“There was a boy playing some Lonnie Donegan songs on acoustic guitar. He said, ‘If you bring your guitar to school, I’ll show you some chords’”: Jimmy Page reflects on his guitar journey as the British Embassy celebrates his achievements

Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page has recently been honored by the British Embassy in Washington D.C., for “his and the band's more than five decades making brilliant British music – and his life of philanthropy.”

The event was hosted by the British Ambassador Karen Pierce and the UK Treasury’s Permanent Secretary, Charles Roxburgh, with notable attendees including US Attorney General Merrick Garland, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Brett Kavanaugh.

The celebration was organized by philanthropists Catherine and Wayne Reynolds, who run the Academy of Achievement, a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving individuals in different fields.

In his speech at the event, which was filmed and posted by political journalist Steve Clemons, Page recalled how his life completely changed when he decided to pick up the guitar. 

He described how his family was moving houses, and in the new home, there was a guitar that seemed to have been left behind by the previous homeowners.

“It was a Spanish guitar, but actually, it was more of a campfire guitar because it had steel strings on it as opposed to nylon strings. So there it was and it made an intervention into my life. Nobody in my family played guitar. My parents didn't throw it out. They left it.”

He continued, “There it stayed for about five years before the musical scene changed to the point where those guitars were being played. And fortunately, there was a movement in England called Skiffle, and there was Lonnie Donegan who was playing versions of traditional songs and he was on the TV on a Saturday night.”

Page explained how the Skiffle guitarist's performance became a highlight for him and his classmates, who voraciously discussed the game-changing TV appearance. As luck would have it, Lonnie Donegan's songs played a crucial role in inspiring Page to start playing guitar.

“Two weeks after that, I went to school and there was a boy who was playing some Lonnie Donegan songs on acoustic guitar on the school field. I went up to him and said, ‘Look, I already got one of those at home.’ He said, ‘If you bring it to school, I'll show you how to tune it and I'll show you some chords.’”

As part of the celebrations, singer-songwriter and guitarist Grace Potter paid homage to Page with a version of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, from 1969's Led Zeppelin II.

In a social media post, Potter wrote about her experience performing the Zeppelin track in front of Page: “Every once in a while, you get invited into a world unlike any you have ever known. In this case it was an invite to a certain British Ambassadors residence to play for/ honor, the lifetime achievement of a certain rockstar (named Jimmy Page). Endless thanks to Catherine and Wayne. Your purpose generosity and fortitude is unwavering and awe inspiring.”