The two songs a 13-year-old Jimmy Page played during his first TV appearance
It is quite bizarre to think of any rock star as a child – all innocent and unjaded, not yet blinded by the lights of sex and drugs and hedonism. That’s especially true for Jimmy Page, even whose naïve dreams way back in his halcyon days of the 1940s and ‘50s may never have conceived of the trailblazing sonic rapture he would go on to spearhead as the leading force of Led Zeppelin.
But like many kids of that era, the influence of rock and roll was never far from view, which in many ways was only natural if you grew up in a time when Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly were dominating the airwaves. Page had humble beginnings but lofty ambitions – he was taught the basics of playing guitar by older boys at school but largely transformed into a self-made protégé, honing his craft by studying records and, of course, forming a band.
We may think the romance of a TV talent show was something of a 2000s fad, but in fact, the concept has dated back even to the days of the 1950s where, like every young wannabe star, Page and his friends were also caught up in the allure. That’s how, at the tender age of just 13 years old, the future Led Zeppelin founder would come to make his first ever TV appearance, performing on the BBC talent show All Your Own.
The star turn from 1957 clearly prompted Page into feeling that a life of fame and rock and roll was obviously the path for him, despite telling host Huw Wheldon at the time that when he was older, “I want to do biological research [to find a cure for] cancer, if it isn’t discovered by then.” Honourable an answer it may have been, but evidently Page had set his sights on other plans that only the right music could provide him.
In that sense, the song choices for his band’s big performance were completely crucial in securing his future fate. As a skiffle quartet, the influence of the American folk-blues infusion was pertinent as they played the songs ‘Mama Don’t Want to Skiffle Anymore’ and ‘In Them Ol’ Cottonfields Back Home’.
While this may have ended up as a far cry to the heights of hard rock and heavy metal that Page’s later outfit Led Zeppelin would go on to start creating some roughly ten years afterwards, the palpable impact of the early basis of the genre can be traced right through their tenure, especially that of the frontman’s. First joining the blues-inspired Yardbirds in 1966, his experience as part of that band made an indelible imprint on what Led Zeppelin would shortly become – and not before also turning Page into a bona fide rock god.
Many will be accustomed to the fact that one’s teenage dreams far from often end up actually coming true, but there’s sometimes that certain sense of spark in blazing stars that the life of music grandeur would always be in their destiny. Page is one of those lucky rare examples, demonstrating that even in the most rudimentary beginnings of a talent show, it can lead you to take over the world.
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