The Yardbirds featuring Jimmy Page and The Walker Brothers got the opportunity to join Roy Orbison‘s yearly tour of Australia in 1967.
Jimmy was thrilled! He & Peter Grant became friends of Roy who was one of the first to see Jimmy’s new violin bow-guitar technique!
On the 1967 Roy Orbison Tour, Roy played a black Gibson Les Paul Custom (fitted with Bigsby B7 trem) while Jimmy still played his “Dragon” Fender Telecaster.
Page idolized Roy Orbison and soon switched to a black Gibson Les Paul Custom fitted with Bigsby B7 trem which is now famous as “Black Beauty”.
I have heard stories that Jimmy had problems with his tele on this tour and had to borrow one of Roy’s extra black Gibson Gibson Les Paul guitars. “Black Beauty” may be Roy Orbison’s guitar. (Although I have not had a chance to confirm this with Jimmy.) The people at Gibson guitar who research these things say Jimmy has said he bought it elsewhere. Still it is entirely possible that Roy turned Jimmy Page on to the Gibson guitars that he used to such great effect in Led Zeppelin.