From The Who to Shirley Bassey: Five surprising songs that feature Jimmy Page on guitar
Jimmy Page may have been the sole guitarist of the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin, but prior to forming the group, he was used to playing second fiddle to the likes of blues maestro John Mayall and Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds. In fact, it was from the ashes of the newly-disbanded Yardbirds that Zeppelin arose.
Even further back in time, though, Page landed himself a gig as a session musician via some live jams onstage at London’s Marquee Club. It was during his time in the studio playing other people’s songs that the young guitarist earned his stripes as a player, honed his craft with the instrument and developed his signature style.
Page played on a variety of recordings, from sentimental pop ballads and movie-themed tunes to proto-punk garage rockers and psychedelic folk singles. What’s more, he got to play on records released by each of the “big four” British invasion bands. The Beatles’ US-released soundtrack album for A Hard Day’s Night also features Page playing interlude music, while The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who all hired him for studio sessions early in their recording careers.
Some of Page’s contributions to seminal tracks of the mid-1960s are especially surprising. Others are even contested despite the evidence pointing to his work on the recordings in question. Here, we count down a few of the biggest songs that Page had a hand in recording.
Five 1960s songs featuring Jimmy Page:
‘Goldfinger’ – Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey’s bombastic James Bond theme is one of the best-loved in the history of the film franchise. But it isn’t commonly known that the acoustic guitar present throughout the track is being played by a young Jimmy Page scarcely out of his teens.
For the basic rhythm part, with certain flamenco inflexions, Page played a classical guitar alongside the original Bond theme composer John Barry’s orchestra. It’s not a small credit to have at the very start of your recording career.
‘Gloria’ – Them
There’s some controversy about this inclusion on our list, as neither Page nor ‘Gloria’ songwriter Van Morrison has ever conclusively confirmed or denied that he played on the landmark track. However, the song started off as a B-side for the single ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’, which was recorded in the same session.
Page has been credited beyond down with the rhythm guitar part on this Muddy Waters cover, and Them lead guitarist Billy Harrison has attested to the future Zeppelin founder being involved in the session. Indeed, Harrison and the other members of his band seemed quite annoyed about it, in contrast to Morrison.
Them’s recording of ‘Gloria’ has at least two guitar parts on it, including Harrison’s superb post-chorus riff. It’s likely that the song has two drummers on it, as different drum parts can be heard as it builds towards a climax. So there’s no reason why there aren’t two rhythm guitar parts on the record, too, including one by Page.
In any case, while there are no official credits for the song’s recording, according to All Music, it’s assumed that all musicians present played on it. And Page was definitely present.
‘Downtown’ – Petula Clark
The definitive single by one of Britain’s best-known music hall singers of the 1950s is another unexpected episode from the beginning of Page’s career. 31-year-old Clark’s star was on the wane before she recorded ‘Downtown’, on which Page was one of three session guitarists.
His part is largely hidden in the mix by the prominent piano accompaniment and orchestral crescendos on the track. But he got to play alongside Vic Flick, the guitarist notable for his lead part on the main ‘James Bond Theme’, and Big Jim Sullivan, who he got to record with again on Dave Berry’s hit single ‘The Crying Game’.
‘I Can’t Explain’ – The Who
Another case in which Page’s role on a studio recording has been called into question, The Who’s debut single nevertheless does feature his guitar playing. His contribution has been confirmed by songwriter and Who guitarist Pete Townshend, the song’s producer Shel Talmy, Page himself, and most recently, on The Howard Stern Show, The Who’s singer Roger Daltrey.
It’s true that Page has played down his appearance on the recording in recent years, explaining he was simply “playing the riff underneath” the lead guitar part Townshend was playing and so isn’t really audible. But a credit is a credit.
‘Sunshine Superman’ – Donovan
This number one single, one of Donovan’s best-known songs and a breakout hit in the United States, was where Page really began to flex his muscles as a guitar player. His lead part imitates a slide guitar via clever adjustments to the volume control mid-part, giving the otherwise sunny track a slightly spooky, offbeat atmosphere.
Page would take his experimentation with guitar sounds further upon joining The Yardbirds six months after recording ‘Sunshine Superman’. The song set him on a path towards the unparalleled sound innovations he accomplished on Led Zeppelin’s canon of iconic guitar records.
