Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has no problem expressing his opinion, no matter how blunt, including his feelings toward Led Zeppelin and its guitarist, Jimmy Page. Richards has famously dogged his fellow British rock ‘n’ rollers on multiple occasions, including in 2015 when he called Led Zeppelin’s sound “hollow” and dominated by “[drummer] John Bonham thundering down the highway in an uncontrolled 18-wheeler.”
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Much of Richards’ public opinions on Led Zeppelin come by way of interviews, but the Rolling Stones founder is just as comfortable sharing his thoughts to his colleagues’ faces. Decades before he called the four-piece “hollow,” Richards tried to give Page some unsolicited advice that Page ultimately didn’t follow. If he had, Led Zeppelin might’ve changed forever.
The “Quite Amusing” Advice Keith Richards Once Gave Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin thrived on its four members’ distinct, larger-than-life talents. Robert Plant’s soaring vocals and showmanship kept eyes on the band. Jimmy Page provided the iconic riffs and melodic foundation on which Plant could sing, scream, and moan. John Bonham gave Led Zeppelin its incredible power and drive, and John Paul Jones was the glue that held it all together. In the studio, Led Zeppelin could expand on these abilities even further through overdubs, orchestration, and other recording techniques.
But this type of in-studio expansion had downsides—namely, the band couldn’t recreate all of the same arrangements with only four people. This led to many songs, like “Achilles Last Stand,” being excluded from their live sets. In a 1977 interview with Trouser Press, Page recalled a time when Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards offered his advice to fix the band’s issue.
“When Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards came to hear us play, Keith said, ‘You ought to get another guitarist. You’re rapidly becoming known as the most overworked guitarist in the business,’” Page recalled. “Quite amusing. There are times when I’d just love to get another guitarist on. But it just wouldn’t look right to the audience.”
Of course, Page had a point. Up until John Bonham’s death in 1980, Led Zeppelin’s lineup never changed. The band was so committed to that specific four-piece that they dissolved the group after Bonham died. The remaining members have performed reunions since, but these have been few and far between. Fed Zeppelin has always been Plant, Page, Jones, and Bonham, saecula saeculorum.
If Anyone Could Handle The Job, It Was Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page (and the rest of Led Zeppelin) might have believed they were an equal, inseparable sum of each other’s parts, but some listeners weren’t so certain. One such skeptic was Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who famously criticized every Led Zeppelin member besides Jimmy Page. During an early 2000s Q&A on his website, Richards said he always felt Led Zeppelin was “aptly named. It never took off for me musically.”
“At the same time,” he continued, “Jimmy Page is one of the best guitar players I’ve ever known. Bonham is a hell of a powerhouse drummer. I think he’s kind of heavy-handed myself, which is where the “led” comes in. Plant’s exuberant. Robert Plant’s exuberant enough to be an LV [lead vocalist]. I think he’s very much in that English mode of LV, like Roger Daltry…Rod Stewarts, even Mick Jaggers. They all seem to sort of copy each other in a way.”
“To me, Led Zeppelin is Jimmy Page,” Richards added. “If you want to cut the story short, Jimmy. Yeah.” Overworked as Richards might have thought Page to be in the 1970s, it’s clear he had full faith in his colleague’s ability to get the job done.
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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