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John Paul Jones (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist
, songwriter, composer, arranger
and record producer. Best known as the bassist
, mandolinist, and keyboardist
for English rock band Led Zeppelin
, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a producer. A versatile musician, Jones also plays guitar
, koto
, lap steel guitar
s, autoharp
, violin
, ukulele
, sitar
, cello
, continuum
and the three over-dubbed recorder
parts heard on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven
".
According to Allmusic, Jones "has left his mark on rock & roll music history as an innovative musician, arranger, and director." Many notable rock bassists have been influenced by John Paul Jones, including John Deacon
, Geddy Lee
, Steve Harris
, Flea
, Gene Simmons
, and Krist Novoselic
. Jones is currently part of the Them Crooked Vultures
with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl
where he plays the bass, piano and other instruments.
, Kent
(now part of Greater London
). He started playing piano at age six, learning from his father, Joe Baldwin, a pianist and arranger for big band
s in the 1940s and 1950s, notably with the Ambrose Orchestra. His mother was also in the music business which allowed the family to often perform together touring around England. His influences ranged from the blues of Big Bill Broonzy
, the jazz of Charles Mingus
, to the classical piano of Sergei Rachmaninoff
.
Because his parents often toured, Jones was sent to boarding school at a young age. He was a student at Christ's College, Blackheath, London
where he formally studied music. At the age of 14, Jones became choirmaster and organist at a local church and during that year, he also bought his first bass guitar, a Dallas solid body electric followed by multiple basses in which he part exchanged until he finally bought his 1962 Fender Jazz Bass
which he used until 1976. The fluid playing of Chicago musician Phil Upchurch
on his You Can't Sit Down LP, which includes a memorable bass solo, is cited by Jones as being his inspiration to take up the instrument.
. Jones' big break came in 1962 when he was hired by Jet Harris
and Tony Meehan
of the successful British group The Shadows
for a two-year stint. Shortly before hiring Jones, Harris and Meehan had just had a Number 1 hit with "Diamonds" (a track on which Jones' bandmate-to-be Jimmy Page
had played.) Jones' collaboration with the Shadows nearly prevented the future formation of Led Zeppelin, when the parties engaged in talks about the possibility of Jones replacing their bassist Brian Locking
, who left the band in October 1963, but John Rostill
was ultimately chosen to fill the position.
In 1964, on the recommendation of Meehan, Jones began studio session work with Decca Records
. From then until 1968, he played on hundreds of recording sessions. He soon expanded his studio work by playing keyboards, arranging
and undertaking general studio direction, resulting in his services coming under much demand. He worked with numerous artists including the Rolling Stones
on Their Satanic Majesties Request
(Jones' string arrangement is heard on "She's a Rainbow
"); Herman's Hermits
; Donovan
(on "Sunshine Superman
" and "Mellow Yellow
"); Jeff Beck
; Françoise Hardy
; Cat Stevens
; Rod Stewart
; Shirley Bassey
; Lulu
; and numerous others. As well as recording sessions with Dusty Springfield
, Jones also played bass for her Talk of the Town
series of performances. His arranging and playing on Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" resulted in producer Mickie Most
using his services as choice arranger for many of his own projects, with Tom Jones
, Nico
, Wayne Fontana
, the Walker Brothers
, and many others. Such was the extent of Jones' studio work - amounting to hundreds of sessions - that he said years later that "I can’t remember three quarters of the sessions I was on."
It was during his time as a session player that Jones adopted the stage name John Paul Jones. This name was suggested to him by a friend, Andrew Loog Oldham
, who had seen a poster for the film John Paul Jones
in France. He released his first solo recording as John Paul Jones, "Baja" (written by Lee Hazlewood
and produced by Oldham) / "A Foggy Day in Vietnam", as a single on Pye Records in April 1964.
Jones has stated that, as a session musician, he was completing two and three sessions a day, six and seven days a week. However, by 1968 he was quickly feeling burnt out
due to the heavy workload: "I was arranging 50 or 60 things a month and it was starting to kill me."
, 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 some 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:
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.
" and "The Lemon Song
" (Led Zeppelin II
), and power crunch and shifting time signature
s, such as those in "Black Dog
" (Led Zeppelin IV
). As Led Zeppelin's rhythm section
-mate 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:
After "retiring" his Fender Jazz Bass
in 1975, which he had been using since his days with The Shadows in the early 1960s, Jones switched to using custom-designed Alembics
(as seen here) while out on the road. However, he still preferred to use the Jazz 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, danceable "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 sang on the studio version.
In an interview, Jones explained that fame with Led Zeppelin was not something that he ever became preoccupied with:
However, following several exhausting tours and extended periods of time away from his family, by late 1973 Jones was beginning to show signs of disillusionment. He considered quitting Led Zeppelin to spend more time with his family, but was talked into returning by the band's manager, Peter Grant. Jones later explained his reservations:
", from their album Presence, is about an experience Jones once had on tour in the United States. The song is about a person who mistakenly takes a drag queen
up to his hotel room, who then falls asleep with a joint of marijuana
in hand, lighting the room on fire. "Royal Orleans" was the name of a hotel where the members of Led Zeppelin would stay when they visited New Orleans, because not as many people asked for autographs there. In an interview he gave to Mojo magazine in 2007, Jones clarified the reliability of this rumour, stating:
album, in 1970 and keyboards for guitarist Peter Green
on his solo album The End of the Game
. Jones was Madeline Bell
's first choice to produce and arrange her 1974 album Comin' Atcha. He has also played keyboards on many Roy Harper
albums, and contributed to Wings
' Rockestra, Back to the Egg
along with Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham
.
, Jars of Clay
, Heart
, Ben E. King
, Peter Gabriel
, Foo Fighters
, Lenny Kravitz
, Cinderella
, The Mission, La Fura dels Baus
, Brian Eno
, the Butthole Surfers
and Uncle Earl
.
He appeared on several sessions and videos for Paul McCartney
and was involved in the soundtrack of the film Give My Regards to Broad Street
. In 1985, Jones was asked by director Michael Winner
to provide the soundtrack for the film, Scream for Help
, with Jimmy Page
appearing on two tracks. Jones provides vocals for two of the songs. He recorded and toured with singer Diamanda Galás
on her 1994 album, The Sporting Life
(co-credited to John Paul Jones). Jones set up his own recording studio called Sunday School, as well being involved in his daughter's (Jacinda Jones) singing career.
In 1985 Jones joined the other former members of Led Zeppelin for the Live Aid
concert with both Phil Collins
and Tony Thompson
filling in on drums. The former members again re-formed for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
concert on 14 May 1988. Page, Plant and Jones, as well as John Bonham
's son Jason
, closed the event. The band has also played together at various private family functions. In 1992, he arranged
the orchestration on the R.E.M.
album Automatic for the People
.
In 1995 the band Heart
released a live acoustic album called The Road Home which was produced by Jones, and on which he also played several instruments.
, his debut solo album, was released in September 1999 on Robert Fripp
's DGM label and followed up in 2001 by The Thunderthief
. Both albums were accompanied by tours, in which he played with Nick Beggs
(Chapman Stick
) and Terl Bryant
(drums).
In 2004, he toured as part of the group Mutual Admiration Society, along with Glen Phillips
(the front man for the band Toad the Wet Sprocket
) and the members of the band Nickel Creek
.
Jones plays on two tracks on Foo Fighters
' album In Your Honor
. He plays mandolin on "Another Round" and piano on "Miracle", both of which are on the acoustic disc. The band's frontman Dave Grohl
(a big Led Zeppelin fan) has described Jones' guest appearance as the "second greatest thing to happen to me in my life".
He has also branched out as a record producer, having produced such albums as The Mission
's album Children, The Datsuns
' second album Outta Sight, Outta Mind (2004) and Uncle Earl
's Waterloo, Tenneesee album of Old-time music
, released in March, 2007 on Rounder Records
.
In May 2007, he accompanied Robyn Hitchcock
and Ruby Wright in performing the song "Gigolo Aunt" at a tribute for Pink Floyd
founder Syd Barrett
in London, which he did on mandolin.
He played at Bonnaroo 2007 in a collaboration with Ben Harper
and The Roots
' drummer Questlove as part of the festival's all-star Super-Jam, which is the festival's annual tradition of bringing together several famous, world-class musicians to jam on stage for a few hours.
Jones appeared and played mandolin with Gillian Welch
during the festival during the song "Look at Miss Ohio" and a cover of the Johnny Cash
song "Jackson
". He also appeared during the set of Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals where they played a cover of "Dazed and Confused". Jones then closed Gov't Mule
's first set, playing part of "Moby Dick" and then "Livin Lovin Maid" on bass, then proceeded to play keyboards on the songs "Since I've Been Loving You
" and "No Quarter
". Jones also performed on mandolin with the all- female bluegrass group Uncle Earl, whose album he had produced in 2007.
Mandolin-slinging Jones jammed on Led Zeppelin’s "Whole Lotta Love
" with Winnipeg’s energetic Duhks at April 2007’s MerleFest
in North Carolina.
Jones played in the Led Zeppelin reunion show
at London's O2 Arena
on 10 December 2007 with the other remaining members of Led Zeppelin as part of a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun
.
In 2008, Jones produced Nickel Creek
singer-fiddler Sara Watkins
' debut solo album. As previously mentioned, Jones toured with Watkins, Glen Phillips
, and the rest of Nickel Creek in late 2004 in a collaboration entitled Mutual Admiration Society.
On 10 February 2008, John Paul Jones appeared with the Foo Fighters on the Grammy Awards conducting the orchestra
l part to the song "The Pretender". On 7 June 2008, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page appeared with the Foo Fighters to close out the band's concert at Wembley Stadium
. Jones performed with Sonic Youth
and Takehisa Kosugi
, providing the stage music for Merce Cunningham
's Nearly 90, which ran 16–19 April 2009 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
.
In February and March 2011 he appeared in the onstage band in Mark-Anthony Turnage
's opera Anna Nicole
, about the Playboy
model Anna Nicole Smith
, at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden, in London.
In August 2011, he appeared at Reading and Leeds Festivals
to play alongside Seasick Steve
.
and Queens of the Stone Age
frontman Josh Homme named Them Crooked Vultures
. The trio played their first show together on 9 August 2009 at the Metro
in Chicago, and their first album
was released on 17 November 2009. The group is tentatively planning a second album and world tour for 2011-2012.
of Queen
, Geddy Lee
of Rush
, Steve Harris
of Iron Maiden
, Flea
from 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". Many music publications and magazines have ranked Jones among the best rock bassists of all time. He was named the best bassist on Creem Magazines 1977 Reader Poll. In 2000, Guitar magazine ranked him third in the "Bassist of the Millennium" readers' poll.
In October 2010, John Paul 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 honored with the "Outstanding Contribution Award" at the Marshall Classic Rock
Roll Of Honour Awards.
Rich List
Jones' assets are worth £40 million as of 2009.
Andy Manson triple neck mandolin - mandolin, mandola, bass mandolin
He also owns and plays an Andy Manson Octave mandolin, Octave mandola and Mando Cello.
www.andymanson.com
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, songwriter, composer, arranger
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
and record producer. Best known as the bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
, mandolinist, and keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
for English rock band Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a producer. A versatile musician, Jones also plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
, lap steel guitar
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
s, autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
, sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, continuum
Continuum (instrument)
The Continuum Fingerboard or Haken Continuum is a music performance controller developed by Lippold Haken, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, and sold by Haken Audio, located in Champaign, Illinois....
and the three over-dubbed recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
parts heard on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
".
According to Allmusic, Jones "has left his mark on rock & roll music history as an innovative musician, arranger, and director." Many notable rock bassists have been influenced by John Paul Jones, including John Deacon
John Deacon
John Richard Deacon is a retired English multi-instrumentalist and song writer, best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, he was the last to join and also the youngest, being only 19 years old when he was recruited by the other members of the band...
, Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee
Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
, Steve Harris
Steve Harris (musician)
Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he founded in 1975...
, Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
, Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
, and Krist Novoselic
Krist Novoselic
Krist Anthony Novoselic II is a Croatian-American rock musician, best known for being the bassist and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana. After Nirvana ended, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 and then Eyes Adrift, releasing one album with each band...
. Jones is currently part of the Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures is a rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by John Paul Jones , Dave Grohl , and Josh Homme . The group also includes guitarist Alain Johannes during live performances...
with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
where he plays the bass, piano and other instruments.
Early years
Jones was born in SidcupSidcup
Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(now part of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
). He started playing piano at age six, learning from his father, Joe Baldwin, a pianist and arranger for big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s in the 1940s and 1950s, notably with the Ambrose Orchestra. His mother was also in the music business which allowed the family to often perform together touring around England. His influences ranged from the blues of Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
, the jazz of Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, to the classical piano of Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
.
Because his parents often toured, Jones was sent to boarding school at a young age. He was a student at Christ's College, Blackheath, London
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
where he formally studied music. At the age of 14, Jones became choirmaster and organist at a local church and during that year, he also bought his first bass guitar, a Dallas solid body electric followed by multiple basses in which he part exchanged until he finally bought his 1962 Fender Jazz Bass
Fender Jazz Bass
The Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
which he used until 1976. The fluid playing of Chicago musician Phil Upchurch
Phil Upchurch
Phil Upchurch is an American jazz and R&B guitarist and bassist.Upchurch started his career working with The Kool Gents, The Dells, and The Spaniels before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush and Jimmy Reed. He then returned to Chicago to play and record with Woody Herman, Stan Getz,...
on his You Can't Sit Down LP, which includes a memorable bass solo, is cited by Jones as being his inspiration to take up the instrument.
Session work
Jones joined his first band, The Deltas, at 15. He then played bass for jazz-rock London group, Jett Blacks, a collective that included guitarist John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
. Jones' big break came in 1962 when he was hired by Jet Harris
Jet Harris
Jet Harris, MBE was an English musician. He was the bass guitarist of The Shadows until April 1962, and had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with the drummer Tony Meehan....
and Tony Meehan
Tony Meehan
Daniel Joseph Anthony "Tony" Meehan was a founder member of the British group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch...
of the successful British group The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
for a two-year stint. Shortly before hiring Jones, Harris and Meehan had just had a Number 1 hit with "Diamonds" (a track on which Jones' bandmate-to-be Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
had played.) Jones' collaboration with the Shadows nearly prevented the future formation of Led Zeppelin, when the parties engaged in talks about the possibility of Jones replacing their bassist Brian Locking
Brian Locking
Brian "Licorice" Locking was the bass guitarist with The Shadows between 1962-1963.- Career :...
, who left the band in October 1963, but John Rostill
John Rostill
John Henry Rostill was an English bassist and composer, recruited by The Shadows to replace Brian Locking.-Biography:...
was ultimately chosen to fill the position.
In 1964, on the recommendation of Meehan, Jones began studio session work with Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. From then until 1968, he played on hundreds of recording sessions. He soon expanded his studio work by playing keyboards, arranging
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
and undertaking general studio direction, resulting in his services coming under much demand. He worked with numerous artists including the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
on Their Satanic Majesties Request
Their Satanic Majesties Request
Their Satanic Majesties Request is the sixth British and eighth American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released on 8 December 1967 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States by London Records...
(Jones' string arrangement is heard on "She's a Rainbow
She's A Rainbow
"She's a Rainbow" is a song by the English rock 'n roll band The Rolling Stones and was featured on their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request.Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "She's a Rainbow" was recorded on 18 May 1967...
"); Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
; Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
(on "Sunshine Superman
Sunshine Superman
"Sunshine Superman" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "Sunshine Superman" single was released in the United States through Epic Records in July 1966, but due to a contractual dispute the United Kingdom release was delayed until December 1966, where it...
" and "Mellow Yellow
Mellow Yellow
"Mellow Yellow" is a song and single release by Donovan. It reached #2 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in 1966 and #8 in the UK in early 1967....
"); Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
; Françoise Hardy
Françoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style. She is married to the singer and movie actor Jacques Dutronc.-Biography:...
; Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
; Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
; Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
; Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
; and numerous others. As well as recording sessions with Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Jones also played bass for her Talk of the Town
Hippodrome, London
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors...
series of performances. His arranging and playing on Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" resulted in producer Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
using his services as choice arranger for many of his own projects, with Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Nico
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
, Wayne Fontana
The Mindbenders
The Mindbenders was a 1960s beat group from Manchester, England. They were part of the mid 1960s British Invasion with their chart-toppers "Game of Love" and "A Groovy Kind of Love"....
, the Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...
, and many others. Such was the extent of Jones' studio work - amounting to hundreds of sessions - that he said years later that "I can’t remember three quarters of the sessions I was on."
It was during his time as a session player that Jones adopted the stage name John Paul Jones. This name was suggested to him by a friend, Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of The Rolling Stones from 1963, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
, who had seen a poster for the film John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (film)
John Paul Jones is a 1959 biographical epic film about John Paul Jones. The film was made by Samuel Bronston Productions and released by Warner Bros. It was directed by John Farrow and produced by Samuel Bronston from a screenplay by John Farrow, Ben Hecht, Jesse Lasky Jr. from the story Nor'wester...
in France. He released his first solo recording as John Paul Jones, "Baja" (written by Lee Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood , born Barton Lee Hazlewood was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s.Hazlewood had a distinctive baritone voice that added an ominous...
and produced by Oldham) / "A Foggy Day in Vietnam", as a single on Pye Records in April 1964.
Jones has stated that, as a session musician, he was completing two and three sessions a day, six and seven days a week. However, by 1968 he was quickly feeling burnt out
Burnout (psychology)
Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Research indicates general practitioners have the highest proportion of burnout cases; according to a recent Dutch study in Psychological Reports, no less than 40% of these experienced high levels of...
due to the heavy workload: "I was arranging 50 or 60 things a month and it was starting to kill me."
Formation
During his time as a session player, Jones often crossed paths with guitarist Jimmy PageJimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, a fellow session veteran. In June 1966, Page joined The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
, and in 1967 Jones contributed to that band's Little Games
Little Games
1992 Expanded editionAn expanded Little Games edition entitled Little Games Sessions and More, was released as a 2 disc set featuring additional sessions and alternate takes from the period, plus the singles "Ha Ha Said the Clown", "Ten Little Indians", and "Goodnight Sweet...
album. The following winter, during the sessions for Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
's The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album and seventh album overall from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in October 1968 , but was not released in the UK because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow...
, 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
Chris Dreja
Chris Dreja was the rhythm guitarist, and later bassist, in the 1960s British band, The Yardbirds.-Early life:...
to complete some 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:
Vocalist Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and drummer John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
joined the two to form a quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
. Initially dubbed the "New Yardbirds" for the Scandinavian dates
Led Zeppelin Scandinavian Tour 1968
Led Zeppelin's 1968 tour of Scandinavia was a concert tour of Denmark and Sweden by the English rock band. The tour commenced on September 7 and concluded on September 17, 1968. It was Led Zeppelin's first concert tour...
, the band soon became known as Led Zeppelin.
Contribution to the band
He was responsible for the classic bass lines of the group, notably those in "Ramble OnRamble On
-Cover versions:Train did a cover of the song in early 2001 and released it as a single. Producer Brendan O'Brien heard Train's version and agreed to produce their second album, Drops of Jupiter...
" and "The Lemon Song
The Lemon Song
"The Lemon Song" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was recorded at Mystic Studios in Hollywood when the band was on their second concert tour of the United States....
" (Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin II
The finished tracks reflect the raw, evolving sound of the band and their ability as live performers. The album has been noted for featuring a further development of the lyrical themes established by Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's debut album, creating a work which would become more widely...
), and power crunch and shifting time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
s, such as those in "Black Dog
Black Dog (song)
"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the lead off track of their fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.In 2010, the song was...
" (Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin IV
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
). As Led Zeppelin's rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
-mate with drummer John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
, Jones shared an appreciation for funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
rhythmic grooves
Groove (popular music)
Groove is the sense of propulsive rhythmic "feel" or sense of "swing" created by the interaction of the music played by a band's rhythm section . Groove is a consideration in genres such as salsa, funk, rock, fusion, and soul...
which strengthened and enhanced their musical affinity. In an interview he gave to Global Bass magazine, Jones remarked on this common musical interest:
After "retiring" his Fender Jazz Bass
Fender Jazz Bass
The Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
in 1975, which he had been using since his days with The Shadows in the early 1960s, Jones switched to using custom-designed Alembics
Alembic Inc
Alembic was founded in 1969 and is a manufacturer of high-end electric basses, guitars and preamps.-History:Ron and Susan Wickersham founded Alembic, Inc. in 1969...
(as seen here) while out on the road. However, he still preferred to use the Jazz in the studio.
Jones' keyboard skills added an eclectic
Eclecticism in music
Eclecticism is used to describe a composer's conscious use of styles alien to his nature, or from one or more historical styles. The term is also used pejoratively to describe music whose composer, thought to be lacking originality, appears to have freely drawn on other models .-Sources:* Kennedy,...
dimension that realised Led Zeppelin as more than just a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band. Keyboard highlights include the delicate "The Rain Song
The Rain Song
"The Rain Song" is a ballad song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's fifth album Houses of the Holy, released in 1973.-Recording:"The Rain Song" is a love ballad of over 7 minutes in length. Guitarist Jimmy Page originally constructed the melody of this song at his home in Plumpton, England,...
" (Houses of the Holy
Houses of the Holy
Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. The album title is a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed "Houses of the Holy". It was the second Led Zeppelin album to not...
) played on a Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
; the funky, danceable "Trampled Under Foot
Trampled Under Foot
"Trampled Under Foot" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin, featured on their 1975 album Physical Graffiti.-Overview:The song was written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, and evolved out of a jam session in 1972...
", played on a Clavinet
Clavinet
A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
(Physical Graffiti
Physical Graffiti
Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 24 February 1975 as a double album. Recording sessions for the album were initially disrupted when bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones considered leaving the band...
); and the eastern scales of "Kashmir
Kashmir (song)
"Kashmir" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their sixth album Physical Graffiti, released in 1975. It was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant over a period of three years, with the lyrics dating back to 1973.-Overview:The song centres around a signature chord progression...
", also played on a Mellotron (also on Physical Graffiti). In live performances, Jones' keyboard showpiece was "No Quarter
No Quarter (song)
"No Quarter" is a song by Led Zeppelin that appears on their album, Houses of the Holy, released in 1973. It was written by bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant.- Overview :...
", often lasting for up to half-an-hour and sometimes including snatches of "Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
", Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...
's "Concierto de Aranjuez
Concierto de Aranjuez
The Concierto de Aranjuez is a composition for classical guitar and orchestra by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is probably Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the twentieth century. ...
", which had inspired Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
' Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
, 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
Bass pedals
Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged together as a unit...
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
The Battle of Evermore
"The Battle of Evermore" is a folk rock duet sung by Robert Plant and Sandy Denny, by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their untitled fourth album , released in 1971...
, filling in for Sandy Denny who sang on the studio version.
Profile
While all members of Led Zeppelin had a reputation for off-stage excess (a label some have claimed was somewhat exaggerated), Jones was widely seen as the most quiet and reserved member of the group. For his part, Jones has claimed that he had just as much fun on the road as his bandmates but was more discreet about it, stating "I did more drugs than I care to remember. I just did it quietly." Benoit Gautier, an employee of Atlantic Records in France, echoed this impression, stating that "The wisest guy in Led Zeppelin was John Paul Jones. Why? He never got caught in an embarrassing situation."In an interview, Jones explained that fame with Led Zeppelin was not something that he ever became preoccupied with:
However, following several exhausting tours and extended periods of time away from his family, by late 1973 Jones was beginning to show signs of disillusionment. He considered quitting Led Zeppelin to spend more time with his family, but was talked into returning by the band's manager, Peter Grant. Jones later explained his reservations:
"Royal Orleans"
It is rumoured that the Led Zeppelin song "Royal OrleansRoyal Orleans
"Royal Orleans" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin, from their 1976 album Presence.When in New Orleans on concert tours, members of the group would stay at the Royal Orleans Hotel, and the song is reportedly based on an incident that occurred there...
", from their album Presence, is about an experience Jones once had on tour in the United States. The song is about a person who mistakenly takes a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
up to his hotel room, who then falls asleep with a joint of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
in hand, lighting the room on fire. "Royal Orleans" was the name of a hotel where the members of Led Zeppelin would stay when they visited New Orleans, because not as many people asked for autographs there. In an interview he gave to Mojo magazine in 2007, Jones clarified the reliability of this rumour, stating:
Other work during time with the band
Jones' involvement with Led Zeppelin did not put a halt to his session work. In 1969 he returned to the studio to play bass guitar on The Family Dogg's A Way of LifeA Way of Life (album)
A Way of Life is the début album by British vocal harmony and folk-rock group The Family Dogg. It features singer-songwriter Albert Hammond, and a session group includes Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and John Bonham. Elton John may have played piano on the title track...
album, in 1970 and keyboards for guitarist Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
on his solo album The End of the Game
The End of the Game
The End of the Game is an album by British blues rock musician Peter Green, who was the founder of Fleetwood Mac and a member from 1967–70...
. Jones was Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, having arrived from the US in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.-Career:She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty...
's first choice to produce and arrange her 1974 album Comin' Atcha. He has also played keyboards on many Roy Harper
Roy Harper
Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...
albums, and contributed to Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
' Rockestra, Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by Wings, released in 1979. It is also Wings' first album for Columbia Records after leaving long-time United States distributor Capitol Records in 1978...
along with Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
.
After Led Zeppelin
1980 to 2000
Since Led Zeppelin dissolved in 1980 with the death of Bonham, Jones has collaborated with a number of artists, including R.E.M.R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
, Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, Cinderella
Cinderella (band)
Cinderella is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation. They were famous for being a glam metal band, but then shifted over towards a more hard...
, The Mission, La Fura dels Baus
La Fura dels Baus
La Fura dels Baus is a Catalan theatrical group founded in 1979 in Barcelona, known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan means "vermin from the sewers"....
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, the Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
and Uncle Earl
Uncle Earl
Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group, formed in 2000 by KC Groves and Jo Serrapere. They are an all-women-band and often they refer to themselves as the g'Earls. Their fans have also been nicknamed as g'Earlfriends....
.
He appeared on several sessions and videos for Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and was involved in the soundtrack of the film Give My Regards to Broad Street
Give My Regards to Broad Street
Give My Regards to Broad Street is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Unlike the film, the album was successful, achieving #1 in the UK chart and its lead single "No More Lonely Nights" was BAFTA and Golden Globe award nominated....
. In 1985, Jones was asked by director Michael Winner
Michael Winner
Michael Robert Winner is a British film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United States, also known as a food critic for the Sunday Times.-Early life and early career :...
to provide the soundtrack for the film, Scream for Help
Scream for Help (album)
2000 Compact disc editionSame track listing and order as the vinyl release.- Personnel :* John Paul Jones - Keyboards, synthesizer, bass guitar, guitars, backing vocals, producer* Jimmy Page - Electric guitars...
, with Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
appearing on two tracks. Jones provides vocals for two of the songs. He recorded and toured with singer Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
on her 1994 album, The Sporting Life
The Sporting Life (album)
The Sporting Life is an album by singer Diamanda Galás and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, recorded in London and released in 1994.- Track listing :#"Skótoseme" – 6:27#"Do You Take This Man?" – 6:09...
(co-credited to John Paul Jones). Jones set up his own recording studio called Sunday School, as well being involved in his daughter's (Jacinda Jones) singing career.
In 1985 Jones joined the other former members of Led Zeppelin for the Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert with both Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
and Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson
Anthony T. "Tony" Thompson was a session drummer best known as a member of Chic. He was raised in the middle-class community of Springfield Gardens, in Queens, NY.-Chic:...
filling in on drums. The former members again re-formed for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
On 14 May 1988 the Atlantic Records label held its 40th Anniversary Celebration by staging a non-stop concert lasting almost 13 hours at Madison Square Garden, New York. The event was dubbed "It's Only Rock And Roll"....
concert on 14 May 1988. Page, Plant and Jones, as well as John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
's son Jason
Jason Bonham
Jason John Bonham is an English drummer. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in...
, closed the event. The band has also played together at various private family functions. In 1992, he arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
the orchestration on the R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
album Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People is the eighth album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records. While R.E.M...
.
In 1995 the band Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
released a live acoustic album called The Road Home which was produced by Jones, and on which he also played several instruments.
2000 to the present
ZoomaZooma
Zooma is the 1999 instrumental debut solo-album by former Led Zeppelin bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones.It showcases his acoustic abilities along with his composing abilities...
, his debut solo album, was released in September 1999 on Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
's DGM label and followed up in 2001 by The Thunderthief
The Thunderthief
The Thunderthief is John Paul Jones's second solo album.-Track listing:#"Leafy Meadows" – 5:10#"The Thunderthief" – 5:58#"Hoediddle" – 7:00#"Ice Fishing at Night" – 4:31#"Daphne" – 4:50#"Angry Angry" – 5:54...
. Both albums were accompanied by tours, in which he played with Nick Beggs
Nick Beggs
Nick Beggs is a British musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of Kajagoogoo and formerly Iona and Ellis, Beggs, & Howard.-Personal life:...
(Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
) and Terl Bryant
Terl Bryant
Terl Bryant is a drummer and percussionist who has worked with a wide range of artists and contributed to many top flight recordings to much critical acclaim...
(drums).
In 2004, he toured as part of the group Mutual Admiration Society, along with Glen Phillips
Glen Phillips
Glen Phillips is a songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist. He is best known as the singer and songwriter of 1990s alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket.-Personal life:...
(the front man for the band Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986. The band consists of singer/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss. The band enjoyed chart success in the 1990s with the singles "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want,"...
) and the members of the band Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...
.
Jones plays on two tracks on Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
' album In Your Honor
In Your Honor
In Your Honor is the fifth studio album by Foo Fighters, released on June 14, 2005 on BMG. It consists of two discs. The first contains up beat rock songs and the second disc contains mellower acoustic songs.-Development:...
. He plays mandolin on "Another Round" and piano on "Miracle", both of which are on the acoustic disc. The band's frontman Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
(a big Led Zeppelin fan) has described Jones' guest appearance as the "second greatest thing to happen to me in my life".
He has also branched out as a record producer, having produced such albums as The Mission
The Mission (band)
The Mission are a gothic rock band formed in 1986 from the splinters of the freshly dissolved rock band The Sisters of Mercy.The band was started by frontman Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams , soon adding...
's album Children, The Datsuns
The Datsuns
The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released four albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom...
' second album Outta Sight, Outta Mind (2004) and Uncle Earl
Uncle Earl
Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group, formed in 2000 by KC Groves and Jo Serrapere. They are an all-women-band and often they refer to themselves as the g'Earls. Their fans have also been nicknamed as g'Earlfriends....
's Waterloo, Tenneesee album of Old-time music
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
, released in March, 2007 on Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
.
In May 2007, he accompanied Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
and Ruby Wright in performing the song "Gigolo Aunt" at a tribute for Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
founder Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
in London, which he did on mandolin.
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
and The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
' drummer Questlove as part of the festival's all-star Super-Jam, which is the festival's annual tradition of bringing together several famous, world-class musicians to jam on stage for a few hours.
Jones appeared and played mandolin with Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
during the festival during the song "Look at Miss Ohio" and a cover of the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
song "Jackson
Jackson (song)
"Jackson" is a song, written in 1963 by Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler, about a married couple who find that the "fire" has gone out of their relationship...
". He also appeared during the set of Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals where they played a cover of "Dazed and Confused". Jones then closed Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
's first set, playing part of "Moby Dick" and then "Livin Lovin Maid" on bass, then proceeded to play keyboards on the songs "Since I've Been Loving You
Since I've Been Loving You
"Since I've Been Loving You" is a blues-rock song in C minor by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III.-Overview:...
" and "No Quarter
No Quarter (song)
"No Quarter" is a song by Led Zeppelin that appears on their album, Houses of the Holy, released in 1973. It was written by bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant.- Overview :...
". Jones also performed on mandolin with the all- female bluegrass group Uncle Earl, whose album he had produced in 2007.
Mandolin-slinging Jones jammed on Led Zeppelin’s "Whole Lotta Love
Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it...
" with Winnipeg’s energetic Duhks at April 2007’s MerleFest
MerleFest
MerleFest is an annual "traditional plus" music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina on the campus of Wilkes Community College . The festival, which is held the last weekend in April, is hosted by Grammy Award winner Doc Watson and is named in memory and honor of his son, Eddy Merle Watson,...
in North Carolina.
Jones played in the Led Zeppelin reunion show
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band, Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980,...
at London's O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
on 10 December 2007 with the other remaining members of Led Zeppelin as part of a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
.
In 2008, Jones produced Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...
singer-fiddler Sara Watkins
Sara Watkins
Sara Ullrika Watkins is an American singer-songwriter and fiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of the progressive bluegrass group Nickel Creek, which consisted of herself, her elder brother Sean, and mandolinist Chris Thile. As a band, they are notable for three wide-released albums:...
' debut solo album. As previously mentioned, Jones toured with Watkins, Glen Phillips
Glen Phillips
Glen Phillips is a songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist. He is best known as the singer and songwriter of 1990s alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket.-Personal life:...
, and the rest of Nickel Creek in late 2004 in a collaboration entitled Mutual Admiration Society.
On 10 February 2008, John Paul Jones appeared with the Foo Fighters on the Grammy Awards conducting the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l part to the song "The Pretender". On 7 June 2008, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page appeared with the Foo Fighters to close out the band's concert at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. Jones performed with Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
and Takehisa Kosugi
Takehisa Kosugi
is a Japanese composer and violinist associated with the Fluxus movement.Kosugi studied musicology at the Tokyo University of the Arts and graduated in 1962....
, providing the stage music for Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
's Nearly 90, which ran 16–19 April 2009 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
.
In February and March 2011 he appeared in the onstage band in Mark-Anthony Turnage
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Mark-Anthony Turnage is a prolific English composer of classical music. His initial musical studies were with Oliver Knussen, John Lambert, and later with Gunther Schuller...
's opera Anna Nicole
Anna Nicole
Anna Nicole is an opera in 2 acts by Mark-Anthony Turnage to an English libretto by Richard Thomas. It premiered on 17 February 2011 at the Royal Opera House, London, directed by Richard Jones. The story is based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith. A recording of the opera was broadcast on BBC Four...
, about the Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
model Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith
In 1992 Smith was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March issue of Playboy, where she was listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. The centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboys...
, at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden, in London.
In August 2011, he appeared at Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
to play alongside Seasick Steve
Seasick Steve
Steven Gene Wold, commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays guitars, and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.-Childhood and early life:...
.
Them Crooked Vultures
Jones' most recent own project is a supergroup with Dave GrohlDave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
and Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
frontman Josh Homme named Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures is a rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by John Paul Jones , Dave Grohl , and Josh Homme . The group also includes guitarist Alain Johannes during live performances...
. The trio played their first show together on 9 August 2009 at the Metro
Metro Chicago
This page is about the concert hall; for the metro region surrounding Chicago, see Chicago metropolitan area.Metro is a concert hall at 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in...
in Chicago, and their first album
Them Crooked Vultures (album)
-Reception:The album has received a 75 Metascore rating from aggregrator Metacritic, based on 23 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. Rhapsody deemed it the 19th best album of 2009. Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot was particularly complimentary of the album, giving it a rating of...
was released on 17 November 2009. The group is tentatively planning a second album and world tour for 2011-2012.
Legacy
John Paul 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 John Paul Jones, including John DeaconJohn Deacon
John Richard Deacon is a retired English multi-instrumentalist and song writer, best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, he was the last to join and also the youngest, being only 19 years old when he was recruited by the other members of the band...
of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee
Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
of Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, Steve Harris
Steve Harris (musician)
Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he founded in 1975...
of Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
from Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
, Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
of Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, and Krist Novoselic
Krist Novoselic
Krist Anthony Novoselic II is a Croatian-American rock musician, best known for being the bassist and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana. After Nirvana ended, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 and then Eyes Adrift, releasing one album with each band...
of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
. Chris Dreja
Chris Dreja
Chris Dreja was the rhythm guitarist, and later bassist, in the 1960s British band, The Yardbirds.-Early life:...
, the rhythm guitarist and bassist of The Yardbirds, has described him as "the best bass player in Europe". Many music publications and magazines have ranked Jones among the best rock bassists of all time. He was named the best bassist on Creem Magazines 1977 Reader Poll. In 2000, Guitar magazine ranked him third in the "Bassist of the Millennium" readers' poll.
In October 2010, John Paul Jones was awarded a "Gold Badge Award" by The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors was founded in 1947.It represents its members within the industry, to the government and to the European Commission....
for his outstanding contribution to Britain’s music and entertainment industry. On 10 November 2010, he was honored with the "Outstanding Contribution Award" at the Marshall Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
Roll Of Honour Awards.
Personal life
John met his wife, 'Mo' (Maureen) in 1965, and they have been together ever since. They have 3 daughters: Jacinda, Tamara and Kierra. According to The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
Jones' assets are worth £40 million as of 2009.
Bass guitars
- 1962 Fender Jazz BassFender Jazz BassThe Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
(used in studio and live performances) - 1951 Fender Precision Bass with the finish removed (used to play "Black DogBlack Dog (song)"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the lead off track of their fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.In 2010, the song was...
" and other songs live from 1971–1975) - Fretless Fender Precision BassFender Precision BassThe Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
- Gibson EB-1Gibson EB-1The Gibson EB-1 is an electric bass that was introduced by Gibson in 1953, and is the first bass in Gibson's range.- History :The EB-1, then known as the Electric Bass, was first marketed in 1953 in response to the runaway success of the Fender Precision Bass...
(seen on the inner wheel of Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and July 1970 and released on 5 October 1970 by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band's...
) - Fender Bass VFender Bass VThe original Fender Bass V was a quirky and unusual electric bass guitar model produced by Fender between 1965 and 1970. It was the world's first five string bass guitar, a popular concept today....
- Alembic Bruce Becvar 8 string Triple Omega
- Alembic Series II 4 string
- Manson E-35 4 String Bass
- Manson E-30 4 String Bass (Single Pickup)
- Manson 8 String Bass
- Manson 10 String Bass
- Manson 12 String Bass
- Manson Bass Mandolin
- Acoustic Control CorporationAcoustic Control CorporationAcoustic Control Corporation was a manufacturer of instrument amplifiers, founded by Steve Marks and based in Van Nuys, California. Its original location was a shack on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California....
360 Bass Amp
Mandolins
Johns main mandolin is an Andy Manson F style mandolin - used in live acoustic performances.- Andy Manson custom Triple Neck Mandolin, 12 string & 6 string acoustic (used in live performances)
Andy Manson triple neck mandolin - mandolin, mandola, bass mandolin
He also owns and plays an Andy Manson Octave mandolin, Octave mandola and Mando Cello.
www.andymanson.com
Keyboard instruments
- Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
s - Hohner ClavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
- Hohner Electra-Piano
- Fender RhodesRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
- MellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
- SteinwaySteinway & SonsSteinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
piano - YamahaYamahaYamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
CP-80 piano - Symbolic Sound Kyma system
- Korg TrinityKorg TrinityKorg Trinity is a commercially successful synthesizer music workstation released by Korg in 1996. It was also the first workstation to offer modular expansion for not only sounds, but also studio-grade feature such as SCSI, ADAT, various sound engine processors, audio recording capability, and more...
synthesiser - Korg M3Korg M3Korg M3 is a music workstation synthesizer manufactured by Korg Corporation and introduced at the Winter NAMM show during January, 2007. It hit the streets 4 months later. The M3 is the successor of the famous Triton series...
synthesiser (used with Them Crooked VulturesThem Crooked VulturesThem Crooked Vultures is a rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by John Paul Jones , Dave Grohl , and Josh Homme . The group also includes guitarist Alain Johannes during live performances...
) - Yamaha GX1Yamaha GX1The Yamaha GX-1, first released as Electone GX-707 It's rumored that when Yamaha realized the model number shared the designation of Boeing 707 aircraft, they changed it to GX-1. Note the basic design of GX-1 followed the released in 1970., is an analog polyphonic synthesizer developed by Yamaha...
synthesiser - EMS VCS3 Synthesizer
- Moog 15 Modular Synthesizer
- Korg Kaossilator
With Led Zeppelin
- Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin (album)Led Zeppelin is the debut album of the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded in October 1968 at Olympic Studios in London and released on Atlantic Records on 12 January 1969 in the United States and 31 March 1969 in the United Kingdom. The album featured integral contributions from each...
(1969) - Led Zeppelin IILed Zeppelin IIThe finished tracks reflect the raw, evolving sound of the band and their ability as live performers. The album has been noted for featuring a further development of the lyrical themes established by Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's debut album, creating a work which would become more widely...
(1969) - Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and July 1970 and released on 5 October 1970 by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band's...
(1970) - Led Zeppelin IVLed Zeppelin IVThe fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
(1971)
- Houses of the HolyHouses of the HolyHouses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. The album title is a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed "Houses of the Holy". It was the second Led Zeppelin album to not...
(1973) - Physical GraffitiPhysical GraffitiPhysical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 24 February 1975 as a double album. Recording sessions for the album were initially disrupted when bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones considered leaving the band...
(1975) - The Song Remains the SameThe Song Remains the Same (album)Upon its initial release in 1976, the album received some poor reviews, with some critics considering it to be over-produced and lumbering. Indeed, the band's members themselves have since expressed a lack of fondness for the recording...
(1976) - Presence (1976)
- In Through the Out DoorIn Through the Out DoorIn Through the Out Door is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded over a three week period in November and December 1978 at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and released by Swan Song Records on 15 August 1979...
(1979) - CodaCoda (album)-Sales chart performance:AlbumSinglesNo commercial or promotional singles were issued, although three tracks received independent radio airplay...
(1982) - BBC SessionsBBC Sessions (Led Zeppelin album)BBC Sessions is a compilation album featuring studio sessions and a live concert recorded by English rock group Led Zeppelin for the BBC. It was released on 11 November 1997, by Atlantic Records. This was the first release of new Led Zeppelin material in 15 years. Disc 1 consists of material from...
(1997) - How the West Was Won (2003)
Solo albums
- Scream for Help soundtrackScream for Help (album)2000 Compact disc editionSame track listing and order as the vinyl release.- Personnel :* John Paul Jones - Keyboards, synthesizer, bass guitar, guitars, backing vocals, producer* Jimmy Page - Electric guitars...
(1985) - The Sporting LifeThe Sporting Life (album)The Sporting Life is an album by singer Diamanda Galás and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, recorded in London and released in 1994.- Track listing :#"Skótoseme" – 6:27#"Do You Take This Man?" – 6:09...
, with Diamanda GalásDiamanda GalásDiamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
(1994) - ZoomaZoomaZooma is the 1999 instrumental debut solo-album by former Led Zeppelin bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones.It showcases his acoustic abilities along with his composing abilities...
(1999) - The ThunderthiefThe ThunderthiefThe Thunderthief is John Paul Jones's second solo album.-Track listing:#"Leafy Meadows" – 5:10#"The Thunderthief" – 5:58#"Hoediddle" – 7:00#"Ice Fishing at Night" – 4:31#"Daphne" – 4:50#"Angry Angry" – 5:54...
(2001)
Filmography
- The Song Remains the SameThe Song Remains the Same (film)The Song Remains the Same is a concert film by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The recording of the film took place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States. The film premiered on 20 October 1976, at...
(1976) - Give My Regards to Broad StreetGive My Regards to Broad StreetGive My Regards to Broad Street is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Unlike the film, the album was successful, achieving #1 in the UK chart and its lead single "No More Lonely Nights" was BAFTA and Golden Globe award nominated....
(1984) - Back to the BeachBack to the BeachBack to the Beach is a 1987 comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903...
(1987) - The Secret Adventures of Tom ThumbThe Secret Adventures of Tom ThumbThe Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb is a 1993 stop-motion animated film made by bolexbrothers, and funded by the BBC, La Sept, producer Richard Hutchinson and Manga Entertainment, which also distributed the film on video...
(1993) Composer - Risk (1994) Composer
- Led Zeppelin DVDLed Zeppelin (DVD)Led Zeppelin is a double DVD set by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2003 and the United States on May 27, 2003. It contains live concert footage of the band spanning the years 1969 to 1979...
(2003)