Jimmy Page and Anton Fig Reflect on Surprise Rock HOF Performance

Jimmy Page reflected on his surprise performance at Friday’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where he inducted guitarist Link Wray and dazzled the audience at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center with a performance of Wray’s beloved rock instrumental “Rumble.”

“I was asked to induct Link Wray into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; a guitarist, instrumentalist and songwriter that I’d admired from the very first taste of the ‘Rumble,'” the Led Zeppelin mastermind wrote in a Facebook post. “I first heard it when I was 14, roaring from a jukebox in my hometown of Epsom. As a guitar instrumental the attitude of it was totally unique in its mystery, imagination and execution — it had a profound effect on me.

“Link Wray and ‘Rumble’ stand alone at the pinnacle in the world of instrumentals, and I was thrilled to stand on stage in New York with drummer Anton Fig and bassist Tim Givens at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night to induct one of my heroes,” Page concluded.

Fig, whose myriad drumming credits include Kiss, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and David Letterman‘s house band, also reflected on the momentous performance in a social media statement. “Having played and recorded with Link so many times in the ’80, I was honored to be asked to be in this band,” he wrote. “And of course with Jimmy Page — it was a dream come true! He approached this with such reverence and humility — it was an absolute thrill to be up there behind him!”

READ MORE: Top 10 Moments From 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony

Other Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Induction Highlights

While Page’s performance was arguably the biggest surprise of the night, the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony had plenty of other highlights. Inductee Sheryl Crow performed her hit song “Everyday Is a Winding Road” alongside Stevie Nicks and Peter Frampton; Tom Morello gave a rousing speech about music’s power to change the world when he accepted Rage Against the Machine‘s induction; and Bernie Taupin praised the many “articulate women” and “articulate Black artists” who inspire him, an obvious dig at the recent inflammatory remarks made by Rolling Stone founder and Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner.