John Baldwin (born January 3, 1946 in Sidcup, London), better known by his stage name John Paul Jones, is an English musician and was the bassist, keyboardist, and mandolin player for Led Zeppelin from its inception until the band's breakup following the death of John Bonham in 1980. A versatile musician, he also plays guitar, mandolin, koto, lap steel guitars, autoharp, ukulele, cello, and the three over-dubbed recorders heard on "Stairway to Heaven". He is widely respected as both a musician and a producer and is considered as one of the most influential bassists in Rock music. He is also credited for his masterful string arrangements on such albums as REM"s "Automatic for the People". John Paul Jones is also a forming member of the newest 'supergroup' Them Crooked Vultures: rumored for months, announced in 2009, Them Crooked Vultures is comprised of Joshua Homme (lead guitar, vocals), Dave Grohl (drums, vocals), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboard, vocals) and also touring with the band is Alain Johannes (rhythm guitar). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.