The one musician John Lennon called a “bloody good guitarist”
Receiving praise from the late John Lennon was an achievement that meant more than a Grammy, chart-topping record, or any other industry accolade. While The Beatles founder loved many different acts across the musical spectrum, he wasn’t renowned for dishing out niceties frivolously.
Lennon was guilty of having an aura of hostility to him, which made his tongue one of the most feared weapons in the music industry. More often than not, it was disparaging when he spoke about other artists or even his own work.
Typically, Lennon didn’t deliberately hurt anyone’s feelings; it was merely in his uncompromising nature to be unflinchingly honest. However, this worked both ways and when Lennon had positive affirmations to say about an artist, he’d happily dotingly deliver them to the world. Once The Beatles had risen to fame, a glowing endorsement from any of the members, especially Lennon, was worth its weight in gold.
The musical landscape post-Beatles was a stark contrast from the one they entered, as they inspired a whole host of bands to pick up instruments and demonstrated a blueprint for international success. Despite his public persona, Lennon was a fan of the new crop coming through, with one guitarist particularly capturing his attention.
After the Fab Four retired from touring in 1966, a gap appeared for the arrival of the next big band. However, it took until the emergence of Led Zeppelin a few years later for a new juggernaut to arise, and Lennon gave them his seal of approval during an interview with Hit Parader. “I think in any of those terms. You know, I just think it’s either something I like or don’t like or it’s heavy or it’s light,” Lennon commented about the state of the scene.
He added, “I like heavy music, I call it rock. I like Zeppelin, I’ve only heard a couple you know, they’re okay. I don’t really know much of what they’re about. But one thing’s for sure, Jimmy Page is a bloody good guitarist”.
Before Led Zeppelin became a household name, Page was well-known within musical circles thanks to his time in The Yardbirds and as a session musician. The prestige attached to him was the main reason behind Led Zeppelin securing a deal with Atlantic Records and proved to be the lynchpin for their early success. Although they had vast musical differences, Led Zeppelin picked up the baton from The Beatles and became the nation’s new favourite band following the Fab Four’s demise.
Furthermore, Page was thankful to The Beatles for opening the pathway for his generation of musicians and allowing rock music to exist in the mainstream. “Certainly, at the time, you know, the social question poised by The Beatles, with the long hair and the sandals – it was cool the long hair then – it had a lot of impact,” he said in 1976.
The guitarist continued, “A lot of change went down a lot of social barriers. We broke down the class barriers even though it may have been resented afterwards, but nevertheless, they (The Beatles) helped to do that. And over the years that they were very musically prominent and productive, I think there is a classic example of a group who shows so much development and maturity within their music, within the years that they were together.”
Although Page admitted it took The Beatles until the Magical Mystery Tour to produce an album that was worthy “to write home about”, even the Fab Four would likely agree with his critique of their early work.
Upon making his endorsement, Lennon had only been privy to a couple of tracks by Led Zeppelin, but thanks to Page’s reputation, he knew they had the ingredients to go right to the top. While this seems a straightforward assessment to make with the benefit of hindsight, Led Zeppelin were far from the finished article when Lennon stuck his neck out on the line by backing Page. However, he was an innate judge of talent and Page would later be respected as one of the greatest to pick up the instrument.
