Yes, the greatest rock musicians are getting old, and rock music itself is already moving into the category of classical.

Jimmy Page, a brilliant guitarist, songwriter and producer, whose name is associated with the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin, celebrated his 80th birthday on January 9.

In fact, Jimmy Page has many other achievements besides Led Zeppelin. In the mid-sixties, he participated in the recording of tracks by The Kinks, played in the band The Yardbirds. But, being one of the founders of the Led Zeppelin group, he released nine albums with it.

Many consider Page to be the best guitarist of rock music, and not for his instrumental capabilities, not for his virtuosity, but rather for his musical thinking, which did not pull rock to the height of classics, as it happened in art rock, but mobilized its own resources, overcoming the innate simplicity of rock.

This is how the famous "heavy" line in rock history appeared. All the ideas that could not be realized in The Yardbirds, Page transferred to Led Zeppelin, creating a unique style of the group with his own efforts, in which each of the participants managed to realize their strengths. Almost every track of the band's first four albums is considered a guitar classic.

The future rock star was born on January 9, 1944 in London. As Page himself later admitted in an interview, he grew up a withdrawn child and did not communicate with his peers until the age of five.

This voluntary isolation, in Jimmy's opinion, shaped his character: the musician is not afraid of loneliness and even, on the contrary, feels harmonious without communicating with people.

Jimmy first tried to play the guitar at the age of 12 — the boy found his father's old instrument in the attic. The upset acoustics did not impress the young man, but after a while, Page, inspired by an Elvis Presley song, wanted to learn how to play. A school friend showed Jimmy a few chords — this is how Page's path to the heights of fame began.

Soon the young man began to go to music school and study hard on his own. At the age of 14, Jimmy received his first electric guitar as a gift from his parents. Since then, the young man practically did not let the instrument out of his hands: school teachers even had to take Page's guitar until the end of classes.

The beginning of Jimmy Page's professional musical biography is considered to be his appearance in the band The Yardbirds, where the artist became a bass guitarist. In 1968, the band broke up. That's when Page decided to start his own band.

The first line-up of the newly formed Led Zeppelin band was vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. The first album, named after the band, quickly gained popularity, giving the musicians fame. Page began to be called the best guitarist of the era — Jimmy's virtuoso playing captivated the audience.

At the same time, in 1969, a second album appeared in the discography of the band, called "Led Zeppelin II", which again amazed music lovers. This time, the reason for admiration was Jimmy's original "bow" playing technique: the musician played the guitar with a string bow, achieving a unique effect of rock and blues unity.

In 1970 and 1971, albums with serial numbers III and IV were released in turn. This period is considered to be the heyday of the band's popularity — almost every song became a hit, and the eight-minute ballad Stairway to Heaven - the famous "Stairway to Heaven" - still remains popular. Jimmy Page called this composition the most personal song that reveals the inner world of musicians.

...Since the collapse of Led Zeppelin, the musicians have twice tried to revive the band, but it did not go beyond a few joint concerts. However, Jimmy Page continued to give concerts, as well as perform at charity events. In addition, the musician has recorded several compositions for films.

In 2008, the musician was honored to represent his native country at the closing of the Olympics together with David Beckham and Leona Lewis.

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