Would The Yardbirds Be Different if Jimmy Page Joined?
There are a few rock questions we will never know the answer to. Did
Elvis really die with 15 lbs of stool impacted in his colon? Was the
real reason Janis Joplin died because she took a shower as she was
apparently allergic to water? (Damn hippie)
Let me toss another rock question to you. Would the Yardbirds have been different if Jimmy Page joined when he was asked? Would Led Zeppelin be different if Jeff Beck joined?
After Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds, they searched for a replacement. The band asked Jimmy Page to fill that void. However, Page turned it down. (all common knowledge if you follow the Yardbirds history)
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jeff Beck says:
"They asked him first. He turned them down... (so) I got the call."
I think the Yardbirds would have been a far less interesting band had Page joined the group when they asked. Page was a studio musician at the time. Beck was currently working with distortion and fuzz tone which the Yardbirds needed at the time.
Now the question is, if Page joined the Yardbirds, would Plant, Bonham, and Jones choose Jeff Beck for Led Zeppelin? What would that mean for Zeppelin music?
I don't feel that Zeppelin would be Zeppelin if it wasn't for Page. Page was a genius in the studio having worked most of his life in them. His mastering on Led Zeppelin II is awesome. Check out the drums on Led Zeppelin II .
It's funny how history has these chance encounters of what could have been, what should have been, but ultimately the best scenario happened.
Here is Beck's tenure in The Yardbirds:
Let me toss another rock question to you. Would the Yardbirds have been different if Jimmy Page joined when he was asked? Would Led Zeppelin be different if Jeff Beck joined?
After Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds, they searched for a replacement. The band asked Jimmy Page to fill that void. However, Page turned it down. (all common knowledge if you follow the Yardbirds history)
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jeff Beck says:
"They asked him first. He turned them down... (so) I got the call."
I think the Yardbirds would have been a far less interesting band had Page joined the group when they asked. Page was a studio musician at the time. Beck was currently working with distortion and fuzz tone which the Yardbirds needed at the time.
Now the question is, if Page joined the Yardbirds, would Plant, Bonham, and Jones choose Jeff Beck for Led Zeppelin? What would that mean for Zeppelin music?
I don't feel that Zeppelin would be Zeppelin if it wasn't for Page. Page was a genius in the studio having worked most of his life in them. His mastering on Led Zeppelin II is awesome. Check out the drums on Led Zeppelin II .
It's funny how history has these chance encounters of what could have been, what should have been, but ultimately the best scenario happened.
Here is Beck's tenure in The Yardbirds:
Posted by Craig Wettner at 2/22/2010 7:41 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Led Zeppelin Jeff Beck Eric Clapton The Yardbirds
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Led Zeppelin Jeff Beck Eric Clapton The Yardbirds
But...Page did eventually join the Yardbirds....
Yes, I guess that is not inferred by my post.
Would the Yardbirds have been different if Jimmy Page joined when he was asked?
I think the Yardbirds would have been a far less interesting band had Page joined the group when they asked.
He was asked far earlier than he joined. I guess I should have written out that he explicitly joined. But felt that I inferred it enough with the "When asked."
I also take a lot for granted when writing. But you don't get any editing change on this catch Marty E, drummer of The Dirty Pearls who are gearing up for a big show next Wednesday at Santos House in NYC with Acey Slade and Andrew W.K.