When Joe Walsh gifted Jimmy Page a Les Paul: “One I just was saving for a rainy day”

In the age of instant gratification and impatient consumption, would a solo like Joe Walsh‘s in ‘Hotel California’ become as iconic? Forget the fact that guitar solos are more sparingly performed in the modern day; I don’t think the charts would allow for a two-minute solo at the end of a six-minute song anymore.

Whether you like it or not, everything about that song symbolises the yesteryear. From the lengthy solo to the idolisation of West Coast America, to the very fact that the definitive ‘dad band’, the Eagles, performed it. But perhaps that’s symptomatic of a larger conversation, about the death of the guitar in general?

It’s run rife over the last few decades, as rock fans scramble to find morsels of what they used to identify as “proper” music. But the fact is, rock, indie, and punk are all alive and well, just repackaged into something more modern and representative of the times. And, unfortunately for fans, that’s primarily meant the guitar solo has been relagated to the bench.

It’s perhaps why when the rock icons of today are asked to express some admiration for their musical peers, their choices often extend the realms of their own genre. But in the 1970s, the heyday of expansive classic rock, guitar gods would pretty much exclusively rub shoulders with one another as they competed for the title of best solo writer.

When Joe Walsh ripped into his ‘Hotel California’ epic, you would have expected the fight to be well and truly over. It was an instantly iconic riff that flexed every muscle on the fretboard, wetting the appetite of rock and roll daydreamers across the globe. But let’s not forget, it was written at a time when solos and riffs were falling from the sky at will. And most of them were written by Jimmy Page.

Throughout the decade, Led Zeppelin trampled over the arenas with their powerful brand of bona fide rock, and Jimmy Page quietly became the godfather of the guitar. Walsh was always quick to herald Page as one of his favourite guitarists of all time, but maybe we have him to thank for the power behind Led Zeppelin’s world-dominating sound.

He recalled a time when Page expressed concerns about his Fender Telecaster and whether it had the guts to deliver the Zeppelin sound. In response, Walsh gifted him an item that would change the course of rock history.

“Now, Les Pauls virtually didn’t exist in England at the time,” he explained, continuing that Page said, “‘I’ve looked for a Les Paul, there aren’t any in England. Do you know any way you could help me get one? Because Led Zeppelin ain’t making it with a Telecaster.’”

When Walsh looked at his set-up and realised he had two, he handed one to Page and, with it, the gateway for Zeppelin to take over rock and roll. Walsh said he had “one I really liked and one I just was saving for a rainy day, so I gave Jimmy that one”.

This legendary encounter took place at the tail end of 1969, when Zeppelin had just released their debut album and the seed of their greatness had only been sown. So, since many guitarists believe that riffs already exist within the walls of a guitar, it’s merely the players’ job to coax them out, you have to wonder, when Walsh handed over that Les Paul to Page, did he hand over a legendary back catalogue with it?