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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Richard Baldwin |
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| Born | (1946-01-13) 13 January 1946 Sidcup, Kent, England |
| Genres | Rock |
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| Years active | 1961–present |
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| Website | johnpauljones.com |
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John Richard Baldwin (born 3 January 1946), better known by his stage name John Paul Jones, is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, keyboardist, and co-songwriter for the English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career. A versatile musician, Jones also plays organ, guitar, koto, lap steel guitars, mandolin, autoharp, violin, ukulele, sitar, cello, continuum and recorder.
According to AllMusic, Jones “has left his mark on rock & roll music history as an innovative musician, arranger, and director.” Jones is part of the band Them Crooked Vultures with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl, in which he plays bass guitar, keyboards, and other instruments. In 2014, Jones ranked first on Paste magazine’s list of “20 Most Underrated Bass Guitarists.” and in its special “100 Greatest Bass Players” issue in 2017, Bass Player Magazine placed Jones at twenty first.
During his time as a session player, Jones often crossed paths with guitarist Jimmy Page, a fellow session veteran. In June 1966, Page joined The Yardbirds, and in 1967 Jones contributed to that band’s Little Games album. The following winter, during the sessions for Donovan’s The Hurdy Gurdy Man, Jones expressed to Page a desire to be part of any projects the guitarist might be planning. Later that year, The Yardbirds disbanded, leaving Page and bassist Chris Dreja to complete previously booked Yardbirds dates in Scandinavia. Before a new band could be assembled, Dreja left to take up photography. Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, asked Page about the vacant position, and the guitarist eagerly invited Jones to collaborate. Page later explained:
I was working at the sessions for Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man, and John Paul Jones was looking after the musical arrangements. During a break, he asked me if I could use a bass player in the new group I was forming. He had a proper music training, and he had quite brilliant ideas. I jumped at the chance of getting him.
Vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham joined the two to form a quartet. Initially dubbed the “New Yardbirds” for the Scandinavian dates, the band soon became known as Led Zeppelin.
Jones was responsible for the classic bass lines of the group, notably those in “Ramble On” and “The Lemon Song” (Led Zeppelin II), and shifting time signatures, such as those in “Black Dog” (Led Zeppelin IV). As half of Led Zeppelin’s rhythm section with drummer John Bonham, Jones shared an appreciation for funk and soul rhythmic grooves which strengthened and enhanced their musical affinity. In an interview he gave to Global Bass magazine, Jones remarked on this common musical interest:
Yeah, we were both huge Motown and Stax fans and general soul music fans, James Brown fan. Which is one of the reasons why I’ve always said that Zeppelin was one of the few bands to “swing”. We actually had a groove in those days. People used to come to our shows and dance, which was great. To see all the women dancing, it was really brilliant. You didn’t necessarily see that at a Black Sabbath show or whatever: So we were different in that way. We were a groovy band. We used all our black pop music influences as a key to the rock that went over the top.
After retiring his Fender Jazz Bass (which he had been using since his days with The Shadows in the early 1960s) from touring in 1975, Jones switched to using custom-designed Alembic basses while touring. However, he still preferred to use the Jazz Bass in the studio. Jones’ keyboard skills added an eclectic dimension that realised Led Zeppelin as more than just a hard rock band. Keyboard highlights include the delicate “The Rain Song” (Houses of the Holy) played on a Mellotron; the funky “Trampled Under Foot”, played on a Clavinet (Physical Graffiti); and the eastern scales of “Kashmir”, also played on a Mellotron (also on Physical Graffiti). In live performances, Jones’ keyboard showpiece was “No Quarter”, often lasting for up to half-an-hour and sometimes including snatches of “Amazing Grace”, Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”, which had inspired Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain, and variations of classical pieces by composers such as Rachmaninoff.
Jones’ diverse contributions to the group extended to the use of other instruments, including an unusual triple-necked acoustic instrument consisting of a six and a twelve string guitar, and a mandolin. Jones often used bass pedals to supplement the band’s sound while he was playing keyboards and mandolin. On the band’s 1977 tour of the United States, Jones would sing lead vocals on “The Battle of Evermore,” filling in for Sandy Denny, who had sung on the studio version.
Jones is widely considered to be a highly influential and important bassist, keyboardist, and arranger in the history of rock music. Many notable rock bassists have been influenced by Jones, including John Deacon of Queen, Geddy Lee of Rush, Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers Gene Simmons of Kiss, and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana. Chris Dreja, the rhythm guitarist and bassist of The Yardbirds, has described him as “the best bass player in Europe”. Music publications and magazines have ranked Jones among the best rock bassists of all time. He was named the best bassist on Creem Magazine’s 1977 Reader Poll. In 2000, Guitar magazine ranked him third in the “Bassist of the Millennium” readers’ poll.
In October 2010, Jones was awarded a “Gold Badge Award” by The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for his outstanding contribution to Britain’s music and entertainment industry. On 10 November 2010, he was honoured with the “Outstanding Contribution Award” at the Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.
Bass Stuff 