The compliment Jimmy Page gave Gene Simmons that made him “ready to pass out”
Through his positions as the bassist and co-frontman behind the bubblegum rock icons Kiss, Gene Simmons has amassed a wealth of anecdotes. Now that the group have disbanded, Simmons has more time on his hands to share these rock ‘n’ roll battle scars and tales. Of course, most 74-year-olds have their stories restricted to local pubs, but the Kiss singer is able to share these tales through a variety of high profile talk shows and podcasts.
In his latest memory of a rock and roll life well-lived, Simmons opened up about his absolute adoration for Jimmy Page. Such a fact should probably come as no surprise; the Led Zeppelin songwriter is the archetypal guitar hero. Throughout his illustrious discography with Zeppelin, Page’s riffs helped to establish the genres of hard rock and metal, in addition to inspiring a plethora of new groups, including Kiss.
As a bassist, one would be forgiven for assuming that Simmons took after the likes of John Paul Jones more than Page, but he nevertheless held a deep respect for the English guitarist. During a recent appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, Simmons espoused the genius of Page, “Jimmy Page, for those of you who are 20 years old, the guy created, invented more riffs than any other person on the planet”.
Invention and plagiarism are two sides of the same coin, supposedly. While Page did ‘borrow’ from many other guitarists, his riffs have since become an undeniably essential aspect of rock and roll.
The Led Zeppelin guitarist was also fan of Kiss, as Simmons recalls, “Page came to see us the first time when we played Wembley — he came to see us some other times when we were there and he came up to me after the show, my hand to God, and said, without doing an English accent, he says, ‘Mate, you can give [John] Entwistle a run for his money.’ And I was just about ready to pass out”.
Although, thus far, this anecdote might seem rather boastful, Simmons was quick to clarify, “That’s not true, of course, but the fact that he would even say that. [That’s the] highest compliment. For me, forget about it”.
Kiss played Wembley numerous times throughout their history, but given Page’s attendance, their set in 1980 might just have been Simmons’ favourite. After all, it is not every day that your ultimate hero commends you on a job well done.
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