John Paul Jones: the only Led Zeppelin member not to sell his soul to the devil
Ezekiel 28:13 says, “The workmanship of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created”. In other words, an ability that an individual possesses has been given to them by god. This ability is why songs of praise are such a big part of many religions. Music is a gift; therefore, it is the best way to give thanks. It’s also why music that is deemed rebellious is often considered to be rebelling against god.
Lucifer was said to be the director of the lord’s choir before he fell from heaven and devoted his life to rejecting the word of god. When he did fall from heaven, though, he left his beliefs behind but kept his musical ability. The story goes that he used his musical ability to spread blasphemy instead, and he did it by promising people on Earth fame and fortune to play his music.
Niccolo Paganini was one of the first musicians that many people believed had made a deal with the devil. He was a violinist with a ghostly complexion and a musical ability, unlike anything anybody had ever seen. He danced around the fret of his violin like it was an extension of himself and made playing the most complex pieces look like second nature.
Onlookers were so perplexed by Paganini’s playing style that they deemed there must be an otherworldly influence on him. There were rumours that his strings were made from the guts of murdered women. People said they saw the devil’s hands playing the violin at his concerts, and when he died, he was denied a traditional Catholic burial.
These accusations were rife in the world of rock music. It was a sound born out of rebellion, and the hysteria that people displayed towards their favourite musicians could only be rivalled by the hysteria they felt in the church. As such, religious people thought that rock was the work of the devil, trying to get people to turn their backs on god and worshipping something satanic.
Jimi Hendrix was often believed to have been possessed as he played complex passages on the guitar as easily as Paganini did on the violin. These rumours were so strong that Hendrix believed them himself; one of his girlfriends said, “He used to always talk about some devil; something was in him, and he didn’t have any control over it…he’d talk about us going down to Georgia and obsessed with something really evil, having some root lady drive this demon out of him.”
One band that came under particular fire for their apparent affiliation with satanism was Led Zeppelin. The group had an unrelenting ability to play on the verge of chaos, combining various genres to create a loud and unique sound. A lot of people believed that they were the product of the devil and even went as far as saying that they hid messages of demon worship in their songs. There were sections in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ that people thought, if played backwards, revealed their track’s true intentions.
John Paul Jones and his presence within the band also enhanced these rumours. Though there were always four members in Led Zeppelin, only three were considered the best at what they did. People looked up to Jimmy Page as a guitar hero for the ages. Robert Plant was called the most versatile vocalist in the world, and John Bonham could rip up the drumming rule book to create something totally unique. Meanwhile, John Paul Jones was perceived as a standard bass guitarist.
His stance in the musical world further evidenced claims that Led Zeppelin made a deal with the devil, as people said he hadn’t reached the same heights as the others because he was the only one to turn down Lucifer’s offer. This, of course, isn’t the case, but the dynamic of the band and the story surrounding them was enough to breathe life into satanic stories.
For those wondering, the reason why John Paul Jones wasn’t as flamboyant as the rest of the band members in Led Zeppelin is simple: it’s because someone needed to hold everything down. Geddy Lee put it best when he said, “The thing that held the whole thing down was John Paul Jones bass playing. So, if you listen to ‘How Many More Times’, I mean, no matter how wild that song gets at times, there’s John Paul Jones just holding it all down in such a fluid way.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.