Legacy and influence

"Along with a highly original and well-rounded guitar style, influenced by blues, country and international folk music, Jimmy Page has the grand distinction of being one of the most respected and influential songwriters and producers in the history of rock music." —Chapkin, Stang in 2003.

Page's experiences both in the studio and with the Yardbirds were very influential in contributing to the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. As a record producer, songwriter, and guitarist he helped make Led Zeppelin a prototype for countless future rock bands and was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, influencing a host of other guitarists. Allmusic states that "just about every rock guitarist from the late '60s/early '70s to the present day has been influenced by Page's work with Led Zeppelin". For example, Dictators bassist Andy Shernoff states that Jimmy Page's sped up, downstroke guitar riff in "Communication Breakdown", an influential song that contained elements of proto-punk, was an inspiration for Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone's downstroke guitar style. Ramone, who has described Page as "probably the greatest guitarist who ever lived", stated in the documentary Ramones: The True Story that he improved at his down-stroke picking style by playing the song over and over again for the bulk of his early career. Brian May of Queen, who was also influenced by Page, has said: "I don't think anyone has epitomised riff writing better than Jimmy Page – he's one of the great brains of rock music." Tom Scholz of Boston was heavily influenced by Jimmy Page and credits the dual guitar harmonies in Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" as the inspiration for Boston's distinctive sound. Page's guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as being the inspiration for his two-hand tapping technique after he had seen Led Zeppelin perform in 1971. Van Halen said "Page influenced me and everybody that I know. The guy is a legend." Kirk Hammett said, "Led Zeppelin was the first band that I ever listened and played to as a kid. I couldn't say enough about Zeppelin. Jimmy Page was the man. He is one of my heroes for years. He was the man. He was all encompassing. He was such an influence in my life." Dave Mustaine said that Jimmy page was the first guitarist who made him want to be a great guitarist. Scott Ian said Jimmy Page is the wizard and a master songwriter. Jerry Cantrell said, "Jimmy Page is another guitar player that means a lot to me." Zakk Wylde has stated that Page is his guy and that he worships him. Similarly, Steve Vai has also commented about the song in a September 1998 Guitar World interview: "This one [Heartbreaker] had the biggest impact on me as a youth. It was defiant, bold and edgier than hell. It really is the definitive rock guitar solo." Vai, who is also a Berklee alumna, was quoted saying, "In the physical universe there are objects that include suns, planets, all life and matter in all dimensions. And then there is the space where all these things exist, that space is the vital element. For virtually every kid since 1968 who picked up a guitar to find his voice on the instrument, Jimmy Page has been the space that enables all our notes to be played." Chris Cornell declared Page to be the greatest guitarist in rock history Joe Walsh said, "As a musician, we all want to thank Jimmy Page for showing us how to do it." Alex Lifeson said as a kid Page was his absolute hero and always wanted to think and play like him. Joe Perry said that Page inspired him to play any instrument strings or otherwise and said that Page can be put against any guitarist in the world.

At age 13, Tom Morello joined Nebula, a Led Zeppelin cover band, as lead singer. At this same age, Morello purchased his first guitar at Rigoni Music in Libertyville. He wanted a solid-body Ovation guitar, but he didn't have the money to buy one. Instead, he purchased a Kay guitar. Wanting to learn how to play "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, he took two guitar lessons, but instead was taught the C-major scale." John Frusciante said, "Jimmy Page's playing in Led Zeppelin was the perfect rock guitar playing and he himself was the perfect rock guitar player. Jimmy Page was the first person that made me want to play guitar. Four years before I started I was taught the beginning of Stairway to Heaven and stopped learning because my teacher could not show me the solo. Of course, I got around to it eventually… and not only Led Zep stuff, but I also studied his wonderful playing in The Yardbirds and all the session's he did in the 60's. The way his music developed leading up to Led Zep was beautiful. It seems like he had an endless flood of good ideas and then when he found the right people to play with the flood gates just poured open. I don’t believe that a rock band could carry around more power than they did. When I was 7 years old in 1977 somebody had somehow spray painted on the freeway overpass for all to see, "Led Zep Rules". It was up there for a long while and then taken away, but I believe it will be true forever." Paul Gilbert said, "Led Zeppelin was one of my favourite bands of all time and I tried to learn all their songs. Jimmy Page was great." Steve Morse also cites Page as an influence. Yngwie Malmsteen said he loved Jimmy Page. Joe Satriani considers himself as Jimmy Page's disciple. Ellen DeGeneres called Page the best guitarist in the world. Mick Jagger said that Jimmy Page a great player. Pete Townshend cited Page to be an extraordinary player. John Squire described Jimmy Page as "the world's greatest living guitar player." Jack White said, "When Jimmy grabs hold of a riff he makes it as powerful as possible. Its so explosive. I just don't trust anybody who does not like Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page has the special gift of taking an idea and presenting that idea in its most powerful form. Artists often lose their focus or become distracted, but that's never been the case with Jimmy. For example, as the Yardbirds were ending, he was able to find new people to work with, musicians that he knew could most powerfully present the ideas he had for the blues. What's even more impressive is that it was at a time when everyone thought that the blues had been taken to its highest, hardest-hitting point. It turned out to not be the case. Page came along with Led Zeppelin and turned it up ten more notches. I also believe that his work as a producer at times exceeds even his importance as a guitar player. Not only did he write incredible riffs, he also knew how to present them." Slash said, "Jimmy is an amazing writer and amazing producer. He is underrated as a producer still till this day." Steven Tyler said, "the way he produced those songs was flawless." Ritchie Blackmore said,"I rate Jimmy as a three-dimensional guitarist. Zeppelin – I liked their hard approach when they came out and did Whole Lotta Love. I immediately tuned in with that type of style because before when we were fiddling around with orchestras, I thought: something's wrong; I’m not giving all that I can. Thanks to them for the inspiration. They got it from Jeff Beck, who got it from the Small Faces. In Rock was the right formula: agile musicians playing with a tidal wave of force. But not a Led Zeppelin steal; the textures were much more varied, the sound more flexible. Suddenly escalating popularity soon led to "supergroup" status. That must have been a little surprising. "I was surprised because I was happy to be working. Why we thought we had to change singers was because of Robert Plant. We were playing at Mother's in Birmingham and Robert got up to sing with Terry Reid. We thought: Christ almighty! He was so dynamic. And the next two weeks we were looking for a singer, people who had Robert Plant's dynamic approach. So it was thanks to him."

Jeff Buckley was heavily influenced by Jimmy Page. Buckley's close friend and former Fishbone member Chris Dowd explains that the pair were so in awe of each other that their first meeting was an emotional affair. Speaking to Uncut, Dowd said, "Jeff told me they cried. They actually cried when they met each other. Jimmy heard himself in Jeff, and Jeff was meeting his idol. Jimmy Page was the godfather of Jeff's music. A lot of people thought Tim was the influence on Jeff, but it was really Zeppelin." Dowd also revealed just how deep Led Zeppelin's influence ran on his close friend's music. "He could play all the parts on all the songs. John Paul Jones' basslines. Page's guitar parts. The synthesiser intro on 'In The Light' – he could play it on guitar and it would sound just like it. And then he would get on the drums and exactly mimic John Bonham." Lenny Kravitz said on learning to play his guitar, "The first song I learned to play was when I was at summer camp I think it was John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads. I remember how great it felt to be able to switch chords without stopping and having to put your fingers in the next position. After that, I went straight for Zeppelin." The Edge said, "When I was in school, I knew how to play "Stairway to Heaven" and I remember my music teacher telling me to teach him how to play it because all the other kids wanted to learn to play "Stairway to Heaven"." James Hetfield said, "When I first got a guitar, I figured out the first couple of fingerings to this, and I ran around the house saying, 'Check it out — I can play this!' My family was like, 'Where's the rest of the song?" Ozzy Osbourne said, "My world stood still the first time I heard "Dazed and Confused"." Mike Karr of Royal Blood said,"Jimmy is "The" guitarist. Led Zeppelin is the greatest band in history. If we had to collaborate with any artist it would be him." In 2002, after playing "Thank You" with Jimmy Page, Fred Durst said, "To play with Jimmy is the highlight of my life so far." After watching the 2007 Led Zeppelin concert Marilyn Manson said, "The turning point for me was when I went to see Led Zeppelin's reunion show, and I saw Jimmy Page and Robert Plant look at each other for a moment, and they probably said, ‘Holy shit, we wrote ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ I wanted that look again… I want to look at Twiggy and go ‘Holy shit, we wrote ‘The Beautiful People.'" Ace Frehley on Page, "Jimmy Page is one of my heroes. From recording and performing, Led Zeppelin was "it" for a long time." Ted Nugent said, "Certainly Jimmy Page is one of the alltime great guitar masters."


Jimmy Page in at the MOJO Awards in 2008
Many other rock guitarists were also influenced by Jimmy Page, including Ace Frehley, Joe Satriani,Steve Vai, John Frusciante, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Angus Young, Slash, Dave Mustaine, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Stone Gossard, Mick Mars, Paul Stanley, Alex Lifeson, Michael Schenker and Dan Hawkins, have all expressed his influence on their playing. Page has been described by Uncut as "rock's greatest and most mysterious guitar hero". According to NBCNews.com, Jimmy Page "played some of the most fundamental and memorable guitar in rock history—from the heaviest crunch to the most delicate acoustic finger picking." Page's solo in the famous epic "Stairway to Heaven" has been voted by readers of Guitar World and Total Guitar as the greatest guitar solo of all time and he was named 'Guitarist of the Year' five times during the 1970s in Creem magazine's annual reader poll. Guitar World wrote: "Truly a guitar god, Jimmy Page is one of the most captivating soloists the rock world has ever known." In 1996, Mojo Magazine ranked him number 7 on their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In 2002 he was voted the second greatest guitarist of all time in a Total Guitar magazine reader poll. In 2007, Classic Rock Magazine ranked him number four on their list of the "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". Gigwise.com, an online music magazine, ranked Page number two on their list of the "50 greatest guitarists ever" in 2008. In August 2009, Time magazine ranked him the 6th greatest electric-guitar player of all time. In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked number two on Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". In 2004, David Fricke, senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, ranked him the 9th-greatest guitarist of all time and described him as "the pontiff of power riffing". In 2011, Page ranked number 3 in an updated version of the same list.
Fricke also described Jimmy Page in 1988 as "probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." Roger Daltrey of the Who has been a longtime fan of Page and expressed his desire to form a supergroup with Page in 2010 saying: "I'd love to do something, I'd love to do an album with Jimmy Page." Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has described Jimmy Page as "one of the best guitar players I've ever known." Jimmy Page was the first inductee onto the British Walk of Fame in August 2004. Page was awarded "Living Legend Award" at Classic Rock Magazine Roll of Honour 2007. In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Surrey for his services to the music industry. Page was inducted into Mojo Hall of Fame at the magazine's award ceremony on 11 June 2010.

In August 2010, Auburn University graduate student Justin Havird named a new species of fish "Lepidocephalichthys zeppelini" after Led Zeppelin, because the fish's pectoral fin reminded him of the double-neck guitar used by Jimmy Page.

In 2015 Daily News placed him fifth in their list of the greatest guitarists of all time.

[Post edited by Will Stewart at 02/20/2017 4:29PM]