Besides being one of the most famous songwriters and singers of all time, Prince was also an incredible guitarist and many people would say that he is really underrated as a guitar player. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1958 and started his musical career in 1975, becoming in the following decades a huge Pop star.
Many times a mysterious figure, not always Prince, talked about other artists but he already talked about the legendary guitarist Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin a few times.
What was Prince’s opinion on Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin
Although Prince used in his compositions, influences that weren’t really similar to what Led Zeppelin did on their career, he actually liked the band. However, he criticized a few things about Jimmy Page.
In an interview with Mojo back in 2014 he said: “Jimmy Page is cool. But he couldn’t keep a sequence without John Bonham behind him. He went from one to four without stopping at two and three. (He then looked at Donna Grantis, his guitar player, saying:) “I want her to be her own favorite guitar player. I want everyone at Paisley Park to be their own favorite guitarist, saxophonist, whatever. I don’t want people to play like nobody else,” Prince said at the time.
Curiously, Zeppelin’s vocalist Robert Plant has been a huge fan of Prince since the 80s. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1988, even suggested that they should work together. He said that he liked the musician for his “sheer entertainment and audacity”. Also that “Prince and (Jimmy) Page together would be great.”
He also said at the time that he would love to work with Prince one day. But also that he would probably feel intimidated by how good the American artist was. Prince not only showed his amazing guitar playing on the studio albums, but also playing live. One of his most incredible performances happened when he played the guitar solo in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, during the ceremony of George Harrison’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Prince covered Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” multiple times
During his career, Prince recorded 42 studio albums and sold an estimated amount of more than 100 million records worldwide. He had a really huge amount of songs to feature on his live shows but at least 50 times, according to Setlist FM, he featured the Led Zeppelin track “Whole Lotta Love”. As can be heard in the video, it was really a unique version with a different touch.
Talking with Rolling Stone magazine back in 1985, Prince was asked if he was bothered that people called one of his albums psychedelic. He then used Zeppelin as an example. “I don’t mind that, because that was the only period in recent history that delivered songs and colors. Led Zeppelin, for example, would make you feel differently on each song.”
Prince tragically passed away in 2016 at the age of 57, a victim of an accidental fentanyl overdose.