessions for The Who's first single "I Can't Explain" (although his guitar parts may not appear on the final mix). In 1965, Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer and A&R man for the newly-formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on and/or produce tracks by John Mayall, Nico, Chris Farlowe and Eric Clapton. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then romantic interest, Jackie DeShannon.
In late 1964 Page was approached about the possibility of replacing Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, but Page, still worried about his health under touring conditions, turned down the offer. In February 1965 Clapton quit the Yardbirds, and Page was formally offered Clapton's spot; Page was unwilling to give up his lucrative career as a session musician, and instead suggested his friend Jeff Beck. On May 16, 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a band with John Entwistle on bass (instead of Jones), however the lack of a quality vocalist and contractual problems brought the project to a halt.
Within weeks, Page was again offered a spot in the Yardbirds and at first played bass guitar with the group after the departure of Paul Samwell-Smith, before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass. The musical potential of the line-up however was scuttled by interpersonal conflicts caused by constant touring and a lack of commercial success. Despite the departure of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty in 1968, Page wished to continue the group with a new line-up. At first he wanted to call the new group The New Yardbirds, but Keith Moon of The Who suggested that the name would go down 'like a lead zeppelin'. The band modified the name to "Led Zeppelin" so people wouldn't pronounce it "leed".
Another version of the (perhaps apocryphal) "naming of Led Zeppelin tale" has John Entwistle and Keith Moon of The Who threatening to leave the band to form a new group and during a drinking session coming up with the name Led Zeppelin. According to Moon, the chauffer of The Who overheard the discussion and later went to work for Jimmy Page and suggested the name for Page's new group.
Page's past experiences both in the studio and with the Yardbirds were very influential in the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. As a producer, composer, and guitarist for the band, he was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, with his trademark Gibson Les Paul guitar and Marshall amplification. In the studio, Page often used a Supro amplifier and a Telecaster guitar. His use of distorted fuzz guitar ("Whole Lotta Love"), slide guitar ("You Shook Me", "Dancing Days", "In My Time of Dying"), pedal steel guitar ("Your Time is Gonna Come", "Tangerine", "That's The Way"), acoustic guitar ("Gallows Pole", "Ramble On") and recording techniques made Led Zeppelin a prototype for many future rock bands. His landmark guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as the inspiration for his trademark two-hand tapping technique after he saw Led Zeppelin perform at the LA Forum in 1972. (Page's solo does not itself contain any two-hand tapping.) Page also put to use the bowed playing technique he developed during his session days (though Eddie Phillips of Creation - also produced by Shel Talmy - was the first guitarist to use a violin bow) in songs such as Dazed And Confused and "How Many More Times", and experimented with feedback devices and a theremin. His solo in the famous "Stairway to Heaven" was voted by readers of Guitar World Magazine as the greatest guitar solo of all.
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