Jimmy Page was born in 1944 and started playing guitar early, drawing from blues players like Lead Belly and Muddy Waters. He joined the Yardbirds in the mid-1960s, taking over for Eric Clapton, and later helped form Led Zeppelin with Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. Their first album came out in 1969.
That debut included "Prison Blues," a slow, mournful track where Page's guitar work shows his blues background clearly. He also wrote songs like "Hummingbird" and "Kashmir," which became staples of the band's sound. Led Zeppelin put out several albums through the early 1970s, including Led Zeppelin IV in 1971.
There were stories about odd recording sessions and some wild behavior on tour, but Page kept working. He stayed with the band until they stopped playing together after Bonham died in 1980.
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