Happy Birthday Jimmy Page!
Considered one of THE greatest guitarists of all time, Page's work has revolutionized, influenced, and lasted the test of time in the world of rock music. Introduced to the world as the third great guitarist to be featured in the psychedelic band The Yardbirds, Page was already known in music circles as a highly coveted session guitarist when he was asked to replace Eric Clapton in the band. Page passed on the offer and recommended Jeff Beck who took the position leading to much of the band's success in the 60s. Page would eventually join the band as a bassist until moving over to guitar to join Beck in a twin guitar lineup. Beck would get fired from the Yardbirds and Page would take the reins as the solo lead till the band broke up from burnout after years of hard touring.
Page would quickly put a band together to replace The Yardbirds in upcoming dates that the band would leave on the table, calling the band The New Yardbirds, but that would be put to an end when he was forced to drop the name and rebranded the group Led Zeppelin. Zeppelin would become the premier Hard Rock band on the scene and would supply some of the building blocks for what would become Heavy Metal. With the iconic Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, Jimmy would help change the face of music through the innovation of Zeppelin creating some of the most influential music ever made.
Zepplin's run of brilliance would come to an end in the 80's after the tragic death of John Bonham, and Page would take a hiatus from music to grieve the death. After several side projects Page would come back to music with formation of the supergroup The Firm with ex Bad Company lead Paul Rogers. Not matching the greatness of Zeppelin, The Firm would still find success with their two albums and Page would find his love of the work again.
Jimmy would release his solo debut in the late 80's and head into the 90's forming the band Coverdale/Page with ex Deep Purple & Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale. He would end the century and go into the 2000's rejoining Plant in a set of acoustic projects that involved a reworking of Zeppelin hits and new original material and Zeppelin as a whole would reunite for a set a of dates at the O2 Arena in a series of concerts called Celebration Day.
The mark in music that Jimmy Page has laid is immeasurable and his legacy is solidified to this day by the many disciples that have been influenced by his work and followed his lead into the ever growing world of rock.