The song Jimmy Page labelled the “essence of cool” and how it changed his life

‘Coolness’ is an arbitrary attribute that can be attributed to everything from wearing sunglasses to chewing toothpicks, but it is difficult to argue against guitar hero and rock god Jimmy Page being cool in almost every sense of the word. Since establishing hard rock progenitors Led Zeppelin in 1968, images of Page playing double-necked guitars and making complex solos seem effortless have led countless young rock fans to try and follow in his footsteps as the archetypal rock guitarist.

Still, Page was not born with an inherent sense of coolness or with the incredible musical mind that he would develop during his later years. Nevertheless, the guitarist’s musical journey began much earlier than most, picking up his first guitar at the age of eight. During those early years in the 1950s, the young guitarist found inspiration in the blossoming world of skiffle music – a kind of British answer to rockabilly, noted for its homemade instrumentation and roots in the blues. However, the sway of American rock proved far too alluring to avoid.

Contrary to popular belief, early rock and roll music was not very easy to find in the UK during the 1950s. The nation’s popular radio stations were openly antagonistic towards this wild new musical style, so the only way that a young Jimmy Page was able to hear the sounds of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and the rest of the American rock explosion was through pirate radio stations and jukeboxes.

One day, while glued to a public jukebox, Page encountered an infectious sound which would end up changing his life forever. That sound was ‘Rumble’, the iconic instrumental track written and recorded by Link Wray back in 1958. “I first heard Link Wray’s music when I was 14 years old,” the guitarist recalled in 2023, while inducting Link Wray into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “The first time I heard it, I remember listening to it with such awe. I thought, ‘Who is this?’”

Page was not alone in that epiphany; Link Wray’s pioneering guitar stylings, and ‘Rumble’, in particular, were utterly essential in the development of rock and roll guitar music. Employing an early example of guitar distortion and a handful of simple chords, the track sounded unlike anything else being released at the time, and Page was instantly hooked. “As a 14-year-old kid barely playing the guitar, it really had an effect on me,” he shared.

“The vigour in it, the strength in it, the power in it. There was something else. It was fearless…just phenomenal,” the Led Zeppelin guitarist continued. “It’s the essence of cool. A masterpiece that just sort of melted its way into the fibres of my body and my consciousness, as far as the drama that you can set up with six strings.” Adding, “It’s the sort of stuff that can’t be taught. It’s the sort of stuff that you feel and you can take it on board if you like it.”

Seemingly, Page took the inspiration of ‘Rumble’ on board, changing the course of his life indefinitely. Without the pioneering inspiration of that Link Wray track, the young guitarist might never have been inspired to pursue rock and roll, becoming a session musician before joining The Yardbirds and eventually forming Led Zeppelin.

‘Rumble’ changed the rock world forever, in numerous ways, but the inspiration it provided to Jimmy Page was perhaps one of its greatest achievements. After all, you can track the lineage of legendary riffs like ‘Good Times Bad Times’, ‘Kashmir’, or even ‘Stairway to Heaven’ back to that iconic rockabilly anthem.