Led Zeppelin: My Night as the Right Fifth Member

In January 1969 I went with a friend, Allan Knowles to see the "New Yardbirds" at Hunt Armory, Pittsburgh, PA. I was sixteen years, eleven months (important at that age!) old and was in my Junior year of high school.

We were a bit skeptical about the band and the concert since we had heard that the Yardbirds had broken up, but the DJ at the sponsoring radio station (KQV-Pittsburgh) said it was a new band put together by one of the former Yardbirds.

We arrived early, and found the band's equipment set up on knee-high risers, the kind I was accustomed to in high school band! And they only had a third of the armory floor for audience-- there were even two local bands schduled to play, each with their own area.

As we were looking at the equipment some guys came out of the back room, suspiciously asking what we were doing as they approached us. "We're looking for the Yardbirds," I said. "We are the Yardbirds," said the leader. I asked what he played, and he said guitar. I was thrilled. "So do I!," I responded. He reacted with a smile and a comradery interest that I wouldn't have anticipated.

He and I seemed to hit it off quickly, and the more we talked the more we found we shared common ideas and off-the-wall approaches to music and other things, including religion and spiritual/mystical beliefs. Since Allan was/is a rather shy individual I was doing most of the interacting (being the less-shy of the two), and in my recollection I sometimes don't even remember Allan being there at various points as a result. I was enthralled by the moment.

The guitarist was Jimmy Page. He was showing us his equipment, and pulled out a violin bow. "Do you know what this is?" I stood silently, shocked since I had been playing around with a violin bow on my guitar for several years. "It's a violin bow," Jimmy said. I responded, "I know-- I have one that my dad brought home from the music store where he works." Jimmy seemed astounded, and even more so when he found I'd been playing with the idea for as long as he had, although I used a different technique of approach.

About that time he decided to plug me in and we played a bit, then he called the band together. I played several songs with them, very awkwardly and nervously at first. I remember jamming at first playing some blues, as Jimmy had suggested, and then after Jimmy briefly showed me the song, playing Communications Breakdown several times with them and many of the other songs from their first album before someone angrily came yelling over that one of the local bands was trying to start playing and they had a crowd gathered at their stage.

There were by now a number of people who had gathered around our bandstand to watch. When I climbed down several of them asked, "Are you a member of the band?" Jimmy yelled down, "Yes, he is!" despite my nervous statements to the contrary. The people wanted my autograph. I was honored, and felt that I had been adopted for the evening and that Jimmy was humoring me. Some photos were taken of all of us.

After the show I played some more-- it was like a band practice as people were leaving. At some point we began to put equipment away and close up shop. I remember a limbo-period of not knowing how to say goodbye, as the band seemed to be talking among themselves and we were standing alone.

John (John Paul Jones) approached and suddenly became real talkative. As the conversation evolved, it seems that Jimmy had sent him to more or less check me out and to invite me to leave with them as the second guitarist for the band. They had been serious all along!

Jimmy and I had earlier discussed theoretical ideas of how we would put our dream-band together. I had said I'd rather have a three-piece band and be the only guitarist. He said he liked that, but that for this new band he would like to have a second guitarist "if he could find the right fifth person" that fit in with the band as a whole. John said that Jimmy had decided that I was the right fifth person.

After some thinking and talking with Allan we decided that yes, I would join the band and that Allan would come along as an equipment man. We all shook hands around, with some hesitancy between myself and John Bonham (Bonzo), the drummer who seemed to have his doubts about me, and I had my doubts about getting along with him as well.

I was giving Jimmy directions how to get to my house so we could pick up my equipment, shock my parents, and get on to the next destination, which I believe was Cleveland. However, about this time I suddenly realized my dad was probably waiting for us outside, since we had made plans earlier for him to pick us up and in all the excitement I had totally forgotten.

In short, my dad had a fit, was screaming for me to get in the car, and Allan and I went back in sheepishly to discuss the situation with the guys. After some long, serious discussion I decided to pull out. "You'll get another chance," said Jimmy. "Maybe not this big, but yes, another chance."

There are many more details of this evening which are revealed in the book. Ironically, as Led Zeppelin became a symbol of heavy metal and rumors of satanic involvement abounded, I went a different path, becoming an ordained Conservative Congregational minister, serving two pastorates and spending nine years as an Army chaplain, serving with Rapid Deployment, PsyOps and as a Hospital Chaplain.

Today I own my own multi-faceted small corporation with my second wife, Linda. I watched with glee as my third child, David, born in 1982, grew in leaps and bounds in learning the guitar in just ten months and wonder if someday I, too, will be the father screaming, "Get in the car!!! You're not quitting school to join up with a bunch of G*D punks!!!"

God forbid! Actually, in September 1998 we had the chance to jam together with a friend's band, the house band for a local blues club in Hagerstown MD. That was really great!