On this day, January 9, 1944, Jimmy Page was born in Middlesex, England, a suburb of London. At the age of 12, he became fascinated with the guitar and began teaching himself how to play. His inspiration came from American Rockabilly players like Scotty Moore and James Burton, both of whom had played on Elvis Presley's records. He also had a deep appreciation of American Blues artists, particularly the guitar stylings of Elmore James and B.B King. By the time he was 16, he had quit school and dedicated most of his time to his musical craft. His band The Crusaders was a moderately successful local group. By the time he was 18, he was a very much in-demand session guitar player. He worked with the top English bands of the day, including the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, the Kinks, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck.

In 1966 Page replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, teaming up with Jeff Beck as dual lead guitarists. Although the band enjoyed critical acclaim, it ultimately dissolved leaving Page alone to form the New Yardbirds. He hired studio guru John Paul Jones on bass, and found two unknowns for drums and vocals, John Bonham and Robert Plant respectively. The New Yardbirds became Led Zeppelin, and with Page acting as the musical director, the band changed the face of Rock music. They combined Blues with a hard-edged barrage of musicianship to go along with the primal screeching of Plant's vocals. The term Heavy Metal was coined with them in mind, but their music was constantly changing and maturing. Page became the dean of Hard Rock guitarists, and has inspired generations of axmen who fell into his sphere of influence. In honor of the great Jimmy Page, we offer Jimmy Page Zoso as the shirt of the day.