b. James Patrick Page, 9 January 1944, Heston, Middlesex, England. One of rock's most gifted and distinctive guitarists, Page began his professional career during the pre-beat era of the early 60s. He was a member of several groups, including Neil Christian's Crusaders and Carter Lewis And The Southerners, the latter of which was led by the popular songwriting team Carter And Lewis (John Carter and Ken Lewis). Page played rousing solos on several releases by Carter/Lewis protégés, notably the McKinleys' "Sweet And Tender Romance", and the guitarist quickly became a respected session musician. He appeared on releases by Jet Harris And Tony Meehan, Lulu, Them, Chris Farlowe, Tom Jones and Dave Berry, as well as scores of less renowned acts such as, Wayne Gibson, the Primitives, First Gear, Gregory Phillips, the Lancastrians, Les Fleur De Lys, the Factotums, Twice As Much, the Masterminds, the Fifth Avenue, but his best-known work was undertaken for producer Shel Talmy. Page appeared on sessions for the Kinks and the Who, joining an elite band of young studio musicians who included Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones (a future bandmate in Led Zeppelin) and Bobby Graham. The guitarist completed a solo single, "She Just Satisfies", in 1965, and although it suggested a frustration with his journeyman role, he later took up an A&R position with Immediate Records, where he produced singles for Nico and John Mayall.
Having refused initial entreaties, Page finally agreed to join the Yardbirds in 1966 and he remained with this groundbreaking attraction until its demise two years later. The guitarist then co-founded Led Zeppelin in September 1968, with which act he forged his reputation. His propulsive riffs established the framework for a myriad of tracks - "Whole Lotta Love", "Rock And Roll", "Black Dog", "When The Levee Breaks" and "Achilles Last Stand" - now established as rock classics, while his solos have set benchmarks for a new generation of guitarists. He was noted for playing his guitar with a cello bow on tracks such as "Dazed And Confused", "How Many More Times" and "Kashmir". His acoustic technique, featured on "Black Mountain Side" and "Tangerine", is also notable, while his session work with singer-songwriter Roy Harper, in particular on Stormcock (1971), was also among the finest of his career (several years later Page would record a whole album with Harper).
Page's recordings since Led Zeppelin's dissolution have largely been ill-focused. He contributed the soundtrack to Michael Winner's 1982 movie Death Wish II, while the Firm, a collaboration with Paul Rodgers, formerly of Free and Bad Company, was equally disappointing. More enjoyable was the 1984 reunion with Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant in the short-lived R&B tribute act, the Honeydrippers, and several of his former Yardbirds colleagues in Box Of Frogs. However, a 1988 solo release, Outrider, did much to re-establish Page's reputation, with contributions from Robert Plant, Chris Farlowe and Jason Bonham, the son of Led Zeppelin's late drummer, John. The guitarist then put considerable effort into remastering that band's revered back-catalogue with a remastered box set released in 1990. Coverdale/Page was a successful but fleeting partnership with the former Whitesnake singer in 1993, but it was Page's reunion with Robert Plant for the live No Quarter project, and an album of new material in 1998, that really captured the public's imagination.
Page achieved an unlikely UK hit single in August 1998, collaborating with Puff Daddy on "Come With Me', from the Godzilla soundtrack. In 2000, he teamed up with the US rock band the Black Crowes for a series of highly praised American concerts. The two final shows at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles were captured for posterity on Live At The Greek. Page subsequently busied himself overseeing a number of Led Zeppelin archive releases, including 2003"s How The West Was Won live collection and a bestselling DVD. In 2006, he guested on Jerry Lee Lewis' cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll" on the veteran's new album Last Man Standing. The following December, he reunited with the other surviving Led Zeppelin members Plant and Jones to play at a tribute concert for the late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun.
