The Song That Changed My Life: James Bailey

James (@jameshbailey) is a full-time husband and father, part-time venture capitalist with GRP Partners, surfing and active lifestyle enthusiast, amateur foodie and style connoisseur.

Instead of really dating myself and telling the story of when I bought a Kriss Kross tape, I’ll tell the story of the first music that moved me. When I was 11 I bought the Led Zeppelin 4-disc box set with the blimp and the crop circles on the cover, right before going on a trip to Greece. As we walked around sites like the Parthenon, Delphi, Myceanae and Crete the epic guitar riffs and haunting vocals of “When the Levee Breaks,” “Kashmir,” “Black Dog” and “Stairway to Heaven” introduced me to what would be one of my favorite bands to this day. I remember vividly walking around Delphi listening to “The Battle of Evermore” and realizing the music has an incredibly powerful mythology and being completely caught up in it. It was the first time I really connected with music and the history and grandeur of the location where I first experienced the music make the two forever intertwined in my memory. I still remember the songs in order from that box set.