BEFORE LED ZEPPELIN: JOHN PAUL JONES

                                    

                                          
Born
- in Sidcup, Kent, England
- he was born as John Baldwin, but later changed his name to John Paul Jones
                          
Family
- his father, Joe Baldwin, was a pianist and arranger for big bands in the 1940s and 1950s. 
- His mother was also in the music business and both his parents toured as a variety act. 
                          
School And Childhood
- Because of his parents' careers, at five years old he was sent to boarding school, which he described as "a dumping ground for everybody who didn't fit in anywhere else". 
- During holidays he stayed with his grandmother in Deptford, south east London, while his parents were touring. "In those days it was quite a busy port. On a foggy night you could hear all these foghorns over the river. I used to lie there just listening to all these fantastic sounds, great big soundscapes, you'd hear the horns, then you'd hear the echoes: little ships with little horns, big ships with big horns."
                          
Music
- He started playing piano at age six, learning from his father
- He also experimented with an old harmonium he found in his grandmother's basement 
- He sometimes bunked off school to go to organ recitals in London. 
- He became a choirboy and was also a church organist by 14 years old, improvising the music except for the hymns. 
- As a teenager he played bass in a double act with his pianist-father, travelling around the south coast. 
- His influences ranged from the blues of Big Bill Broonzy, the jazz of Charles Mingus, to the classical piano of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
- At the age of 14, he also bought his first bass guitar, a Dallas Tuxedo solid body electric. 
- Jones said the playing of a Chicago musician called Phil Upchurch on his You Can't Sit Down LP, which has a bass solo, was his inspiration to take up the instrument.
                          
Career
- Jones joined his first band, The Deltas, at 15. 
- He then played bass for jazz-rock London group, Jett Blacks
- In 1962, he was hired by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan of the group The Shadows for two years. 
                          
Session Work
- In 1964, Jones began studio session work with Decca Records. 
- From then until 1968, he played on hundreds of recording sessions. 
- He soon expanded his studio work by playing keyboards, arranging and general studio direction, resulting in his services coming under much demand. 
- He worked with lots of well known artists including the Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Shirley Bassey, Lulu, and many others. 
- Like Page, Jones did so many sessions during that time that he said years later that "I can't remember three-quarters of the sessions I was on."
- It was during his time as a session player that Jones adopted the stage name John Paul Jones, rather than his real name John Baldwin. 
- He has said that as a session musician, he was doing two and three sessions a day, six and seven days a week. So by 1968 he was quickly feeling burnt out due to the heavy workload, and so when his wife suggested he call Jimmy Page about his new band he accepted.
                          
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Picture: John Paul Jones