Although by decade's end Jimmy Page was on top of the rock food chain leading Led Zeppelin — he still looks back fondly on his pre-fame days as an early-'60s session guitarist. Page, who contributed he distinctive solos on Donovan's classic singles “Sunshine Superman” and “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” was also on board playing rhythm guitar behind Pete Townshend on the Who's 1965 debut single, “I Can't Explain.”
During a chat with GQ, Page recalled, “Pete plays lead and, by God, does he play the lead on 'I Can’t Explain.' Again, this only took a couple of takes, but you can imagine what the energy was like in that room, being in an enclosed space playing along with the Who. I wasn’t really needed or necessary, but it’s okay to talk about those things now because Pete’s fine with it. And he knows he played absolutely magnificently.”
Page went on to say that session players were paid well — and part of the gig was keeping your mouth shut about whose records you were on: “You didn’t go around talking about it. I would get the recording date, turn up and I literally wouldn’t know who was going to come in the door. Sometimes I would recognize the person, but more often than not I had no idea. It wasn’t your business. You were contracted to do what you did and that’s all.”