“Opening it out”: The album Jimmy Page called life-changing
While the British rock explosion of the 1960s sent music off in eclectic directions, the trailblazing artists of the decade could not have done it without the blues. If it weren’t for the American form, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and every other rock pioneer hailing from the British Isles – as well as their transatlantic counterparts – would not have had the basis from which to jump off. This is something every innovator of the era has been open about, whether it be Mick Jagger or Jimmy Page.
As music and culture were different in the early 1960s, with everyone sharing the same forms of consuming and the artists on offer limited, those who were fans of the rock ‘n’ roll boom of the 1950s and the teenage rebellion it stoked would find themselves fascinated with the sounds that underpinned the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. This was the blues.
While there were many key blues players, it was the formative Robert Johnson, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil, as well as Chicago’s Chess Records, that made the greatest impact on those enamoured with guitar music. Without these two, likely, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and every significant rock artist of the decade wouldn’t have come to fruition, or at least in the way that they did. The entire context of rock as we know it would have changed. It probably wouldn’t even be called rock.
Put it this way: The great blues guitarist Bo Diddley, a Checker and later Chess signee, inspired rock ‘n’ roll legends Presley and Buddy Holly, as well as the Fab Four and the Stones. His famous style also underpinned Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett’s unique approach to the guitar.
When speaking to Guitar Player in 2023, Led Zeppelin and The Yardbirds hero Jimmy Page reflected on how pivotal the blues was for the British scene. He cast his mind back to 1962’s American Folk Blues Festival in Manchester, which featured the likes of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, T-Bone Walker, and others.
Page recalled that his band at the time, Neil Christian and the Crusaders, covered blues staples such as ‘Train Kept A-Rolling,’ ‘Honey Hush,’ and ‘Dust My Broom.’ He also pointed out that when groups were playing dance halls like his group and The Beatles were doing, promoters just wanted top 20 material, as evidenced by the Fab Four covering Tamla hits.
Despite the demands, Page was really keen to play the blues. He specifically meant the Chess catalogue during those days, as it arrived before much of what came later. He credits The Rolling Stones, a band often criticised for ripping off blues artists, with spreading the gospel of the record label to British listeners.
Page explained that he met the future Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards at the Manchester festival, who “were just blues enthusiasts on a pilgrimage, like all of us”. One night up north, they were together in a house where another of their peers showed them a significant record, Howlin’ Wolf’s 1962 self-titled album. It’s a collection of twelve Chess singles released between June 1957 and December 1961.
Detailing how life-changing that shared experience was for them all, he concluded: “Nobody had heard it up until then, but we all heard it that day. So yes, that was one life-changing thing, but everything is changing your perspective on things, broadening your outlook and opening it out.”
