The story of how Jimmy Page helped The Who secure their first hit song
If you entered any number of recording studios in London throughout the early 1960s, there was a decent chance that you would come face to face with Jimmy Page. Before he jumped in as Paul Samwell-Smith’s replacement in The Yardbirds and well before taking off into rock and roll legend with Led Zeppelin, Page was one of the most in-demand sessions guitarists in England.
It’s not certain how many songs Page played on during his half-decade stint as Britain’s premiere session guitarist, but a small collection of his greatest hits could rival just about anybody in terms of resumés. Number one hits like Jet Harris and Tony Meehan’s ‘Diamonds’ (Page’s first-ever session) rubbed elbows with all-time classics like Them’s ‘Mystic Eyes’, Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’, and Shirley Bassey’s James Bond theme ‘Goldfinger’.
Page was also frequently called in by producer Shel Talmy, producer for The Kinks’ earliest work. Due to his involvement in the recording session that produced ‘You Really Got Me’, a persistent rumour circulated that Page actually played the song’s iconic solo. In reality, both the signature riff and wild solo were played by Dave Davies, but Page’s reputation began to form into a strange sort of legend.
Talmy called in Page once again to help with a new group he discovered bumping around London. The Who had only just recently changed their name from The High Numbers and were only well-known throughout the popular Mod subculture. Pete Townshend had been hoping to impress Talmy, so he composed a song that was in the same vein as ‘You Really Got Me’, hoping that Talmy would take the bait. He did, and when it came time to record ‘I Can’t Explain’, Talmy decided that Page should be involved to help bring the song to life.
There are conflicting reports regarding what specifically Page added to the track. By his own recollection, Page remembered playing rhythm guitar that ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor, with Townshend’s lead guitar playing all of the prominent parts that ended up on the final record. However, Roger Daltrey recalled in his autobiography Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite that Page was the lead guitar player on the session and was responsible for the solo.
By the time The Who recorded their second single, ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’, Townshend have proven himself capable enough to handle sole guitar duties for recording sessions. For his part, Page began to tire of his role as a session player by the mid-1960s. Feeling stifled and uninspired, Page reconnected with The Yardbirds and took up the temporary bass position left by Samwell-Smith in 1966, eventually taking over the lead guitar slot a few months later.
Check out ‘I Can’t Explain’ down below.
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