The guitarist compared playing with the Led Zeppelin founder in August 1990 to meeting the Pope and admits it did more than fulfil his childhood dreams.

'I would never have thought it would have been possible growing up in Boston in the late 60s, when the idea of being in London was like for a Catholic going to the Vatican, the holy grail. The fact that 20 years down the line I'd not only know Jimmy Page but be able to play with him, that was beyond anything I thought could ever happen.'

The 59-year-old 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' hitmaker said that his band always identified with the legendary rockers.

He said: 'People call Aerosmith the American Stones, but we were always the American Zeppelin.'

And he admitted that hanging out with Joe was almost as great as playing a gig with him.

'He travelled with us on the bus and we hung out with him for the whole weekend. It blows my mind to think that Jimmy would think that much of the band that he'd want to spend that much time hanging out with us and then play with us.'