Rocci Disopa
Updated 3y
Did Jimmy Page have second choices for the other three band members, before he started Led Zeppelin?
Yes he certainly did!
But you have to go back to the Spring of 1966 first!
Jeff Beck had just booked sessions at IBC Studios in London. The musicians invited were old friend and soon to be Yardbird Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and John Entwistle of ‘The Who’, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and John Paul Jones. These sessions produced the track “Beck’s Bolero” which would appear on Jeff’s solo record two years later. Entwistle was a no-show, John Paul played the bass. But Page liked the idea of a ‘supergroup’ of name musicians coming together to form a unit. And, this was at the time ‘Cream’ was getting started in London, with the ‘Jimi Hendrix Experience’ on the horizon.
Fast forward two years to the Summer of 1968, as the Yarbirds returned from America and disbanded. Jimmy Page wanted to put his ‘supergroup’ together to rival the others. He wanted Moonie and Entwistle from ‘The Who’, but he knew they weren’t available.
He first offered the Bass guitar gig to fellow ex-Yardie Chris Dreja, who turned it down!
Chris was tired of the constant touring and low pay. He had been wanting to get his photography business off the ground (he would have a client in Page). John Paul Jones soon contacted Jimmy about the gig. It was a no-brainer after that. The two had done numerous sessions together, and John Paul had played bass on ‘the Yardies’ “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”. He was a well respected musician.
For the lead vocalist, Page had wanted Terry Reid. Reid was a charismatic singer guitarist who’s star was on the horizon. He’d already opened for the Stones once as a young 16 year old!
Terry Reid In 1969. At the time Led Zeppelin was forming, he opened for Cream in North America, and was also going to open for The Rolling Stones on their next US tour.
The timing couldn’t have been worst for Reid. He was a hot commodity! When Jimmy Page tried to recruit him, he supposedly had told him that ‘he only needed a few weeks and that he’d be back in town soon enough’! Page said ‘it was now or never’. Terry had to pass it up, but he did recommend Bob Plant and John Henry Bonham to Jimmy Page to check out after seeing them perform recently at a local gig.
Jimmy had also been interested in BJ Wilson of ‘Procol Harum’ on drums.
Barrie James Wilson was a young, accomplished drummer who was starting to make a name for himself on the London session scene. BJ and guitarist Robin Trower were early additions to the Procol lineup, as both had played with singer Gary Booker prior. Like Reid, BJ was a valuable player at the time, not only doing sessions for producer Mickey Most, but also playing FT drums in ‘Procol Harum’. Jimmy Page and BJ Wilson had just worked together on Joe Cocker’s album which featured the classic remake “With a Little Help From My Friends”. But like the others, he ‘passed’ on Zeppelin. Supposedly, even Robert Plant who loved the idea of continuing his playing with Bonham, thought Wilson would have been a good choice if needed.
So yes, Page did have a game plan in place for his post Yardbirds career. Thank god for all of us, it went down like a “lead balloon”.
