“That’s when I started”: The song that turned Jimmy Page onto rock and roll
The first time a future musician experiences the electricity of a crucial influence is almost always the core moment that sets them on their own path. For many, it was catching The Beatles’ performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, which not only shaped a pivotal moment in culture but presented a group that felt both accessible and rebellious. For others, like Jimmy Page, it was the rock legends of the previous decade.
We admire Page now for his unrelenting dedication to music and how, against all odds following the dissolution of The Yardbirds, he surged forward with a dream to become the next best rock band. For many, there aren’t many names that still fill those boots more than Led Zeppelin, but Page scrambled in the beginning to find a group of collaborators who would be worthy of fitting the bill.
After considering many big names, like Jeff Beck and Terry Reid, the official lineup ended up reflecting Page’s broader belief that, to drive a big band into the new era of rock ‘n’ roll, they had to have big ideas—but they also needed to know how to collaborate efficiently and be open-minded. After all, there was no way that Led Zeppelin was going to work had they attempted to rehash the past and nothing else.
And so it goes: Page, along with Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, knew how to exercise the power of boundary-pushing while tipping their hats to the legends of the past. Much of this came from Page’s influences, whose fascination with many of the rock originators provided the ideal springboard, not only names like Chuck Berry but those closest to the King himself, like Scotty Moore and James Burton.
However, Page also discovered these names by paying close attention to the central figure, Elvis Presley, and how he occupied the stage like it was completely his, even if his songs weren’t always original versions. In this case, it didn’t matter because Presley held himself strongly, adorned with the confidence of someone who almost knew his existence would change the course of music forever.
And it did. Without Presley, Page wouldn’t have had such a powerful introduction to the power of pure rock ‘n’ roll. His song ‘Baby, Let’s Play House’ was his first experience facing rock head-on, with sounds that exuded excitement and energy that he knew he had to somehow become a part of, no matter what it would take. And so he got to work, studying more names that signified a break from musical vapidity.
Discussing these pivotal moments of study with rock magazine Trouser Press, Page named ‘Baby, Let’s Play House’ as the moment he was turned on to rock, before delving into the ways “rock ‘n’ roll” wasn’t as celebrated a term back then because it signified rebellion, which many associated with forbidden behaviour and unsociable attitudes.
“I’ve read about many records which are supposed to have turned me on to want to play, but it was ‘Baby, Let’s Play House’ by Elvis Presley,” he said, continuing, “You’ve got to understand that in those days “rock ‘n’ roll” was a dirty word. It wasn’t even being played by the media. Maybe you’d hear one record a day during the period of Elvis, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.”
He added, “That’s why you were forced to be a record collector if you wanted to be a part of it. I heard that record and I wanted to be part of it; I knew something was going on.” Hearing the “acoustic guitar, slap bass, and electric guitar,” Page became endeared to the energy they each generated, knowing that he could not only achieve the same feat but lead the way into the next chapter of rock ‘n’ roll.
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