When Jimmy Page was a young student, he had already developed such an inseparable relationship with his guitar that school officials would often confiscate it.
"It would be given back at the end of the day. And this was quite repetitive," Page said.
That dedication worked out pretty well for Page, who took Led Zeppelin to the zenith as one of the most powerful outfits in rock history.
This April 1, 2019 file photo shows a double-neck guitar played by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin displayed at the exhibit "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibit, which showcases the instruments of rock and roll legends, runs until Oct. 1, 2019. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig, File)
Now some of the instruments that he used to create that Zeppelin sound are on display at an exhibition called "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Seven of Page's guitars, a few costumes and some of his equipment have been loaned to the exhibit, alongside dozens of guitars, drums and memorabilia from such legends as Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley and John Lennon.
While visiting the exhibition, Page sat down with The Associated Press to discuss the band's legacy, why its music has endured and prospects for another reunion concert.
AP: How frustrating are the Led Zeppelin reunion questions? You weren't completely happy with Live Aid or the 40th anniversary concert for Atlantic Records in 1988. What about the 2007 concert in London?
Page: I'm rather pleased that we did it, because we sort of looked still similar to what we looked now, and, yeah, we did a really good job. But I don't think there's going to be another one.
AP: Let's talk about your earliest recollection with the guitar.
Page: I was taking my guitar to school so that I could play at recess because I became so involved with it, we became inseparable. I had to do my academic studies, that was the deal I had with my dad. And the rest of the time I could play guitar. So, I took that one step further: I would take that to school and play at recess.
AP: Your guitar work for Led Zeppelin was far ahead of the curve...
Page: I'd like to think that it was, because the first album, I sort of knew, as we were doing the tracks, exactly how I was going to layer everything and the textures of them.... There's a variety of moods on 'Led Zeppelin I.' So, again, it was me challenging and pushing as far as I possibly could, not even thinking of my limitations, just going beyond, beyond, beyond.
AP: What's it like having your guitars in the Met?
Page: You approach the gallery through Greco-Roman statues, and then the first thing you see is Chuck Berry's guitar. I said, 'What? The original one, the blond one,' and they said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'What would you like? Tell me what you want to help this along and you can have whatever it is that you want.'
AP: You gave them your Sovereign Harmony acoustic guitar. How important is it?
Page: That guitar I had way back in the early '60s. And it's been with me all the way through, to the point where I used it as a writing tool... That particular guitar is the vehicle whereby the first album for Led Zeppelin is written, the second album is written, the third album is written, the fourth album is written and it's the guitar that actually culminates with playing 'Stairway to Heaven.'
AP: Why has the Led Zeppelin catalogue endured?
Page: It approaches so many different styles and moods and it's very passionate. And it also very gentle. And it's very hard. And it's extremely dynamic. If anybody wants to be playing the guitar, the harmonica, the drums, the bass, the keyboards — well, it's all there. And it's organic music where everyone is playing together. I think it's a great legacy to have produced, to be honest.
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution Thursday that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. U.S. allies France, Japan and South Korea supported the resolution.
The strong support the Palestinians received reflects not only the growing number of countries recognizing their statehood but almost certainly the global support for Palestinians facing a humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month.
The resolution would have recommended that the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized Palestine, so its admission would have been approved, likely by a much higher number of countries.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council that the veto “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties."
The United States has “been very clear consistently that premature actions in New York — even with the best intentions — will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people,” deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
His voice breaking at times, Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the council after the vote: “The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will and it will not defeat our determination.”
“We will not stop in our effort,” he said. “The state of Palestine is inevitable. It is real. Perhaps they see it as far away, but we see it as near.”
This is the second Palestinian attempt for full membership and comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.
They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state in 2012. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
Algerian U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council who introduced the resolution, called Palestine’s admission “a critical step toward rectifying a longstanding injustice" and said that “peace will come from Palestine’s inclusion, not from its exclusion.”
In explaining the U.S. veto, Wood said there are “unresolved questions” on whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a state. He pointed to Hamas still exerting power and influence in the Gaza Strip, which is a key part of the state envisioned by the Palestinians.
Wood stressed that the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace, is the only path for security for both sides and for Israel to establish relations with all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
“The United States is committed to intensifying its engagement with the Palestinians and the rest of the region, not only to address the current crisis in Gaza, but to advance a political settlement that will create a path to Palestinian statehood and membership in the United Nations,” he said.
Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, reiterated the commitment to a two-state solution but asserted that Israel believes Palestine "is a permanent strategic threat."
"Israel will do its best to block the sovereignty of a Palestinian state and to make sure that the Palestinian people are exiled away from their homeland or remain under its occupation forever,” he said.
He demanded of the council and diplomats crowded in the chamber: “What will the international community do? What will you do?”
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been stalled for years, and Israel’s right-wing government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the resolution “disconnected to the reality on the ground” and warned that it “will cause only destruction for years to come and harm any chance for future dialogue.”
Six months after the Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas militant group, which controlled Gaza, and the killing of 1,200 people in “the most brutal massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he accused the Security Council of seeking “to reward the perpetrators of these atrocities with statehood.”
Israel’s military offensive in response has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and destroyed much of the territory, which speaker after speaker denounced Thursday.
After the vote, Erdan thanked the United States and particularly President Joe Biden “for standing up for truth and morality in the face of hypocrisy and politics.”
He called the Palestinian Authority — which controls the West Bank and the U.S. wants to see take over Gaza where Hamas still has sway — “a terror supporting entity.”
The Israeli U.N. ambassador referred to the requirements for U.N. membership – accepting the obligations in the U.N. Charter and being a “peace-loving” state.
“How can you say seriously that the Palestinians are peace loving? How?” Erdan asked. “The Palestinians are paying terrorists, paying them to slaughter us. None of their leaders condemns terrorism, nor the Oct. 7 massacre. They call Hamas their brothers.”
Despite the Palestinian failure to meet the criteria for U.N. membership, Erdan said most council members supported it.
“It’s very sad because your vote will only embolden Palestinian rejectionism every more and make peace almost impossible,” he said.
Algeria's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Amar Bendjama speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour holds tears while speaking during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, left, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speak before a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood votes against resolution during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
