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LEGENDS AND LUTHIERS: HOW JOE WALSH GAVE JIMMY PAGE HIS “NUMBER ONE” LES PAUL
By Rolling Stone Staff Writer
In the mythic corridors of rock history, some stories feel too perfect to be true—until you hear them straight from the source. One of those stories comes from Joe Walsh, the Eagles’ six-string wizard, who played a pivotal role in shaping the sonic identity of Led Zeppelin.
The year was 1969. Jimmy Page, then transitioning from Yardbirds fame to Led Zeppelin immortality, was searching for a sound. More specifically, he was searching for a guitar—a Gibson Les Paul that could translate the thunder in his head into the riffs that would soon define a generation.
“He was still playing the Telecasters from the Yardbirds days,” Walsh recalls. “But he was looking for a Les Paul and asked if I knew of any, ’cause he couldn’t find one that he liked.”
As fate would have it, Walsh had two Les Pauls in his arsenal. And rather than hoarding both, he made a decision that would ripple through rock ‘n’ roll history.
“I kept the one I liked the most,” he says. “And I flew with the other one. I laid it on him and said, ‘Try this out.’”
The moment Page plugged in, something clicked. The tone, the weight, the feel—it was all there. Page had found the guitar.
“He really liked it. So I gave him a really good deal,” Walsh says modestly, brushing off what most would now consider a historic gesture. “I had to hand-carry it; I flew there and everything. So whatever my expenses were, that’s what I charged him.”
No markup. No collector’s premium. Just one legendary guitarist helping another, because—as Walsh put it—“I just thought he should have a Les Paul, for godsakes!”
That very guitar went on to become Jimmy Page’s “Number One,” the instrument that carved the riffs of Led Zeppelin II into rock’s granite foundation. From “Whole Lotta Love” to “Heartbreaker,” its voice is etched into vinyl, history, and the hearts of fans across the world. As Page collected more guitars throughout Zeppelin’s rise, he continued to refer to that Walsh-sourced Les Paul as his go-to—his first love.
More than just a transaction, the moment highlights something often forgotten amid the grandeur of classic rock: its greatest icons were friends, collaborators, and fans of each other’s artistry. In a time before brand deals and corporate endorsements, guitars weren’t tools—they were extensions of soul. And sometimes, they were passed hand-to-hand like sacred relics.
Joe Walsh didn’t just sell Jimmy Page a guitar. He delivered him the vehicle through which some of the greatest rock music of all time would travel.
It’s a quiet, humble story tucked between the louder chapters of Zeppelin’s legacy, but it speaks volumes. In the echoes of every Les Paul-fueled solo that Page unleashed, there’s a trace of Walsh’s generosity. One player recognized greatness in another—and decided to amplify it.
And that’s the beauty of rock at its core: it’s built not just on distortion and drama, but on moments of pure, human connection. A guitar handed over. A tone discovered. A new chapter written.
Jimmy Page’s “Number One” might have begun as someone else’s second choice.
But thanks to Joe Walsh, it became the guitar that changed the world.
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