Free Stairway To Heaven by Richard Cole Page B

down and flailed away on the drums with his hands. He did everything but pounce on them and leave them in splinters.
    â€œI’ve gotta get this guy,” Jimmy told himself. “There’s gotta be some way to change his mind.”
    Jimmy started working on the drummer. “This could be a breakthrough band, John…. We have wonderful management…. I think this is an incredible opportunity for all of us…. Think about it and let’s talk again.”
    Jimmy recruited Peter Grant, who would manage the new band, to help him hound Bonham. They took Bonzo to lunch. They courted him with dozens of telegrams. They got Plant to do some arm twisting, too. “We’re not taking ‘no’ for an answer,” Jimmy finally said. He wasn’t kidding.
    Eventually, Bonzo’s resolve began to weaken. He knew about Pagey’s star status and, of course, had worked with Plant. Maybe, he thought, this newband does make sense. One day, he finally threw up his hands and told Jimmy, “You win! Let’s do it!”
    Page was ecstatic. “You won’t regret it,” he told Bonham. But for weeks, the drummer lay awake at night, wondering if he had made the right decision. He was leaving behind a sure thing—forty pounds a week—for a venture that, to him, seemed risky. “I hope I didn’t botch this one up,” he told himself.
    Meanwhile, John Paul had heard about Jimmy’s efforts at putting together a new band. He had been looking for an opportunity to get away from studio work, at least for a while. So he called Jimmy with the intent of casually raising the issue of the new band. They chatted for fifteen minutes, and then near the end of the conversation, John Paul told his old session pal, “Give me a call if you need a bass player.” A few days later, Jimmy did.
    The band was finally in place. All that was left was to see if things clicked musically. “We’ve got to get together and play,” Jimmy told John Paul. “I’m going to set something up for next week.”
    They all agreed to meet for their first rehearsal in a small, humid studio on Gerrard Street in London. Jimmy didn’t sleep well the night before that first get-together, wondering if everything would finally jell as he had hoped. Robert showed up for the rehearsal with butterflies in his stomach. Everyone wanted it to work, but no one was sure what would happen. Just to be safe, Bonzo kept Tim Rose’s phone number in his wallet.
    At that first session, Jonesy met Plant and Bonham for the first time. Plant was a little surprised at Jonsey’s appearance. After all, Page had described John Paul as “a veteran studio musician”; based on that, Plant and Bonham had wondered if they might be working with an older father figure. John Paul didn’t quite fit that mold.
    There was nothing in particular planned for that afternoon, but as they picked up their instruments and stared at each other nervously, Jimmy suggested that they play “Train Kept a-Rollin’,” one of his favorites from his Yardbirds days. It began a little rough, but not for long. Very quickly, everything began to fall into place. They segued into “As Long as I Have You,” a song by Garnet Mimms. Then “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” As the music bounced off the walls, Jimmy found himself smiling. By the time they were playing “Dazed and Confused,” Jimmy was almost giddy with excitement.
    â€œI think we’ve got something here,” Jimmy announced.
    No one disagreed. Four chaps whose whole lives were music all realized that they might have finally found their ultimate vehicle of expression.
    When that initial jam session ended, Robert asked, “Well, what next?”
    Jimmy wasn’t sure. “I don’t know yet, but don’t stray too far from home. I want to get things moving quickly.”
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    Two days after that jam session,