200716333

W3366 Entrepreneurship Independent Study

Jimmy Page, born 9th January 1944, is best known as the guitarist and one-half of the Jimmy Page/Robert Plant songwriting team of Led Zeppelin. However, his talents as a musician and entrepreneur go far beyond that of the public Jimmy Page that most are familiar with. His career, spanning nearly forty years, is the perfect example of a man whose talent and skill lie not only on his instrument of choice, but within his innovation, creativity, marketing, personal drive, personal relationships and networking, and general work ethic: all traits of an entrepreneur in the music industry. Pages first real steps into the music business were taken when he was still a teenager, leaving school at just fourteen and, in 1960, joining The Crusaders as a guitarist. Page toured with The Crusaders, who acted as a backing band to vocalist Neil Christian, for nearly two years. These were the first examples of Pages networking and interpersonal skills as Neil Christian later employed Page as a session musician to play on several records, including the 1962 single, The Road to Love. At this time, Page was attending art school and had become good friends through jamming in The Marquee music club with future superstars Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, both of whom Page has remained lifelong friends with. It was through these jams that Page, approached by John Gibb of The Silhouettes, started to get ad-hoc work as a session musician with EMI Records, before landing regular studio work as a session guitarist with Decca Records. The fact that Page, still only 19, was given this type of regular work is the first glaring statement of his work ethic and reliability, and indeed his skill as a guitarist. He went on to merit his appointment at such a young age by quickly becoming the favoured session guitarist of producer Shel Talmy, another nod towards his interpersonal and networking skills. As a direct result of his good relationship with Talmy, Page earned session work on various records for The Kinks and The Who. Pages reputation as a session musician grew rapidly to the point where he was doing so much work, he now cannot remember exactly what records he played on: Anyone needing a guitarist either went to Big Jim [Sullivan] or myselfI was doing three sessions a day, fifteen sessions a week. Sometimes I would be playing with a group, sometimes I could be doing film music, it could be a folk session ... I was able to fit all these different roles.1 Now that Page was well established as a session musician, and having played on records by such artists as Marianne Faithfull, Vain Morrison and The Rolling Stones, he was approached in 1965 by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Olham to act as house producer for Immediate Records.2 This gave Page the perfect opportunity to put into practise the skills he had learned through watching producers for several years as a session musician and also to hone is own skills as a producer, which he would put to great use in his later career when producing Led
1

National Public Radio, Guitar Legend Jimmy Page, 2 June 2003, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1283481 2 http://www.jimmypage.co.uk/biography.htm

200716333 Zeppelins albums. Page went on to produce and/or play on records by artists such as John Mayall and Eric Clapton. Thus far in his career, and still at the tender age of only 21, Jimmy Page had had a significant impact on the London music scene, firstly as a session musician on many records that can still be heard today, and indeed are regarded as classic rock records, and latterly as a producer for the rising stars of the time. Page had already developed some typical traits of a musical entrepreneur at this early stage, such as his networking and interpersonal skills, through befriending Neil Christian and Shel Talmy, which ultimately ensured steady employment, albeit brief, at a later date. Furthermore, his reliability, work ethic and, perhaps most important of all, skill as a guitar player cemented his continued employment and good reputation as a session musician. Come 1968, Page, having left session and producing work to play with The Yardbirds, formed what was to become Led Zeppelin from the ashes of the now disbanded Yardbirds. This was the start of a new chapter in Pages career, one that would bring him to the dizzying heights of worldwide fame and success, but would also bring out in Page many of the qualities, skills and innovation of a musical entrepreneur, skills he had been developing, perhaps subconsciously, in his early days a studio musician. Page had a very exact idea of what he wanted this new band to be and the musical direction he wanted them to take, highlighted perfectly by the fact that it was him who came up with the name Led Zeppelin (dropping the a from Lead to avoid it mistakenly being pronounced Leed)3, feeling this was the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace.4 Furthermore, Page, with the help of manager Peter Grant, secured a very lucrative advance deal from Atlantic Records. Under the terms of the contract, the band alone would decide when they would release albums and tour, and had final say over the contents and design of each album. They also would decide how to promote each release and which (if any) tracks to release as singles, and formed their own company, Superhype, to handle all publishing rights.5 Both the choice of name and successfully negotiated contract are the first indications of Pages shrewd business sense as well as his skills in marketing. These very terms, secured at the very start of Zeppelins contract with Atlantic Records, are what helped Led Zeppelin achieve such an underground status and also greatly contributed to the success and huge demand for their live shows, which would ultimately go on to sell out around the world. Between 1968 and 1970, Led Zeppelin recorded two albums: Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II. Both these albums were massively successful; the latter going to number 1 in both America and Britain, and it has been suggested that the band, in these early days, wrote the blueprint for heavy metal bands of the future to follow.6 This was due, in no small, part to Jimmy Page and the unique technique and sound
3 4

http://www.jimmypageonline.com/11318/42826.html Keith Shadwick (2005). Led Zeppelin The Story of a Band and their Music 1968 1980. p. 36 5 Dave Lewis (1994). The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin (Kindle Edition ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 3. 6 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2007). All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock (1st ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 98 2

200716333 he had developed with the band in this short space of time. For example, his sped up, down stroke guitar riff in "Communication Breakdown", from the first album, is cited as guitarist Johnny Ramone's inspiration for his punk-defining, strictly down stroke guitar strumming, while Page's landmark guitar solo from the song Led Zeppelin IIs "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as the inspiration for his two-hand tapping technique after he saw Led Zeppelin perform in the early 70s.7 Furthermore, as Led Zeppelins live shows became increasingly extended, with long improvisations of their songs, Page developed another unique technique within Dazed and Confused by playing the strings on his guitar with a violin bow, creating an incredibly eerie sound. Despite not being the first to use a bow whilst playing guitar, Page used it to such an extent, and with such success, that it became synonymous with Led Zeppelin and with Jimmy Page. These techniques, pioneered and perfected by Page are the perfect example of his innovation in playing. Not only have his performance techniques been emulated by many since, so have both his distinctive album and live sound. These two early albums were not entirely original, with about a third of the material being covers that the band, with Page as the main creative force, had arranged while on tour before recording the album. This is yet another testament to Pages innovation and also creativity. Most notably, Dazed and Confused and Lemon Song were relatively well known songs before Led Zeppelin reworked them for the studio, with Page putting his creative stamp on both with his signature guitar sound, and futuristic blues arrangements: another perfect example of Page as a creative and innovative entrepreneur. 1971 1975 were, without doubt, the years in which Led Zeppelin were at the peak of their success and popularity. This era was also, not coincidentally, when Page came into his own as a musician and entrepreneur. In keeping with Pages marketing vision for the band, Led Zeppelin had already amassed a very underground status through the manner in which the band, and Page, marketed themselves. Seeing their albums as indivisible, i.e. whole listening experiences, the band ignored advice and pressure from the record company and refused to release any singles in the UK, opting to release only albums. Coupled with the fact that they scarcely appeared on television or radio, indeed it was rare to even find a picture of the band on or within an album cover, Led Zeppelin became almost a myth. This image was entirely down to Pages original idea of how he wanted the band to be marketed, and was the reason it was written into the original record contract that the band were to have total control over all decisions in marketing and publishing. This idea was further compounded in late 1971 when Led Zeppelin released their fourth studio album. This fourth album is possibly the best example of how Page had grown as a musician and entrepreneur, with Page showing several typical entrepreneurial traits in great quantity upon the release of the album. Having had a lukewarm reception to Led Zeppelin III, Page opted to release an album without a title: We decided that on the fourth album, we would deliberately play down the group name, and there wouldn't be any information whatsoever on the outer jacket because we knew that way that the music was being received both by sales

http://www.jimmypage.co.uk/biography.htm 3

200716333 and attendance at concerts8. The only marketing in the lead up to the release of the album were teasing advertisements depicting a cryptic symbol representing each member of the band. Regardless of immense pressure from the record company, who insisted it was professional suicide9, Page pressed on with this idea, and the album was released with no title, no band name on the cover and no written information on the sleeve. The album was a massive instant seller, and is now one of the biggest selling albums of all time. It entered the UK chart at number one and stayed on the chart for 62 weeks. In the United States it stayed on the charts longer than any other Led Zeppelin album and became the biggest selling album in the US not to top the charts (peaking at #2).10 Led Zeppelin IV (as it is commonly referred to) also marked Page coming into his own as one half of the songwriting team of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Seven of the eight tracks on the album were original, with Page writing the music and Plant supplying the lyrics. This album sums up Pages diversity in both songwriting and guitar playing perfectly: moving through such fast paced rock riffs on Rock and Roll to the much more mellow and beautiful Going to California and, not forgetting, what is often cited as one of the greatest rock songs of all time11: Stairway to Heaven. This is Pages defining moment as a songwriter, displaying sophistication, diversity and great creativity in the writing and arranging of these songs. As well as writing and/or arranging all tracks on the album, and marketing it in an unconventional but highly successful manner, Page further contributed to Led Zeppelin IV as a producer. Drawing on his experience from his earlier days of producing with Immediate Records, Page had helped produce all three previous Led Zeppelin albums, however, his finest piece of production came on the final track of this album, When The Levee Breaks. Page worked closely with the sound engineer to produce the classic drum intro to this track, which has become one of the sampled drumbeats of all time12. The distinctive sound was achieved through a highly innovative technique of hanging a microphone from the top of a 3-storey flight of stairs to capture the ambience of the drum kit from the hall below. Further to this, Page employed several techniques to achieve the exact sound and feel for the song he wanted to: recording the song at a faster speed, then slowing it down to achieve the desired sludgy sound13 as well as employing backwards echo on the harmonica part. Page lays claim to the invention of this particular effect, stating

Adams, Cecil. "What Do the Four Symbols on Led Zeppelin's 4th Album Mean?" straightdope.com. James Jackson, "Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin IV, the band's peak and their reunion, The Times, January 8, 2010 9 James Jackson, "Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin IV, the band's peak and their reunion, The Times, January 8, 2010 10Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, 11 Shmoop (2010), Stairway to Heaven: Shmoop Music Guide, Shmoop University, Inc., p.4 12 "Artist Samples beginning with the letter L" The-Breaks.com. 13 Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press 4

200716333 that he originally developed the method when recording with The Yardbirds in 1967. In the space of one album, Page has displayed a host of traits associated with the musical entrepreneur. His marketing of all material until this point had been unwavering, but his marketing strategy on this particular album was an extremely radical move which had the potential to be disastrous. Yet his confidence in the material and in his own ability was unshakeable and the marketing strategy proved to be a massive success, with the album going immediately to number 1 in the UK. Second to this was his now apparent ability as a songwriter. Coupled with Plants lyrics, his music displays extreme originality and creativity, and it was these that ensured Led Zeppelin were not only one of the most commercially successful groups of the 1970s, but one of the most commercially successful groups of all time. Finally, Pages constant use of innovative guitar techniques and innovat ion within the studio were what defined not only his personal sound, but also the sound of Led Zeppelin as a group. Since Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, due to the death of their drummer John Bonham, Page has had many side projects. However, the bulk of his time in recent years has been taken up by the desire to create a DVD of Led Zeppelin performing live: The reason for [the DVD] was that there was no visual material [of the band] that was out there really. The studio albums had been put out in many different shapes and forms, but this was something that was sorely missing because [Led] Zeppelin built its material on live performances. So that had to be done. 14 Page, yet again showing his fierce dedication and work ethic to whatever project is currently occupying his time, spent the best part of a year researching, compiling, load and mixing all the material that would eventually feature on the 2003 DVD release, entitled simply Led Zeppelin. Page was, once again, involved in an innovative process used on the original tapes that the footage had been recorded on. Due to the age and condition of the tapes being used, they had succumbed to a fault, commonly known as Sticky Shed Syndrome. In order to counter this, Page, and the engineers he was working with at the time, baked the tapes in ovens at 51 oC for 3 weeks to allow them to be played back. Once this process had been carried out, Page was heavily involved in mixing the audio portion of the DVD, which was digitally remixed for stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. This project of Pages, expertly carried out in recent years are just another example of Pages general musicianship, innovation and sound technical knowledge in his production of the first DVD of Led Zeppelins live performances, which has received all-round excellent reviews. In conclusion, I feel Jimmy Page is the perfect example of a musical entrepreneur. When looking at his career, it is inspiring to see someone achieve such global stardom, and still work tirelessly to improve himself in every possible way. I am inspired by his skills as a guitarist, skills which earned him his first job as a session guitarist and led to him playing on countless records as a session musician, the perfect example of his skill as a player. Furthermore, his unique and innovative techniques as a guitarist have inspired countless guitarists over the years. I see
14

Led Zeppelin and the Giants of Rock, DVD released by Classic Rock magazine, 2008 5

200716333 Page as the ultimate metal guitar player, although personal ly he doesnt like this title. I am envious of Pages almost chameleon-like skills as an engineer/producer and he moves so effortlessly from playing, to recording, to then producing. It is obvious he is a man who is in total control when in a recording studio, and is always looking toward the finished product and how that product can be improved. His communication and interpersonal skills have been obvious since his first job as a session musician and producer. These skills ensured that he became well known very quickly as a session guitarist, thus providing him with as much work as possible. Furthermore, he developed life-long friendships with some of the most influential people in the music industry at the time, friendships that have proved fruitful, and, ultimately provided Page with further employment and opportunities to develop himself musically. Finally, Pages marketing vision was somewhat revolutionary at the time and was a major factor in ensuring that Led Zeppelin achieved the underground image that Page had desired from the very beginning, prompting fans to come to the live shows in their thousands. All these traits perfectly exemplify that of the musician/entrepreneur in the music business, and are what helped Jimmy Page to become one of the best-known names in the music industry, and the success that he is. Upon reflection, Jimmy Page is an inspiration. Personally, his work ethic is what impresses and inspires me most. As impressive as his many entrepreneurial qualities and skills are, his drive, work ethic and vision have been constant since he first started working as a session musician, and are, to my mind, his biggest qualities that helped him take his first steps on the way to becoming the perfect example of a musician/entrepreneur.