“The workmanship of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created,” according to Ezekiel 28:13. Put another way, a person’s ability is something that god has bestowed upon them. Because of this capacity, praise songs play a significant role in a wide range of religions. Since music is a gift, it’s the ideal way to express gratitude. This is also why the public frequently sees rebellious music as an act of defiance against the divine.
Before he descended from heaven and committed his life to disbelieving God’s word, Lucifer was supposedly the director of the Lord’s choir. Upon his actual descent from heaven, he abandoned his convictions while retaining his musical aptitude. Instead, the story goes, he used his musical talent to spread blasphemy by promising people on Earth fame and fortune in exchange for playing his music.
Many believed Niccolo Paganini had struck a deal with the devil, being one of the first musicians. Niccolo Paganini astounded audiences with his ghostly complexion and extraordinary musical ability, unlike anything anyone had ever seen. He made playing even the most difficult pieces seem effortless as he danced around the violin’s frets. He treated the instrument as an extension of himself.
Paganini’s playing left spectators so confused that they assumed something otherworldly influenced him. Rumour circulated that someone used the guts of murdered women to make his strings. At his concerts, people claimed to have seen the hands of the devil playing the violin. Upon his death, authorities refused him a traditional Catholic burial.
Within the rock music industry, these charges were commonplace. The rebellious sound surpassed the hysteria people felt in the church, only matched by the hysteria they showed towards their favorite musicians. Because of this, religious people believed that rock was a creation of the devil. They thought the devil was attempting to convert people from worshipping God to something demonic.
Due to his ability to play intricate guitar passages with the same ease that Paganini performed on the violin, Jimi Hendrix was frequently thought to be possessed. One of Hendrix’s girlfriends claimed, “He used to always talk about some devil. Something was in him, and he didn’t have any control over it.” These rumours were so persistent that Hendrix himself believed them. He would talk about how we would travel to Georgia and become fixated on something really horrible. Then, he would have some root lady exorcise this demon from him.
Led Zeppelin was one band that faced extra criticism because of their alleged ties to Satanism. The group was relentless in their ability to play right on the edge of chaos. They fused different genres to produce a loud and distinctive sound. Many even went so far as to claim that they were demon worshippers. They believed that their songs contained messages supporting this belief. People believed that certain parts of “Stairway to Heaven” disclosed the true meaning of the song when played backwards.
The fact that John Paul Jones was a member of the band further strengthened the rumors. Even though Led Zeppelin consisted four people, only three were popular and best at what they did. The public revered Jimmy Page as a guitar legend. John Bonham could completely defy convention when it came to drumming, producing something truly original. Meanwhile, observers hailed Robert Plant as the world’s most versatile vocalist. John Paul Jones, meanwhile, was thought of as a typical bass player.
Because John Paul Jones was the only member of Led Zeppelin to decline Lucifer’s offer, people said he hadn’t attained the same heights as the other members, which further supported claims that the band had struck a deal with the devil. Although this is untrue, the band’s dynamic and the legend around them were sufficient to give rise to occult tales.
For those who are curious, the reason John Paul Jones wasn’t as flashy as the other band members in Led Zeppelin is quite straightforward: someone had to keep everything in check. The best way to put it was when Geddy Lee said, “John Paul Jones’ bass playing was the thing that held the whole thing down.” Thus, when you listen to “How Many More Times,” you’ll notice that John Paul Jones effortlessly holds everything together, even when the song gets really wild at points.
