“Good Medicine for the Soul”: How Jimmy Page Found Solace and Strength Through the Healing Power of Music
For Jimmy Page, the legendary guitarist of Led Zeppelin, music has never been just a profession or a passion — it has always been a lifeline. In moments of despair or emotional struggle, Page found himself turning not to substances or isolation, but to the same music that had inspired him as a child. “If I ever really felt depressed,” he once said, “I would just start putting on all my old records that I played as a kid.” This simple yet profound act of revisiting the foundational sounds of his youth served as an antidote — a kind of personal therapy that reconnected him to joy, creativity, and purpose.
These weren’t just nostalgic indulgences. To Page, these records were emotional anchors, carrying the power to lift his spirits time and time again. “The whole thing that really lifted me then still lifted me during those other times,” he reflected. Whether it was the raw energy of early rock ’n’ roll, the blues masters he revered, or the swirling melodies of early folk, the music acted as a healing balm. “It was good medicine for me,” Page emphasized, “and it still does that for me when I put something on.”
His sentiment underscores a universal truth: music is more than sound — it’s an emotional language woven into the human experience. Page mused, “Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve got all that good medicine?” In that rhetorical question lies the heartbeat of his philosophy: music is a kind of shared remedy, something we all carry within us. “I think it’s got to be all part of our DNA,” he continued, “this mass communication through music. That’s what it is. It’s got to be, hasn’t it?”
Through all the storms of life — the chaos of fame, the personal losses, the quiet battles away from the spotlight — music remained Jimmy Page’s most faithful companion. “It’s the one thing that has been consistently there for me. It hasn’t let me down.” For someone who helped create some of the most iconic and enduring music in history, that statement is not just a reflection of gratitude — it’s a testament to the timeless, soul-restoring power of music itself.