Friday, October 15, 2010

Timmy Page, forgotten musical genius

YouTube is a bad idea. Sometimes I just want to listen to an old tune on that site before going to bed. An hour and a half later, and that much closer to the alarm going off in the morning, I tear myself away from the computer.

In one such night of musical abandon, I was looking for one of my favorite Yardbird songs: Shapes of Things. The original single from 1966 was made during Jeff Beck's stint with the group. A bit later, after Beck left and Jimmy Page joined the group, the Yardbirds appeared on German television (although the host sounds no more German than I do). I guess Jimmy could not make the trip, so his twin brother Timmy appeared in his place. At least he was introduced as Timmy Page. By the sound of the solo, I don't think the guitar was Timmy's forte'. I should be fair, though, and point out that the comments on YouTube for the video blame the heat from the TV lights for causing the guitar to go out of tune, saying that Timmy was not used to playing on TV.



The comment could not have been referring to Jimmy, because he was an old hand at the TV game.

7 comments:

  1. LOL! The legend of Timmy Page :)

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  2. And in the second video could that prat of a host, Huw Wheldon, be any more supercilious and condescending? Don't answer that.

    Oh well, biological research's loss is rock infamy's gain.

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  3. Matt, you're a sweetie for posting this!!!

    Yes, Timmy had the moves, even in his precious youth.

    His guitar during the Yardbirds solo just wasn't tuned quite right. He was already an accomplished studio musician before replacing Clapton in the Yardbirds.

    Heh, I had seen that 1957 video (he was 13) a couple times before but not the Yardbirds where he's introduced as Timmy, lol.

    BTW, the interviewer is creepy and a bit too touchy-feely, isn't he? Ick, he even repulsed the young, publicity-hungry skifflers!!!

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  4. Yep, Timmy had a stretched string or sumpin'.

    The host in the second vid is a pedophile, I just know it. Ick is right; he made my skin crawl. I wanted to shout "Run Timmy, run!" :))

    Also, that's the worst cover of Old Cotton Fields that I've EVER heard. Yikes!

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  5. YouTube is a bad idea. Sometimes I just want to listen to an old tune on that site before going to bed. An hour and a half later, and that much closer to the alarm going off in the morning, I tear myself away from the computer.

    Good to know that doesn't just happen to me.

    Great videos, Matt. Thanks for posting.

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  6. Good to know that doesn't just happen to me.

    *Hand raised*

    Me, too. I found this YouTube video of a hippo and a lion and a dog singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight that I can watch six times in a row. It's awesome.

    excuse the long, messy links. I'm not educated on making things short and pretty in comments

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUMwu_gXK7Q

    And then there's the best behaved dog on the planet (this one will have you laughing for HOURS)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cqOEr_yfak

    And how the party that took a turn for the douche.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDCPK4MiolQ

    I don't know how I ever lived without YouTube. I don't.

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