Eric Clapton’s True Feelings About Led Zeppelin Revealed

Former bandmates from the Yardbirds Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page caught themselves unawares when they shared a gig again, but this time with their new bands. Clapton was with Blind Faith, while Page was with Led Zeppelin. The show happened on the 25th of July, 1969, at the State Fair Grounds in West Allis, Wisconsin.

Clapton however, says he wasn’t hyped as much as he would’ve liked with Page’s performance. Zep’s set included Yardbird classics like “Train Kept a-Rollin'” and “Dazed and Confused”, while they closed it with “Communication Breakdown”.

In Led Zeppelin: The Definitive Biography, Clapton was quoted saying,“They were very loud. I thought it was unnecessarily loud. I liked some of it; I really did like some of it. But a lot of it was just too much. They overemphasized whatever point they were making, I thought.” 

Jimmy Page however, didn’t manage to catch Clapton’s performance with Blind Faith. After Led Zeppelin II’s release, Page was quoted saying, “He’s a very tasteful player. I haven’t seen him play since the John Mayall days. I didn’t see Cream, I didn’t see Blind Faith shows. That day is over, isn’t it? Everybody says so.”