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Credit: Far Out \/ YouTube Still<\/p>\n
The first record you ever bought says more about you than you probably think. Not only does it indicate the sorts of tastes you had growing up, but it also often says a lot about why you like the music you listen to now. John Paul Jones<\/a>\u2019 journey was no different.<\/p>\n By his own admission, Jones had an early reputation for helping musicians sound a certain way, more quintessentially American, partly because he was one of the few who actually got under the skin of many of Motown and Stax\u2019s greatest heroes. <\/p>\n As a session musician, these are the people he\u2019d often channel, learning the secrets of major players like Donald \u2018Duck\u2019 Dunn and James Jamerson while unknowingly becoming the trusty go-to for that familiar American R&B style. \u201cI was the one who listened to all that stuff,\u201d the bassist once said, crediting a significant portion of this to the reason why Led Zeppelin could \u201cswing\u201d.<\/p>\n In fact, by the time Jones joined the band, he was already a skilled session musician with a wealth of knowledge under his belt, and his interest in those sorts of artists meant that, in the early days, it was all about the groove. It was also what set them apart: at shows, he\u2019d observe the diversity of the crowd, and how people came just to have a good time and to dance, which wasn\u2019t something you saw at every rock concert at the time.<\/p>\n In fact, it wasn\u2019t really a thing at all. Back then, the rock community was about as siloed in certain spaces as it is now, with bands taking pride in attracting a specific type of audience, usually young men who got a bit rowdy after one too many cans, just to feel like they were in with the hardcore rock \u2018n\u2019 rollers in the scene.<\/p>\n This was usually the whole point: AC\/DC\u2019s Malcom Young even implied once<\/a> that true rock \u2018n\u2019 roll bands were the less \u201cflashy\u201d ones whose crowds \u201cwould rather get drunk than just rock out and enjoy the show\u201d. Zeppelin, on the other hand, wasn\u2019t quite as straightforward, something Jones later took pride in when reflecting on their rise. \u201cWe were different in that way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe used all our Black pop music influences as a key to the rock that went over the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n