Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • A guide to The Last of Us Easter eggs

      A guide to The Last of Us Easter eggs

      From the Uncharted lighter to the giraffe plushie. Read More
    • 2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards

      2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards

      From Brendan Fraser and Angela Bassett to a potential upset in Best Actress, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. Read More
    • Meet the cast of Survivor 44

      Meet the cast of Survivor 44

      Here are the 18 contestants who will be vying for $1 million. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin's Legacy

Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin's Legacy

The band's founding guitarist looks back on 9 Led Zeppelin albums
By Clark Collis Updated August 03, 2015 at 02:51 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

LED ZEPPELIN (1969)

LED ZEPPELIN (1969)

“Robert came to my house and I went through the material: ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ and ‘Dazed and Confused,’ because the Yardbirds [Page’s previous band] had done a version of that. He got the idea. I could tell what [drummer] John Bonham was capable of. [Bassist] John Paul Jones was a studio musician. The recording totaled up to about 30 hours. The term I would use is ‘ruthless efficiency.’ ”

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

LED ZEPPELIN II (1969)

LED ZEPPELIN II (1969)

“The master plan was to write stuff and record while we were on the road to get the energy.

That whole middle section of ‘Whole Lotta Love’—no one had ever done anything like that.”

2 of 9

3 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

LED ZEPPELIN III (1970)

LED ZEPPELIN III (1970)

“We had some time off and went to this cottage [to write]. There was no electricity. The electricity was in the batteries of the cassette players—and what was generated between Robert and myself with the music. The emphasis was on the acoustic guitar. It got criticized, of course. Don’t come to me and say, ‘Where’s “Whole Lotta Love” on the third album?’ It was on the second album, thank you very much.”

3 of 9

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

LED ZEPPELIN IV (1971)

LED ZEPPELIN IV (1971)

“I’d already got stuff—I had sections of ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ I wanted something which would accelerate in pace, which would start with a very fragile guitar in the style of Bach, and then introduce the electric 12-string, and then move through to the solo. The band thought it was good, but you don’t envisage it’s going to have such a lasting quality."

4 of 9

Advertisement

5 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

HOUSE OF THE HOLY (1971)

HOUSE OF THE HOLY (1971)

“We did some recording at Mick Jagger’s country estate, which was called Stargroves. We did things like ‘D’yer Mak’er’ there. It

was this country house in the middle of lots of land. 'The Song Remains the Same' was going to be an overture that went into 'Rain Song,' so the voice wouldn’t appear til then. It’s an interesting prospect. Onstage we would link the two numbers together and we do on the album. But when I was rehearsing it, it soon became apparent that it ought to be a song."

5 of 9

6 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI (1975)

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI (1975)

“I had the riff and the sort of cascade part of ‘Kashmir.’ Robert said, ‘I’ve got some lyrics,’ which was something he’d written during a visit to Morocco. I knew that was a milestone.”

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

PRESENCE (1976)

PRESENCE (1976)

“Robert has a car crash. His leg’s in plaster. The plan was for touring, but we weren’t Dave Grohl. Robert said, ‘I still want to make an album.’ I would say it’s really defiant. Robert is singing his heart out and the music is really superb. Presence is a guitar-driven album. I had a field day—that’s all there is to it—on ‘Achilles Last Stand.’"

7 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR (1979)

IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR (1979)

“John Paul Jones turns up with this huge organ made by Yamaha. Then, lo and behold, he has written some songs. It’s like, ‘Well, I never!’ I don’t know whether that was the result of the guitar album which preceded it."

8 of 9

Advertisement

9 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

CODA (1982)

CODA (1982)

“Coda was one that was sort of owing to the record company. [The group disbanded following the alcohol-related death of Bonham in 1980.] Between the recording of Presence and In Through the Out Door, there was a recording I did with John Bonham in Montreux. I said, ‘We’ll do a drum orchestra, like a samba school.’ While we had lost John Bonham, the thing that hadn’t been lost was this 24-track. I called it ‘Bonzo’s Montreux.'"

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Clark Collis @clarkcollis

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 9 LED ZEPPELIN (1969)
    2 of 9 LED ZEPPELIN II (1969)
    3 of 9 LED ZEPPELIN III (1970)
    4 of 9 LED ZEPPELIN IV (1971)
    5 of 9 HOUSE OF THE HOLY (1971)
    6 of 9 PHYSICAL GRAFFITI (1975)
    7 of 9 PRESENCE (1976)
    8 of 9 IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR (1979)
    9 of 9 CODA (1982)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin's Legacy
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.