An exclusive interview with legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, was aired on “CBS This Morning”, conducted by CBS News foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata. Recorded on Ocotober8, 2018 at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Page reminisces about the band’s inception and shares insights about the upcoming official photo book “Led Zeppelin By Led Zeppelin”.
In the interview, Page looked back at the band’s first rehearsal in a small London room during August 12, 1968, when they were still known as the New Yardbirds. He shared that this encounter, which was a life-altering moment, assured each member that they were playing with equals for the first time in their musical careers. “We counted ‘one, two, three, four’ and we were in and we were all playing, and we just kept extending the song and jamming on it,” Page said. “By the end of it, I absolutely guarantee that it was a life-changing experience for everybody from that point — everyone knew that they’d never played with musical equals [before].”
This initial rehearsal led to a profound connection between the band members. Page said, “What I knew was I’d never felt something like that before; and what I also knew was everybody else was in the same boat. No matter what they’d done in the past, they’d never been in a situation where everything was so sort of intense and so heavily connected — profoundly connected, musically — on just our first meeting and getting together to play.”
Page further discussed the band’s decision to perform a few shows before recording their debut album, with their first gig at the Gladsaxe Teen Club in Denmark on September 7, 1968. He emphasized his eagerness to have the group playing in front of an audience before venturing into the studio. From July to October 1968, Page observed, the band transformed at an incredible pace.
Page’s vision for the band was crystal clear from the beginning: “I knew that the way to do it was to have four musicians that were just really locked in tight and everyone could be heard on the records, and it wasn’t just about one person but the overall.”
The interview was part of the promotion for “Led Zeppelin By Led Zeppelin,” a unique collaboration between Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, who gave Reel Art Press unrestricted access to the Led Zeppelin archive. This 400-page chronology, marking 50 years since their formation, spans the band’s unparalleled career, featuring hundreds of curated images and artworks selected by the band members, from the iconic to the unseen. The book includes annotations written by the band members themselves and contributions from major photographers who have captured the band throughout their careers.
