What is Mick Jagger’s opinion on Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page

Mick Jagger helped to form The Rolling Stones back in 1962 and already in the following years they became one of the most successful bands in the world. Part of the music business for more than six decades, the musician had the chance to see many incredible bands appearing and rising to fame.

One of them was Led Zeppelin, which had as the guitarist and producer Jimmy Page, someone who Jagger already knew for a few years. But what is Jagger’s opinion on Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page?

What is Mick Jagger’s opinion on Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page

Before joining the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page was a really respected session guitarist in London and had the chance to play on many famous records of several artists in the 60s. In 1966, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song “Out of Time”, giving it to Chris Farlowe to record. It was Jagger who produced that single and Jimmy Page was the session guitarist on that song. So that was when Jagger first met the future Led Zeppelin guitarist.

He recalled that in an interview with BBC Radio 2 in 2020 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Also gave his opinion on the band and the guitarist. “The thing was, I knew Jimmy (Page) very, very early on, going back ten years before that. You know, makes you feel very young. I used to produce records. I did this record ‘Out Of Time’ for Chris Farlowe, which it was a very successful record in the early 60s. (Song) which Keith (Richards) and I wrote.”

Mick Jagger continued:

“I used to be a producer, it was fun for me. I was sort learning the trades, sort to speak and it was all played live, of course. One of the backing musicians was Jimmy Page, he was one of the best session guitarists at the time, he was very young. There was another one called Jim Sullivan and they used to play chess in between takes, that was their thing. So that’s how I met Jimmy and that’s how I met John Paul Jones, because he was the bass player, like in 1965, maybe.”

“Then 10 years later or a bit less they’ve made this very successful kind of band. I used to go and watch them live. I remember watching their concerts live in New York and everything. So I mean, it was great thunderous wonderful racket, brilliant. I saw their last concerts as well and they were absolutely incredible. I was so disappointed that they didn’t actually go out and toured. But that’s their business, not mine,” Mick Jagger said.

Jimmy Page played with Mick Jagger and Rolling Stones

Jimmy Page always was a good friend of The Rolling Stones and he even had the chance to play in one of their songs back in the early 70s. It was the song “Scarlet”, which was originally recorded in 1973 but only released almost five decades later, in 2020, as a bonus track of the “Goats Head Soup” (1973) reissue.

During the same interview with BBC radio in 2020, Jagger gave his version on how they ended up recording with Jimmy Page. “Well, ‘Scarlet,’ I’ve completely forgotten about this one. It was recorded in 1973, and it was recorded in Ronnie’s basement, at his house. It sounds very rock ‘n’ roll, doesn’t it? But I must say this basement was very luxurious. And anyway, we just got together and started. It was Keith and me, and then Jimmy Page turned up for some reason, and we had various other musicians.”

“So I had this song, and so we ran through this amongst other things. Then Keith and I just focused on it, and since then I had completely forgotten about it. I thought it was Ginger Baker on drums, and Jimmy Page remembered. I didn’t remember anything. Jimmy Page remembered everything, ‘This person’s done this, it wasn’t Ginger Baker,’ and I said, ‘Alright.’ I haven’t spoken to him (Page) in years, but he’s very sweet, and he moved the whole thing. Anyway, here it is, it’s one of the extra tracks that we’ve put on ‘Goats Head Soup,'” Mick Jagger said.

The only two Rolling Stones members who appeared in the song are Jagger and Keith Richards. Besides Page, it had Ian Stewart on piano, Ric Grech on bass and Bruce Rowland on drums.