In the early to mid Eighties, Jimmy Page—no longer a member of Led Zeppelin—had a relatively decent time doing whatever the hell he wanted.
He recorded the Death Wish II soundtrack in '82, performed at the ARMS benefit show in '83, released a hit EP with the Honeydrippers in '84, took part in Led Zeppelin's interesting reunion show at Live Aid in '85, recorded with the Stones in '85 and with the Firm in '85 and '86. He even recorded an entire album—Whatever Happened to Jugula?—with Roy Harper somewhere along the way (1985).
It seemed he could turn up pretty much anywhere. Which is why his two July 4, 1985, appearances with the Beach Boys didn't really come as a surprise to anyone.
That afternoon, Page performed a few songs with the band in Philadelphia; then he flew to Washington, D.C., to join them onstage for their evening show. He used his then-ubiquitous B-bender-equipped Fender Tele at both shows. Page was in Philly because he was supposedly getting ready for Live Aid, which took place July 13 at John F. Kennedy Stadium.
Above, you can watch an Hawaiian-shirt-clad Page perform Little Richard's "Lucille" with the band in Philly. Note that Page's Tele is nice and loud, the camera work is decent and Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and the rest of the gang give him plenty of real estate to shred over (The song is in A major, so at times, it sounds like Page is playing bits and pieces of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll"). The video eventually cuts to the evening performance, where Page—now wearing a short-sleeved tan shirt—sits in for "Surfin' USA" and "Barbara Ann" (Head to 7:43 for his "Barbara Ann" solo).
Of course, it's always nice to see Beach Boys guitarist Carl Wilson (who died in 1998) in action with his old cronies!
