Celebrating Jimmy Page's 75th Birthday

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​Yesterday was the 75th birthday of Jimmy Page on January 8th, 2019. Jimmy was born in 1944, but it's just amazing to me that 75 years have passed. I, it just seems like yesterday I grew up listening to led Zepplin. I'm just marveled at all the 50th and 75th anniversaries. Even Woodstock is celebrating its 50th anniversary and something's in the works for a celebration. What a mindblower, being a young kid being a teenager and then an adult and now I’m here, looking at all of the stuff I love most turn 50 & 75. I was actually teenager during the late sixties and into the seventies, and I was blessed while not knowing at the time that it was a renaissance of explosive music how music affected the culture. We just took it for granted. We grew up with the Beatles and the Stones and the first British invasion.
 
And then, right after Sergeant Pepper, it seemed that the flood gates opened to creativity and all different kinds of music. But that second British wave, the bands that we call the progressive bands today, started to appear. Kind of independent from that was Jimmy Page. I had liked Led Zeplin, I didn't love them, but I was intrigued with their sound. I wasn't too thrilled with Robert Plant, although I love Robert Plant, especially when he talks about what he knows about culture and whales and Celtic Lore and also his views on the United States and music in general. He's a very intelligent and interesting human being. If you saw them on the Dan Rather interview recently on AXS channel, it's really worth watching. He's really something else. But the thing I remember was the first time I saw a video. They were not prevalent back then, you had to go see the group live if you wanted to see them.
 
The first time I saw and listened to Jimmy page and was totally transported to another world, I was fixated on him. His sound was unique, and his stage presence is definitely singular. I've just been mesmerized by him, both his sound and the look when he's onstage. Even to this day, I think he is the greatest guitar player of my generation. I, recently on my personal page, put photos of my top four artists, with Jimmy and Steve Howe of Yes, Brian May of Queen and Peter Townsend of The Who. Now, there's lots more guitarists, but those four have really been there for me as I grew up, transported me to a different world I wasn't quite sure what, but it took me out of my problems or issues or when I was just having a bad day or having a great day and making a great day better. Those guys, through their guitar playing, were part of my childhood, part of my early adulthood and have had a profound effect on me as far as music and culture, to this day. I listen to music. It's an integral part of my life. I listened to music  over the streaming capabilities we have today. I'm old school too. I love analog technology as well. This is Brad from Old Days, New Ways, doing our Old Days blog post, congratulating and celebrating the 75th anniversary of Jimmy Page, who I feel was the most original and amazing guitar player I have ever seen and heard.