The lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page flustered around fame and wealth in the 60s. Initially starting out as a studio session musician in London, later on, he went on to become one of the greatest guitarists in the history of rock music. It was after he formed Led Zeppelin with singer Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.
Being what he is today, Jimmy has always been open to new music and new beginnings. He has talked about where music is today and hopes for a better tomorrow. While talking about music, he also shared his opinion on the late Audioslave and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell.
Everyone knows about Chris Cornell. He was best known as the lead vocalist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He had a very successful career and was one of the prominent faces in the 1990s grunge movement. Sadly, he passed away on May 18, 2017, and the cause of death was deemed to be suicide. He is one of the greatest vocalists in grunge.
Before all the commotion, Cornell was a big Led Zeppelin fan.
Chris has always loved Led Zeppelin. He has covered many iconic bands of the British Hard Rock genre. He has performed many songs like ‘Immigrant Song’ and ‘Thank You’ in his concerts. In 2010, he re-recorded ‘Whole Lotta Love’ with Carlos Santana.
In 2011 while talking with Howard Stern he explained the reason he picked those tracks to play. He said, “To me it was kind of almost uncharacteristic of other stuff of that album. It sounds like a 60s Pop song to me. The way that they have arranged. It’s almost that would’ve been, with any other band, that would have been their biggest hit. But because it was Led Zeppelin and the album was so unbelievable, it’s their first album, it almost kind of passed over.”
To the topic, What is Jimmy’s opinion on Chris Cornell
This was in the mid-1990s. Back then, Chris was a newcomer. During a press conference to promote his work with Robert Plant, Page was asked about new bands he likes. That’s when he mentioned some of them, and among them, was Soundgarden. He commented that he is an “incredibly talented” musician.
Even after Chris’ passing, he was sad about the fact and stated his dissatisfaction. He stated, “RIP Chris Cornell, incredibly talented, incredibly young, incredibly missed.”
Also, during the Soundgarden tribute show made for Cornell, he sent his message to everyone. “Hello, I’m Jimmy Page and I’m actually over here in London sending this video link to Matt, Kim, Ben. I’m sorry I can’t be with you there this evening, But, believe me, I’m there in spirit.”
He added, “I want to congratulate you for having got this event together to celebrate Chris’ music. I also want to say that the input that you put in to Soundgarden, from the records. Because I got hooked on your music from the first album.”
“But I also came to hear you play, you guys. I was always astonished at the way you all glued together. I mean, it was just really what, for me, bands are all about.. Yeah, have a great evening, have a wonderful evening, this celebration of Chris’ music.”
During an interview with Guitar World, Cornell also revealed a lot of details on how Jimmy helped him have a career. During the interview, he said, “You touched on the idea that there was something besides hit radio, for example The Yardbirds. All music and especially British music at the time. It was chart driven and hit driven. Right at this time when maybe there is a format to do something that it isn’t hit driven, you seem to kind of walk right into it.”
“Me as a fan, for example, I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know that you were actually doing something that would allow someone like me years later to have a career doing what I want. Not having to have hit driven Rock and Roll music. It appears to me, kind of been going through your story, that you did it. So thank you.”
What they had for each other is simply blissful. Jimmy as an elder, guides, and inspires young artists like Chris and it’s just phenomenal. They didn’t have any collaboration under their name, but they had a connection like no other.
