Before Zoso: 10 Studio Tracks That Built Jimmy Page into a Legend
Before Jimmy Page became the mythic riff-slinger of Led Zeppelin, he was the hardest-working man in London’s studio scene. Seriously—if you dropped a needle on any British rock, pop, or blues single from the mid-’60s, odds are Page was somewhere in the mix, quietly shredding while someone else got the glory. He wasn’t just playing guitar—he was inventing futures. These 10 tracks are the secret history of a guitar god in the making, the songs where Page wrote his origin story in six-string ink, long before he carved Zoso into the rock ‘n’ roll Mount Rushmore.
1. The Who – “I Can’t Explain” (1965)
Pete Townshend gets the writing credit and the guitar god label—but listen closely, and you’ll hear Page in the rhythm section. Producer Shel Talmy brought him in to tighten things up, layering in that extra wallop that helped shape the early mod explosion. Page didn’t need to grandstand—he knew exactly how to play in service of the song. Even as a hired gun, he elevated the room.
2. The Kinks – “You Really Got Me” (1964)
One of rock’s most iconic riffs. While Dave Davies famously hacked his amp to get that buzzsaw distortion, rumors of Page playing the main riff have swirled for decades. Officially, Page laid down rhythm guitar and some overdubs, adding body to a track that would help launch hard rock. Whether or not he played the riff, his fingerprints are all over the sound.
3. Marianne Faithfull – “As Tears Go By” (1964)
This tender ballad, penned by Jagger, Richards, and their manager Andrew Loog Oldham, features Page on acoustic guitar, weaving delicate lines through lush orchestration. It’s a side of Page that gets less attention—restrained, sensitive, elegant. Long before Zeppelin’s acoustic explorations, Page was already fluent in quiet beauty.
4. The Rolling Stones – “Heart of Stone” (Demo, 1964)
Page played guitar on the Stones’ demo of “Heart of Stone,” and it’s a rawer, grittier version than the official release. You can feel the pulse of the British blues explosion—Page’s playing is loose, emotional, and instinctive. It’s an early hint of the sonic storm he would soon bring to life on a much bigger stage.
5. Donovan – “Sunshine Superman” (1966)
Now we’re talking magic. Page’s psychedelic flourishes on this track helped define the dreamy, acid-tinged tone of British psych-pop. His guitar licks spiral in and out of Donovan’s vocals like drifting smoke. It’s not flashy—it’s hypnotic. One listen and you realize this wasn’t just a studio gig; Page was experimenting in real time.
6. Them – “Baby, Please Don’t Go” (1964)
Van Morrison is the wild heart of this track, but Page? He’s the muscle underneath it. His rhythm guitar chugs like a freight train, propelling the song forward with swagger and snarl. It’s raw, bluesy, and alive—Page playing with grit instead of gloss. The DNA of Zeppelin’s early sound is right here in plain sight.
7. Brenda Lee – “Is It True” (1964)
An American rockabilly star + a British studio wizard = one surprisingly heavy pop single. Page not only played guitar on this track—he unleashed one of the earliest fuzz-tone solos ever committed to tape. It’s biting, bold, and pure attitude. You can draw a straight line from this moment to the solo on “Heartbreaker.”
8. The Nashville Teens – “Tobacco Road” (1964)
A sludgy, swampy take on a Southern blues standard, made electric by Page’s snarling guitar. It’s a clinic in controlled chaos—his riffs grind and pulse with menace, anchoring the track with a distorted backbone. This is Page getting loose, shedding the “session guy” skin, and letting his true sound break through.
9. Dave Berry – “The Crying Game” (1964)
An eerie pop ballad cloaked in mystery. Page’s guitar is subtle here, almost ghostly. But listen closely—it’s his touch that gives the track its haunting tone, adding emotional gravity with each chord. It’s the kind of atmospheric playing he’d later master in Zeppelin epics like “No Quarter” and “Since I’ve Been Loving You.”
10. The Yardbirds – “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” (1966)
This is the last stop before full-blown Zeppelin. Page joined the Yardbirds as Jeff Beck’s foil, and this single is a mind-melting psych-blues freakout. Page’s lead lines slash through the track like lightning bolts—he’s no longer content to hang back. This was Page stepping into the spotlight, unapologetic and electrified. The floodgates had opened.
Epilogue: Building the Myth One Riff at a Time
By the time Led Zeppelin roared to life in 1968, Jimmy Page was already a veteran. He’d logged more hours in London’s studios than most bands did in their entire careers. But these weren’t just paychecks—these were sketches, test runs, secret rehearsals for the empire he was about to build.
The range of these recordings is staggering. One minute, he’s laying delicate fingerpicking under orchestral pop. The next, he’s inventing future fuzz-rock solos for artists who barely knew what they had. And all the while, he was absorbing, learning, shaping. He wasn’t just playing guitar—he was shaping the way generations would play guitar.
What’s perhaps most fascinating is how many sides of Page emerge in these tracks: the melodic architect, the blues traditionalist, the psychedelic explorer, the fuzz-drenched anarchist. Every session was a page in his playbook. Every solo, a preview of the storm to come.
Jimmy Page didn’t arrive on the scene fully formed. He forged himself in the fire of London’s studios—quietly, relentlessly, brilliantly. Long before he carved Zoso into rock’s Mount Rushmore, he was the secret weapon hiding in plain sight
. And these songs? They’re the sacred scrolls of a god before the thunder.