It is not uncommon for famous musicians to write and publish autobiographies once they reach an older age. They have many stories to tell of their journey through life and the music business, and they long to share it with awaiting fans. However, this is not quite the case for rock-and-roll guitarist Jimmy Page. Page was a member of the Yardbird for a few years in during the late 1960s before founding the popular band Led Zeppelin. Always a man of few words, Jimmy Page decided to publish a photo book representing his entire career, rather than write an autobiography. The book consists of 500 pages of photographs chosen by Jimmy Page that he feels will best represent his musical career. I was surprised to read that only 2,500 copies of the book are available, and for about $685 each! This makes me think of an earlier post about how much people are willing to pay for a painting.
In an interview with Mr. Page about this new book, he said that “it’s the story of a kid who’s involved with music, but really the music involved itself with him. It’s this conjoining of music and a teenager, and off it goes.” When asked why he didn’t include any pictures of him with his family or things of that sort, he claimed that he really wanted the music to speak through the pictures, and nothing else. This was really interesting to me, and really spoke volumes about how important a role music must have played in Page’s life. I had never heard of a picture-book version of an autobiography before reading this article, but I think it is a really cool idea. It makes me think of what my own “picture-book autobiography” would consist of if I had the chance to make one. What would my pictures tell about my life?
Jimmy Page is a major figure in pop music, pop culture and the rarified world of the guitar gods.