Jimmy Page names ‘the best guitarist any of us ever had’

Legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page just named the one contemporary artist he admires.

As he was asked, who amongst his peers, Page thought was the best, he responded, “Out of all the guitarists to come out of the 1960s, Beck, Clapton, [Alvin] Lee, Townshend and I are still having a go. That says something.”

The 80-year-old was also all praises for the great Elliott Randall, who shot to fame by playing the impeccable solo on Steely Dan’s Reelin’ in the Years.

However, it is Jimi Hendrix, who tops Page’s list.

“We’ve lost the best guitarist any of us ever had, and that was Hendrix,” he told Rolling Stone, five years after the iconic musician’s death.

The Black Dog rocker continued, “It is just kind of a shame that I never really had a chance to talk with him or hear him. I heard his records, naturally, but it would’ve been a thrill to see how he worked things out onstage. That’s quite another ballgame, as you know.”

Additionally, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee talked about a term usually used to describe artists, that he personally dislikes.

“The only term I won’t accept is ‘genius’,” he told the outlet, adding, “It gets used far too loosely in rock and roll. When you hear the melodic structures of what classical musicians put together and you compare it to that of a rock and roll record, there’s a hell of a long way rock and roll has to go.”

“There’s a certain standard in classical music that allows the application of the term ‘genius’, but you’re treading on thin ice if you start applying it to rock and rollers,” Jimmy Page concluded.