Beach Boys singer Mike Love has looked back on a pair of otherworldly performances alongside Jimmy Page.
It was Independence Day 1985 and the Led Zeppelin guitarist decided to join the Beach Boys onstage for an afternoon show in Philadelphia and an evening performance in Washington D.C.
“Back then it was like a martian landed on stage, with Jimmy Page playing the guitar,” Love recalled in a recent conversation with AL.com. “And it was pretty amazing, it really was. He was great.”
Page rocked with the band through a handful of songs, including “Barbara Ann,” “Surfin’ USA” and a rendition of Little Richard’s “Lucille.”
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“We had a rehearsal the day before, and he was quite the character that guy, but what a brilliant guitarist,” the Beach Boys singer continued. “He was a session guitarist before he became famous for what he did with Led Zeppelin and all that. So yeah, phenomenal talent. And like I said, it was like a martian landed on stage or something — it was so unreal, but great at the same time.”
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Do the Beach Boys Still Tour?
Love is the only original Beach Boy still touring, though longtime member Bruce Johnston – who initially joined in 1965 – is also part of the lineup.
Meanwhile, Brian Wilson – the singer, songwriter, producer and group co-founder – toured in 2022, but has reportedly since retired from the road. Love revealed to AL.com that he’d seen Wilson recently, but that they “don’t talk about business.”
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“We talk about old times and what we did back in the day in high school and what have you,” he explained. “In fact, we did a filming for a documentary that’s being put together on the Beach Boys, and David Marks and Al Jardine, Brian and myself and Bruce [Johnston] got together.”
“Brian really remembered some remarkable things about our growing up together and things we experienced,” Love continued. “And we even did a little bit of a cappella singing together on the beach at Paradise Cove, where the first album cover with our Pendleton woolen shirts on that little old truck that they had on the sand. And so yeah, it was a really, really nice reunion. We had a great time.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
