Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson recently named many guitarists but singled out Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page as the only guitarist he wanted to emulate. During a conversation with Premier Guitar, the guitarist explained why Page was the only one for him. He said:
“Jimmy Page was probably number one for me growing up. I really loved his playing, his attitude, his look, everything about him was something that I wanted to emulate.”
Lifeson mentioned another name and explained why he couldn’t ‘copy’ their work. He continued:
“But of course, Hendrix was incredible, but I never felt like I wanted to emulate his playing. I thought he was so unique, so different and so excellent, and so difficult to copy that I thought I would just leave that one alone.”
He added:
“But Alvin Lee back then in the early 70s, later on, Steve Hackett from Genesis, [I] always loved his playing. Again, in the context of a band, you really service the music well as the guitarist.”
The guitarist was asked if Jeff Beck was an influence on him, to which he responded with:
“Oh, God, yeah. From the very beginning, from when I first started playing guitars when he was in The Yardbirds. We used to play a few Yardbirds songs when we were just starting out when we were 13 years old.”
Lifeson’s admiration for Led Zeppelin became clear in a 2009 Guitar World interview where he and the bassist Geddy Lee selected their favorite songs. The guitarist named three Led Zeppelin songs, revealing that the band influenced Rush’s sound. While discussing ‘How Many More Times‘, he said:
“Of any guitarist, Jimmy Page was my biggest influence. I wanted to look, think and play like him. Zeppelin had a heavy influence on Rush during our early days. Page’s loose style of playing showed immense confidence, and there are no rules to his playing.”
The guitarist recalled the first time he met Page and said:
“I met Page at a Page/Plant concert in Toronto in 1998. I was acting like a kid, all googly-eyed. I was freaking out, and my hands were shaking. I was so thrilled to meet him because his work meant so much to me.”
See the full interview below.
