The one song that gives Jimmy Page the “chills”

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page redefined the instrument as we know it today. His enchanting riffs ushered in a new era for heavy rock, but despite the seismic impact of his work on the world of music, Page, like every other guitarist, took inspiration from a series of greats.

Whether it be Keith Richards or George Harrison, most guitarists of Page’s era grew up admiring Muddy Waters, falling under a beguiling spell of guitar-driven emotion. For an entire generation, Waters was a mythical, exotic figure they believed was sent down from heaven to spread the word of rock ‘n’ roll. Although his records weren’t readily available, the rarity attached made those occasions when Page heard him even more precious and spine-tingling. While the Led Zeppelin icon was raised on a varied musical mix, Waters was responsible for opening Page’s ears to new possibilities, making him believe that the guitar could solve the world’s problems.

Page didn’t wake up one morning and decide to dedicate his life to becoming a guitarist; instead, the instrument found him. There was no choice involved in the matter, but divine intervention from the universe to place him on his destined path. When he moved as a child with his family to Epsom in Surrey, fortuitously, there was a guitar left in the new house by the previous owners. As they had left the property, Page took the item under his ownership. Admittedly, it wasn’t in perfect condition, but it ignited a passion within his soul that would give him a reason to live. “I don’t know whether [the guitar] was left behind by the people [in the house] before [us], or whether it was a friend of the family’s—nobody seemed to know why it was there,” Page once said.

From that moment on, playing the guitar became an obsession. Speaking to Bob Boilen for his book Your Song Changed My Life, the musician recalled of this chapter in his life: “I wanted to have my own approach to what I did. I didn’t want to do a carbon copy of B.B. King, but I really love the blues. The blues had so much effect on me and I just wanted to make my own contribution in my own way.”

Even though Page wanted to develop his own musical style, this didn’t prevent him from admiring others. His first hero was British skiffle musician Lonnie Donegan. From there, Page’s tastes continued to develop as he travelled further upon his discovery of music and finding Muddy Waters was a crucial moment in his journey to the top.

Of course, today, all the music in the world is available at the touch of a button, thanks to streaming services. Yet, in those days, it was starkly different, and Page had to work extremely hard to find music by his favourite artists. During a radio interview in 2014, Page explained: “Even if you were listening to the American Forces Network, or whatever, they weren’t playing Muddy Waters.”

When probed further about his love of Muddy Waters, Page began, “There’s ‘I Can’t Be Satisfied’, which is a bottleneck one, and just him and a bass player.” Page then discussed the song he believes to be Waters’ greatest musical moment, sharing, “And then, ‘Standing Around Crying’, which is one with Little Walter on harmonica. As much as there’s technical playing, there’s a whole atmosphere to the performance that really got me as much as anything else. That was just so eerie. Oh, my goodness. I get the chills even thinking about that one.”

The fact that Page named the relatively obscure ‘Standing Around Crying’, released in 1952 through Shellac Records, shows that he has a vast understanding of Waters’ work. While, from a technical standpoint, he’s a different breed of guitarist to Waters, Page wanted to evoke the same feeling that ‘Standing Around Crying’ gave him to listeners of his material. Although this was a mammoth task, he duly did it on atmospheric tracks such as ‘Kashmir’ that never fail to make the hairs on your arms stand up.