Jimmy Page, the founder and guitarist for Led Zeppelin, was known as “Bearded Jimmy” during a period in the 1970s when he had a beard and bucket hat. Page eventually shaved his beard because he thought it was too messy and that other people’s beards were starting to look the same.
“I got tired of the beard, it was too messy,” said Jimmy Page. “A lot of people had beards at the time, and I realized they were all starting to look the same, so I shaved mine. The unfortunate thing is that I don’t. I don’t have one. camera to record the process, because obviously when you have a huge beard, you take it off in stages. You can have a big mustache that looks like it came out of the French revolution, à la D’Artagnan and little by little. It goes and the sideboards remain. You see the fashion clock rewind decades when the razor hits. Then I completely shaved: ‘Oh, is this a teenager?’ Not quite, but no stubble, nothing. It was fun to do.”
Facial hair was a hallmark of the rock and countercultural movements of the 1970s, often symbolizing rebellion, freedom, and a laid-back lifestyle. Page’s occasional embrace of a bearded look fit well within the aesthetic trends of the time. His facial hair was always an extension of his persona—an enigmatic and versatile artist who could transition between clean-shaven elegance and rugged rock-and-roll charm effortlessly.
Here, some iconic images from the 1970s show Page with a fuller beard, especially during times when the band wasn’t actively touring or when he adopted a more casual, off-stage look.
