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Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante once wrote Jimmy Page a letter, with a bold request

The guitarist reached out on behalf of his "favorite band in the world"

red hot chili peppers, led zeppelin, john frusciante, jimmy page, letter

John Frusciante once wrote a letter to Jimmy Page, with a bold musical request.

Photo credit: Avda via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (left) / Afirebenside via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (right)
Ryan Reed
By Ryan ReedJun 16, 2025
Ryan Reed
Ryan Reed is a contributing writer for GOOD residing in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has contributed to Rolling Stone, Relix, Revolver, SPIN and The New York Times.
See Full Bio

As a young guitarist, John Frusciante worshipped at the altar of rock giants like Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. But as he recalled at the 2004 Mojo Awards while handing out a prize to Jimmy Page, the Led Zeppelin visionary was "the first person that made [him] want to play" the instrument. "[His] playing in Led Zeppelin was the perfect rock guitar playing, and he himself was the perfect rock guitar player," he enthused. "Four years before I started, I was taught the beginning of 'Stairway to Heaven' and stopped learning because my teacher could not show me the solo. Of course, I got around to it eventually…"

So in the early 2000s, when Frusciante started collaborating with Omar Rodríguez-López, bandleader of experimental prog-rock band The Mars Volta, he saw the perfect opportunity to connect with his childhood idol. Taking a personal approach, he sent Page a charmingly eager, handwritten letter, asking him to join in a triple-guitar solo for a Mars Volta song. While that would have been an incredible mind-meld and a notable moment in rock-guitar history, there’s no evidence to suggest it happened. Nonetheless, the letter itself is a thing of beauty, highlighting Frusciante’s reverence toward Page and a wide-eyed wonder about music creation.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The public first learned about the note’s existence in 2016, when it was sold in an under-the-radar rock-memorabilia auction. It came with a letter of authenticity from former Chili Peppers road manager Louie Mathieu, who says he kept the letter in his records after a copy was faxed to Page. "JF was little attached to material things," he wrote. "In fact, his Grammy came to my house, he looked at it and giggled, shrugged his shoulders, didn’t so much as touch it, and left it in my care. He would often leave his personal effects behind in hotels and dressing rooms with little if any thought to their value or import."

Frusciante opens the letter with gratitude, thanking Page for attending an unspecified show. "It meant so much to all of us to have you there," he writes, adding that he wanted to ask the guitarist a question that night but "didn’t want to put [him[ on the spot." He adds, "I figure I’ll ask you in this letter, and that way you are free to just not respond if you so choose, with no offense taken."

The musician then describes The Mars Volta, calling them his "favorite band in the world" and Rodríguez-López his "best friend." Their music, he says, "comes from punk, salsa, progressive rock, and Led Zeppelin." He continues, "They are making a new record right now, and it would be Omar’s dream to have you, Omar, and myself simultaneously soloing on one song. Omar and I have done a lot of simultaneous soloing with great results, and it would mean the world to us if you joined us." He proposes that Page could record himself on a computer then send the file back to the band: "If you are interested, let us know since they are towards the end of the record (but not in a rush)."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

It’s unclear which album he’s referencing, though he’s likely talking about The Mars Volta’s second LP, 2005’s Frances the Mute. Frusciante played guitar solos on that album’s "L’Via L’Viaquez," and he’d previously contributed to the song "Cicatriz ESP" from their 2003 debut, De-Loused in the Comatorium. (Frusciante eventually became a regular studio contributor to The Mars Volta, tracking guitar tracks written by Rodríguez-López for a few other albums.)

Even if Page didn’t join for that studio-guitar summit, his influence on Frusciante remained immense. In his 2004 speech, the Chili Peppers member said he didn’t think any band "could carry around more power than [Led Zeppelin] did." He marveled, "When I was seven years old in 1977, somebody had somehow spray painted on the freeway overpass for all to see, 'Led Zep Rules.' It was up there for a long while and then taken away, but I believe it will be true forever."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

john frusciantered hot chili peppersjimmy pagemusiciansmusic historyrock starsled zeppelinlettersguitarmusic

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