John Paul Jones couldn’t resist the opportunity to join Jimmy Page’s new band when it presented itself. The bassist wanted to be a part of something more significant since he had previously worked as a session musician. Jones’ ambitions to become a renowned musician came true when Led Zeppelin gained recognition on a global scale.
He didn’t anticipate their extended run, which was aided by the band’s steadily rising popularity. The British band had gained widespread recognition in the rock world by the early 1970s. Led Zeppelin was gaining popularity regardless of whether their music was praised or derided as additional performances and tours were added to their calendar.
Jones’ itinerary was completely filled with Led Zeppelin’s future shows at this demanding time. He was unable to take any time off work to be with his family. The bassist’s personal life was about to fall apart by 1973, and he had begun to think about leaving the group.
Jones knew their constant traveling was hurting his connection with his family, but he didn’t want to jeopardize the band’s success. The band’s mental health suffered from the extended time spent on the road. The group’s members were all very worn out and under continual stress. These factors led the bassist to think about quitting Led Zeppelin.
John Paul Jones stated his thoughts on the demanding time as follows:
“I didn’t want to harm the group, but I didn’t want my family to fall apart either. We toured a huge amount in those early days. We were all very tired and under pressure, and it just came to a head.”
The bassist went on to say that he didn’t anticipate his time with the group lasting for a long time. He anticipated performing with the act for one, two, or even three years. In the beginning, John Paul Jones had other ambitions for his career since he believed Led Zeppelin wouldn’t be a long-term endeavor and intended to follow a new route as a movie musician.
When the musician first joined Led Zeppelin, he said these things:
“When I first joined the band, I didn’t think it would go on for that long, two or three years perhaps, and then I’d carry on with my career as a musician and doing movie music.”
Peter Grant, the band’s manager, eventually convinced Jones to stay with the group. However, it seemed that Robert Plant was upset by John’s choice to quit the band. Led Zeppelin’s bassist was on the frontman’s list of people to fire. Later it was discovered that Plant had brought Lita Ford from The Runaways to Jones’ place, but Peter Grant’s influence allowed Led Zeppelin to continue.
Led Zeppelin constantly stood in the way of John Paul Jones’ attempts to spend more time with his family, despite his wishes to do so. However, he sincerely respected the group and didn’t want to leave for fear that doing so would endanger their success. Because of this, when Peter Grant persuaded the bassist to stay, he did so and shown loyalty to his job as a bassist.