JIMMY PAGE, MY SATANIC LOVE

Back in the early 70s, I fell in love with Jimmy Page. He never knew about my feelings, of course, or about the poster that I had tacked onto my bedroom wall next to the one of David Cassidy, for whom my ardor had already begun to wane, which made me feel guilty, even though he never knew about my feelings, either. By 1977, both posters would be replaced by one of The Sex Pistols as I shifted my allegience from mainstream rock and roll to punk. But in 1973, or thereabouts, I was totally and completely in love with the guitar god Jimmy Page, founder of Led Zepplin, and the physical embodiment of just about everything I like in a man...tall, dark, brooding, mysterious, English, and gifted with perfect timing. Some of my friends, the ones who still favored more pop-centric artists like David Cassidy, took issue with my affection for Mr. Page, citing the fact that he was (gasp!) "a satanist." For a young girl brought up in the Pentecostal church, the news should have set off alarm bells. I mean, I wasn't even allowed to go to movies or watch TV on Sundays. How could I possibly justify being in love with a devil worshiper, no matter how cute he was, or how well he played guitar? So, I didn't try. I just admired his image on my poster and made a point of not mentioning his name to my friends when the subject of "celebrity crushes" came up. It wasn't until long after I had become immersed in the world of music as an artist in my own right that I bothered to check out the real facts behind the "satanist" label attached to Jimmy Page. And guess what? I still have no idea. Here's a quick tutorial.

A PENSIVE JIMMY PAGE, CIRCA 1980s

During Led Zepplin's heyday, Jimmy Page made no secret of the fact that he was interested in the teachings of Aleister Crowley (also known as "The Great Beast 666"), founder of the Thelemite religion and the man who coined the pithy phrase,"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law", a paraphrase of an older pagan pro which states "And do harm ye none, do what thou wilt." Crowley was, among other things, a disciple of "Black Magick", as well as a self-proclaimed pansexual and an advocate of recreational drug use. Born into a wealthy English family in 1875, Crowley's fame as an occultist and his criticism of the social and religious values of his time earned him the nickname "The Wickedest Man In The World."

ALEISTER CROWLEY, "THE WICKEDEST MAN IN THE WORLD", IN CEREMONIAL GARB

Not surprisingly, Jimmy Page's fascination with Crowley's teachings was linked to the music he made with Led Zepplin. "Stairway To Heaven", which has been voted the most popular song in the history of rock and roll, is supposedly fraught with cryptic references to Crowley's teachings, as is "The Battle of Evermore", not to mention a host of other songs written by Page and Robert Plant. But is it true? In an interview conducted in the 1980s, John Paul Jones, bassist for Led Zepplin, was asked about the band's association with "satanism." He replied, "I found out that (Jimmy Page) had an interest in Crowley quite early on. I didn't have the interest in it, so I left it to him. I knew he'd bought Crowley's house. He didn't talk about it much. It was a private thing. I never went there." Despite Jones' disclaimer, the accusations remain to this day. Among other things, Page's interest in Black Magick has been blamed for the death of Plant's son, Karac in 1977. Karac Plant died suddenly of an acute stomach infection whilst Led Zepplin was in the midst of their North American tour that year, cutting the tour short as Plant rushed home to England to console his wife and family. At the time, there was a rumor that Page had been indulging in secret "Black Magick" rituals, and that Karak's death was somehow the result of an unspecified deal the guitarist had made with Satan. Hard to swallow? I think so, too. On a less tragic note, Page's proclivity for the use of whips during lovemaking sessions has also been attributed to his devotion to the teachings of Crowley, who was, apparently, something of an animal in the bedroom.

JIMMY PAGE OUTSIDE BOLESKINE HOUSE, FORMER RESIDENCE OF ALIESTER CROWLEY

But does any of this truly mean that Page was a satanist? Perhaps we should ask Pamela Des Barre, who carried on a long-term affair with Page back in the 70s and which she wrote about in her 1987 memoir, "I'm With The Band: Confessions Of a Groupie". According to Des Barre, "First of all, Crowley's vibe isn't 'black.' He was a seeker of things beyond our five senses and so was Jimmy. He was fascinated with the search into all things occult and hidden, but not necessarily dark or evil in any way. Crowley was actually attempting to bring understanding to what people deemed 'dark.' Jimmy liked living very close to the danger zone, curious about secrets that most of us haven't even heard about. I knew an old gentleman bookseller on Hollywood Boulevard, also entranced with Crowley, and I found a handwritten manuscript of Crowley's tucked away on a high shelf. I remember getting that huge sum of money and being honoured to be sending Jimmy something so important to him. I imagined him reading that thing deep into the night, roaming around in Crowley's castle in Scotland, flapping around in his cape."

PAMELA DES BARRE: GROUPIE TO THE STARS AND DEFENDER OF JIMMY PAGE

Des Barre, who makes no secret of her continuing affection for rock and roll's dark god goes on to say that "Before we met, I was afraid of Jimmy and determined not to fall for his charms when Led Zeppelin hit LA. Deserved or not, their reputation as debauched naughty boys preceded them. But he was intent on getting me to fall for him, and it didn't take much. He sent me notes, got hold of my phone number and easily convinced me he would be worth the trouble. He did keep whips coiled up in his suitcase on the road, but never attempted to use them on me. He definitely had a wicked sexual side, which made him a transcendent lover. Even when you were intimately involved with him, he held back, which made you want to delve into him even deeper."

Hmmmm. Sounds pretty standard rock and roll to me. In fact, if you want my opinion, Jimmy Page was probably no more a satanist than...say...Ozzy Osbourne, who has also been accused of dallying with the dark side. And as anyone who ever watched "The Osbournes" reality show can tell you, the man whose fame derives in part from the alleged fact that he once bit the head off a live bat would be probably be lucky if he could drive his own car to the grocery store, much less summon the focus and energy necessary to perform the required rituals to call upon the powers of Satan.

JIMMY PAGE: OLDER AND WISER..AND PROBABLY NOT A SATANIST

So, "do what thou wilt"...that is, think of Jimmy Page as a satanist if you so choose, and Led Zepplin as a rock and roll conduit for the teachings of a man whose "satanic" philosophy focused with undue heaviness on the right of his followers to indulge in wholesale sex whenever the craving hit. But I'd rather just think of him as one of the greatest guitarists to ever pick up an axe, and, despite his rapidly aging physique, as one of the most gorgeous men to ever walk on stage and strum a "C" chord. And if I'm wrong...well, it doesn't really change anything. I mean, hell, there was a time when I though that true love was something that really existed. I've learned a lot since that time. But that doesn't mean I don't still put clean sheets on my bed on the days that my lover comes to visit me. Catch my drift?

That's it for now...from beyond the pale.