The underappreciated Rolling Stones member Jimmy Page called “phenomenal”
If Jimmy Page had not found fame as the guitar hero behind hard rock icons Led Zeppelin, he could easily have pursued a career as a music historian.
After all, the guitarist had a front-row seat in the development of modern rock and roll during the 1960s, rubbing shoulders with the likes of The Beatles, Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones, among countless others, during his time as a session musician. From this vantage point, Page was able to recognise a range of gifted musicians who often went overlooked.
Led Zeppelin are almost inseparable from the stunning hard rock scene of the 1970s, but Jimmy Page had been honing his craft for decades prior to forming the group. A devotee of the skiffle movement in his youth, Page quickly found a penchant for the six-string and continued that devotion into the 1960s as he became one of the most sought-after session musicians in the land. This part of his career allowed the guitarist to perfect his craft, as well as form bonds with groups like The Rolling Stones while they were in their infancy.
Of course, the eternal tragedy of session musicians is that they do a lot of work for very little recognition. Page’s guitar playing formed an invaluable part of so many rock tracks during the 1960s, but he did not find much fame in his own right until he began playing with The Yardbirds. the noted blues rock outfit which also spawned the careers of fellow guitarists Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. It was during this time that Page crossed paths with Ian Stewart, another sadly underappreciated cornerstone of 1960s rock.
Stewart had been a founding member of The Rolling Stones back in 1962, but he was quickly removed from the band’s official line-up by manager Andrew Oldham. Although he remained with the band for many years as a keyboardist and touring member, he was not afforded the same fame or status as the likes of Mick Jagger or Keith Richards. For Jimmy Page, though, the talents of Stewart were always obvious.
During a 2020 interview with Classic Rock, the Zeppelin guitarist reflected on the career of the late Stewart, recalling, “The thing is, he was in The Stones. He was the extra member. But Andrew [Oldham] didn’t necessarily want him to be in The Stones. So what happened was, he was still in The Stones, but he was tour manager, and also playing on the records as well.”
Asked whether Page would have liked to work with the keyboardist more closely, he said, “Stu was phenomenal. He was a master of the piano. He was so cool and a lovely man. So, would I have toured with him? Well, he was always with The Stones, but I did do a Rocket 88 thing with him. We played up in Northampton once, jammed up there with Rocket 88, and that was great.”
In addition to that Northampton gig, Stewart also featured on two prominent Led Zeppelin tracks alongside Page. First, he can be heard on the 1971 classic ‘Rock and Roll’ and then on ‘Boogie With Stu’ from Physical Graffiti, which even took its title from Stewart’s nickname. While the influence of Ian Stewart on the history of The Rolling Stones might be often overlooked, he was always appreciated by Jimmy Page.
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