NO, HE’S NOT JIMMY PAGE, BUT HE IS AN INCREDIBLE FACSIMILE. BEHOLD THE AMAZING TALE OF AKIO SAKURAI, AKA MR. JIMMY
By Joe Matera and Matt Owen
WE ALL HAVE our own favorite guitar hero — that player who first inspired us to pick up a guitar and whose style informed our individual approach to playing. But the sensational tale of Akio Sakurai — a Japanese guitarist who dedicated three decades to quite literally become his hero, Jimmy Page — takes this phenomenon to the extreme.
Sakurai’s story is the subject of a new documentary, Mr. Jimmy, which charts his journey from aspiring guitar player all the way to adopting the persona of the film’s title character — and beyond. But Sakurai’s desire to become Page extends far beyond the fretboard; Sakurai adopted the chops, persona and style of Page in an unrivaled display of passion and devotion to his idol. As per the film’s description, Sakurai (a kimono salesman by day) dedicated his life to honoring Page’s playing, and to do so suitably assumed the role of Mr. Jimmy — his nightly rockstar alter ego of 30 years who recreated legendary Led Zeppelin concerts song for song, note for note, for audiences in Tokyo clubs.
When the real Page caught wind of Mr. Jimmy and took a trip to witness his playing first-hand, Sakurai’s life was set on a new wild trajectory that saw him leave his “salary man” job and move to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of, well, being Jimmy Page. There — as seen in the film — Mr. Jimmy juggles culture shock and language barriers as “Akio’s idyllic vision of America meets with reality,” with the guitarist joining tribute act Led Zepagain and later auditioning for Jason Bonham, son of drummer John.
“I want to be Jimmy Page,” Sakurai says in the film’s first official trailer. “To play this music in a lackluster way would be inexcusable… I just want to express the magic of Jimmy Page. That’s all.”
Notably, the film took nearly eight years to make and features 30 Led Zeppelin songs as performed by Mr. Jimmy. We actually caught up with Sakurai more than a year ago — but we held onto our interview as we awaited word of the film’s official release. That time is now. For more info, be sure to check out mrjimmymovie.com. And be sure to stay tuned for more Mr. Jimmy coverage in Guitar World.
Where and when did your love for Jimmy Page begin?
I started playing guitar when I was 14, and though I knew who Jimmy Page was, I was too young to understand his awesomeness. I finally
