Jimmy Page and his TELE???

ragincajun · August 5th, 2003, 08:52 PM

I heard that Jimmy Page used a 52 tele on almost ALL of Zepplins recordings, and exclusively on Led Zepplin IV (stairway, black dog, etc.), and that he only used the Gibson (can i say that?

) live because he thought it looked cooler (he was on drugs.) does anyone else know anything about this?

Chrismeyer · August 5th, 2003, 09:08 PM

Yeah,he was on drugs.
I have a pic of him in the studio playing a tele.

GilmourD · August 5th, 2003, 09:10 PM

Less than half right, more than half wrong. He used the Tele on the whole first album, and most of the second from what I understand. He used the LPs on the rest of the stuff, aside from acoustics and the Danelectro he used on Kashmir and a few other songs. Stairway was done on a Gibson (before the spelled it Garbage) EDS-1275 doubleneck, and I think that was also used on a couple other pieces. However, the vast bulk of Zep wasn't recorded or performed with our favorite piece of electric guitar history.

In fact, his Tele wasn't a 52. I don't think he pulled a Clapton on it (neck off one, body of another), but it's a late '60s model with a rosewood board.

Dacious · August 5th, 2003, 09:12 PM

A little exaggerated. Page did have a '58 Tele dating back to Yardbirds days, used on album 1 and two years' touring and for various other bits, including the lead off StH. He used at least two Teles, both benders, on the Unledded tour I saw in '93, and used them throughout nearly all the albums for different things. 'Hot Dog' off 'Coda' was the Botswana brown b-bender.

http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/gear.html

stantheman · August 5th, 2003, 09:39 PM

For the record "Foxy Lady" was also a Tele. When my brother Bobby saw The Yardbirds at Canobie Lake he was using a Tele and a Bandmaster with the small 2X12 cab. Also for the record, if you think you're hearing an
LP STD on the backing rhythm track on "Stairway To Heaven" you ain't. It's the echoplex. It's been widely reported that he used a "whole lotta danos" on all four
of the good records. I didn't waste my money after Zep IV, they changed and it wasn't for the better IMHO.

crlong · August 6th, 2003, 01:51 AM

I was recently flipping through the "hammer of the gods" Led Zeppelin book. Somewhere in there, Jimmy Page talks about how he couldn't nail the solo of Stairway to Heaven, so he pulled out his old tele and did it in one or two takes. The solo in Stairway to Heaven was played with a tele on the 4th album according to Jimmy. However, most of the later LZ stuff was not recorded with teles. I think that "the ocean" was recorded with a tele and there's at least one or two songs where Jimmy Page used a tele with a parsons-installed b-bender.

da dougster · August 6th, 2003, 02:57 AM

The Gibson Doubleneck was bought after the recording when it occurred to Page that he needed some way to perform "Stairway.." live without switching guitars midstream.

My only Zep concert was back during their US first tour and Page was wielding his tele....

Impala · August 6th, 2003, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dacious

A little exaggerated. Page did have a '58 Tele dating back to Yardbirds days, used on album 1 and two years' touring and for various other bits, including the lead off StH. He used at least two Teles, both benders, on the Unledded tour I saw in '93, and used them throughout nearly all the albums for different things. 'Hot Dog' off 'Coda' was the Botswana brown b-bender.

http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/gear.html

and if I remember correctly, the brown B-bender model is either that same guitar or at least has its neck on it. And yes, he used it for the solo on Stairway....that's Tele folklore.....

Plastics71 · August 6th, 2003, 10:37 AM

According to "Hammer of the Gods" Jimmy was initially asked to join the Yardbirds following Clapton's departure from the band. Jimmy didn't want to give up his day job as an in-demand session guitarist. So he recommended Jeff Beck for the job. To show his gratitiude, Jeff showed up at Jimmy's door, handed him a '58 Tele, said "it's yours" and then went away.

It's also mentioned further in the book that this same tele was given a psychedelic paint job by the time he took over the lead chores for the Yardbirds, then eventually found it's way on the first couple of Led Zep albums and tours. I remember in a 1988 interview with Musician magazine (around the time he was promoting his first solo album- "JP") he was asked about whether or not the tele he was using on a few songs on the current tour as well as the 1983 ARMS concerts was the same tele but refinished. Jimmy's response was "it's the neck from that one."

In high school in my music theory class, I joined my classmates in forming a short-lived "Rock Ensemble"
and the headbanger subgroup scoffed when I showed up with my '87 Squier. Basically saying "that's a 50s and country guitar" and "Telecasters don't amount to jack squat in rock music, much less anything hard!"

A couple of those guys went with me on a student trip to London around Christmas in '89. The BBC was going all out playing the best concerts done in their television studios for the past 20 or so years. One night they had Zep from early '69, after the first album was released. You guessed it- ALL TELE! THE WHOLE SHOW! And Jimmy was top form. I remember turning to the kid who gave the remark and I said "what was it you were saying about teles?!!" Needless to say, they never spoke an ill word about them again.

So whenever I hear some philistine run their mouth against teles in rock, I refer them to Jimmy. Another good visual for the mainstream listener is Joe Walsh, soloing on "Hotel California" in the video from the Eagles '77 concert that VH1 used to play a lot. Of course there are many others.

Freedom Fries · August 6th, 2003, 11:13 AM

...is bloody awesome and has loads of Tele footage which should clear up any questions!

cheers,
Drew

GilmourD · August 6th, 2003, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastics71

So whenever I hear some philistine run their mouth against teles in rock, I refer them to Jimmy. Another good visual for the mainstream listener is Joe Walsh, soloing on "Hotel California" in the video from the Eagles '77 concert that VH1 used to play a lot. Of course there are many others.

Off topic a bit, but if you want other good examples of Teles in rock, there's Radiohead, Jakob Dylan of the Wallflowers, and, of course, The Boss.

Asat Bill · August 7th, 2003, 02:01 AM

MTV did the occassional cool video, like Blue Cheer doing "Summertime Blues"? (Was it called "Closet Classics" or something?)
I remember they used to run a coupla videos of Zep doing a few numbers from a late sixties Danish "muziek" show. Pagey gettin' down on said psychedelic Tele and his Echoplex.
Does anyone else remember this footage, or are these just (more) hallucinations from my college years?
Bill :?

Impala · August 7th, 2003, 08:16 AM

that footage is the one I remember the most wehn talking about early Zep; it's great stuff too.....

openbar · August 7th, 2003, 10:34 AM

It's on the new DVD also, so do yourself a favor and pick it up! I've seen that Danish show before as a bootleg, on the DVD it's cleaned up (well, best they could do). The Royal Albert Hall concert is jawdropping, though unfortunately he's playing the L*s Pa%l by then.

August 5th, 2003, 08:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
ragincajun TDPRI Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 31	Jimmy Page and his TELE??? I heard that Jimmy Page used a 52 tele on almost ALL of Zepplins recordings, and exclusively on Led Zepplin IV (stairway, black dog, etc.), and that he only used the Gibson (can i say that? ) live because he thought it looked cooler (he was on drugs.) does anyone else know anything about this?

August 5th, 2003, 09:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dacious Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Godzone Posts: 2,612 35 Photos	A little exaggerated. Page did have a '58 Tele dating back to Yardbirds days, used on album 1 and two years' touring and for various other bits, including the lead off StH. He used at least two Teles, both benders, on the Unledded tour I saw in '93, and used them throughout nearly all the albums for different things. 'Hot Dog' off 'Coda' was the Botswana brown b-bender. http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/gear.html __________________ My other Telecaster is a Thinline The Tele Bible, Ch 1, v 10 Love thy Telecaster, covet not thy neighbour's Strat!

August 5th, 2003, 09:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
stantheman Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: White Mountains Posts: 5,006	Solo on STH was a Tele and that's no bull... For the record "Foxy Lady" was also a Tele. When my brother Bobby saw The Yardbirds at Canobie Lake he was using a Tele and a Bandmaster with the small 2X12 cab. Also for the record, if you think you're hearing an LP STD on the backing rhythm track on "Stairway To Heaven" you ain't. It's the echoplex. It's been widely reported that he used a "whole lotta danos" on all four of the good records. I didn't waste my money after Zep IV, they changed and it wasn't for the better IMHO. __________________ Somebody Loan Me A Dime

August 6th, 2003, 01:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
crlong TDPRI Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tennessee Posts: 88	Jimmy Page I was recently flipping through the "hammer of the gods" Led Zeppelin book. Somewhere in there, Jimmy Page talks about how he couldn't nail the solo of Stairway to Heaven, so he pulled out his old tele and did it in one or two takes. The solo in Stairway to Heaven was played with a tele on the 4th album according to Jimmy. However, most of the later LZ stuff was not recorded with teles. I think that "the ocean" was recorded with a tele and there's at least one or two songs where Jimmy Page used a tele with a parsons-installed b-bender.

August 6th, 2003, 02:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
da dougster Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Beautiful downtown Ayuh Posts: 300	The Gibson Doubleneck was bought after the recording when it occurred to Page that he needed some way to perform "Stairway.." live without switching guitars midstream. My only Zep concert was back during their US first tour and Page was wielding his tele.... __________________ "Somebody set up us the bomb!!"

August 5th, 2003, 09:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
Chrismeyer Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Age: 34 Posts: 625	Yeah,he was on drugs. I have a pic of him in the studio playing a tele.

August 5th, 2003, 09:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
GilmourD Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Nutley, NJ Age: 29 Posts: 1,568	Less than half right, more than half wrong. He used the Tele on the whole first album, and most of the second from what I understand. He used the LPs on the rest of the stuff, aside from acoustics and the Danelectro he used on Kashmir and a few other songs. Stairway was done on a Gibson (before the spelled it Garbage) EDS-1275 doubleneck, and I think that was also used on a couple other pieces. However, the vast bulk of Zep wasn't recorded or performed with our favorite piece of electric guitar history. In fact, his Tele wasn't a 52. I don't think he pulled a Clapton on it (neck off one, body of another), but it's a late '60s model with a rosewood board.

August 6th, 2003, 10:37 AM	#9 (permalink)
Plastics71 Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: Perth Amboy, New Jersey Posts: 173	It was from Beck.... According to "Hammer of the Gods" Jimmy was initially asked to join the Yardbirds following Clapton's departure from the band. Jimmy didn't want to give up his day job as an in-demand session guitarist. So he recommended Jeff Beck for the job. To show his gratitiude, Jeff showed up at Jimmy's door, handed him a '58 Tele, said "it's yours" and then went away. It's also mentioned further in the book that this same tele was given a psychedelic paint job by the time he took over the lead chores for the Yardbirds, then eventually found it's way on the first couple of Led Zep albums and tours. I remember in a 1988 interview with Musician magazine (around the time he was promoting his first solo album- "JP") he was asked about whether or not the tele he was using on a few songs on the current tour as well as the 1983 ARMS concerts was the same tele but refinished. Jimmy's response was "it's the neck from that one." In high school in my music theory class, I joined my classmates in forming a short-lived "Rock Ensemble" and the headbanger subgroup scoffed when I showed up with my '87 Squier. Basically saying "that's a 50s and country guitar" and "Telecasters don't amount to jack squat in rock music, much less anything hard!" A couple of those guys went with me on a student trip to London around Christmas in '89. The BBC was going all out playing the best concerts done in their television studios for the past 20 or so years. One night they had Zep from early '69, after the first album was released. You guessed it- ALL TELE! THE WHOLE SHOW! And Jimmy was top form. I remember turning to the kid who gave the remark and I said "what was it you were saying about teles?!!" Needless to say, they never spoke an ill word about them again. So whenever I hear some philistine run their mouth against teles in rock, I refer them to Jimmy. Another good visual for the mainstream listener is Joe Walsh, soloing on "Hotel California" in the video from the Eagles '77 concert that VH1 used to play a lot. Of course there are many others.

August 6th, 2003, 11:13 AM	#10 (permalink)
Freedom Fries Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: Mason, MI Posts: 225	The Zeppelin DVD... ...is bloody awesome and has loads of Tele footage which should clear up any questions! cheers, Drew __________________ http://www.drewhoward.com http://www.steelshealtheworld.com

August 7th, 2003, 02:01 AM	#12 (permalink)
Asat Bill Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Brussels, Belgium Posts: 142	Does anyone remember when MTV did the occassional cool video, like Blue Cheer doing "Summertime Blues"? (Was it called "Closet Classics" or something?) I remember they used to run a coupla videos of Zep doing a few numbers from a late sixties Danish "muziek" show. Pagey gettin' down on said psychedelic Tele and his Echoplex. Does anyone else remember this footage, or are these just (more) hallucinations from my college years? Bill :?

August 7th, 2003, 08:16 AM	#13 (permalink)
Impala Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA Posts: 253	No Bill; you're not hallucinating....... that footage is the one I remember the most wehn talking about early Zep; it's great stuff too.....

August 7th, 2003, 10:34 AM	#14 (permalink)
openbar Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Boston Posts: 321	It's on the new DVD also, so do yourself a favor and pick it up! I've seen that Danish show before as a bootleg, on the DVD it's cleaned up (well, best they could do). The Royal Albert Hall concert is jawdropping, though unfortunately he's playing the L*s Pa%l by then.