Joe Perry
Today we will tell you about the musician Joe Perry, mostly known as the guitarist of "Aerosmith":
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1. He was born on September 10, 1950, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA, as Anthony Joseph Pereira.
2. Already in his childhood days he was attracted to the sea. He even dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and following in the footsteps of his hero Jacques Cousteau.
3. But this dream changed very quickly after it became clear that he had difficulty learning. His slow learning was the result of ADHD, not being diagnosed until he was older.
4. Perry started playing the guitar at the age of 10 and he got his first guitar at the age of 12.
5. Although he was left-handed, he learned to play the guitar as a right-handed. He received a guitar instructional record that was suitable for right-handed people. He learned to play with its help and has been playing right-handed ever since.
6. The first band he formed was called "The Jam Band". He founded it with bassist Tom Hamilton, in the 60s. Eventually, Steven Tyler, Ray Tabano, and Joey Kramer joined the band, forming "Aerosmith". Brad Whitford replaced Tabano in 1971.
7. On November 6, 1970, "Aerosmith" went on stage for the first time as a band.
8. Perry and the band released their first album - "Aerosmith" in 1973. The album included hits like "Dream On" and "Mama Kin".
9. One of the band's biggest early hits, "Sweet Emotion," from their 1975 third album "Toys in the Attic", was written about Perry's then-wife. Steven Tyler believed that Perry's then-wife Elyssa Jerret drew Perry off from the band and wrote the song about her.
10. In the seventies and eighties Perry was a heavy user of drugs and alcohol and together with his bandmate Steven Tyler they were nicknamed: "Toxic Twins".
11. The use of drugs increased after the release of the album "Rocks" from 1976. While working on the next album "Draw the Line" released in 1977, Perry and Tyler began to isolate themselves from the rest of the band. They lived wildly, drove cars at excessive speed, and fired weapons in the attic of the abandoned building where they recorded the album.
12. Despite this, 1977's "Draw the Line" became a successful album and was certified double platinum. On this album, Perry was the lead singer on the song "Bright Light Fright".
13. On October 3, 1978, during an "Aerosmith" show at the Fort Wayne Memorial Coliseum in Indiana, police arrested dozens of concertgoers. Steven Tyler offered to cover bail for those arrested, and according to contemporary accounts, 28 accepted the offer.
14. In the same year, the band participated in the film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Peter Frampton, members of the "Bee Gees". The band recorded for the film a cover version of the song "Come Together" by "The Beatles", which was a great success.
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15. As part of the "World Series of Rock" held in Cleveland, on July 28, 1979, an argument began between Perry's then-wife - Elyssa Jerret, and bassist Tom Hamilton's wife, during which Perry's wife threw a glass of milk at Hamilton's wife.
16. Following this, Perry argued with Steven Tyler and decided to leave "Aerosmith", in the middle of recording the album "Night in the Ruts".
17. He took a collection of unrecorded materials with him, which became the basis for the first solo album "Let the Music Do the Talking", released in 1980, as part of the composition "The Joe Perry Project", with the participation of vocalist Ralph Mormon, bassist David Hull, and drummer Ronnie Stewart. Perry will release two more albums as part of "The Project" in 1981 and 1983.
18. In April 1984 Perry returned to "Aerosmith", and even brought his personal manager Tim Collins to manage the band. Tim would play an important role in the band's success over the next decade.
19. In 1985, the band released the album "Done with Mirrors" which was the first since its union with Perry. The album included the single "Let the Music Do the Talking", which was a remake of Perry's 1980 song.
20. In 1986, Perry and Steven Tyler joined "Run-D.M.C." for their remake of "Aerosmith"'s "Walk This Way", a landmark rock and hip-hop crossover that helped bring the rap group into the mainstream.
21. This is one of the few songs that entered "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of 500 greatest songs twice, once by "Aerosmith" and once by "Run DMC".
22. The success of the song pushed "Aerosmith" to the top and was a "trigger" that led to dizzying success for the following albums that helped them return to the scene: "Permanent Vacation" (1987), "Pump" (1989) and "Get a Grip" (1993) which all contained many hits.
23. As members of "Aerosmith", Perry and Steven Tyler share in the band's four Grammy Awards and 12 MTV Video Music Awards.
24. "Aerosmith" has also received eight American Music Awards and six Billboard Awards.
25. In 1997, Perry and Steven Tyler appeared together in a commercial for "Gap".
26. In the 1980s, Perry was forced to sell his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard during a financially difficult period. Years later, he discovered that the guitar had been acquired by Slash of "Guns N' Roses". When Perry attempted to buy it back, Slash refused to sell it. In 2000, for Perry’s 50th birthday, Slash returned the very same guitar to him as a heartfelt gesture of admiration and respect.
27. In 2001, "Aerosmith" released the album "Just Push Play" and performed at halftime of the Super Bowl game "Super Bowl XXXV".
28. In the same year Perry entered the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" together with "Aerosmith".
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29. In 2005, Perry released "Joe Perry", his fourth solo album. He played all the instruments except the drums. He later released "Have Guitar, Will Travel" (2009), "Sweetzerland Manifesto" (2018) and "Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII" (2023).
30. Perry performed the solo on the song "Last Chance Train" by "Bon Jovi", taken from the box set "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong".
31. Perry was a judge at the 5th annual Independent Music Awards. He also performed a duet on the song "You Really Got Me" with Sanjaya Malakar on American Idol 6.
32. In 2013, Perry and Steven Tyler were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
33. Also in 2013, Perry and Steven Tyler received the ASCAP Founders Award for their contributions as songwriters.
34. In October 2014 Perry released an autobiographical book he wrote with David Ritz called "Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith".
35. In 2015, Perry began working with Alice Cooper, actor Johnny Depp, and other friends on the "Hollywood Vampires" project. The band released its debut album that same year. In February 2016, the band performed at the 58th Grammy Awards and in 2019 released their second album. "Rise".
36. In July 2016, while performing in Brooklyn with "Hollywood Vampires", Perry collapsed on stage.
37. It happened again in 2018 when Perry collapsed backstage during a Billy Joel show.
38. His sons, Adrian Perry, from his first marriage, and Tony Perry, from his second marriage, are the founding members of the rock band "Dead Boots", formerly known as TAB the Band.
39. Perry was ranked 84th on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time
40. Perry and his band "Aerosmith" had an influence on many bands and artists, among the most prominent of which was "Guns N' Roses". Izzy Stradlin said that "Aerosmith" greatly influenced "Guns N' Roses" and helped shape their sound.
41. Perry released 14 studio albums with his band "Aerosmith", from 1973 to 2012.
42. In September 2023, Perry and "Aerosmith" launched the "Peace Out" farewell tour without drummer Joey Kramer. After only a few shows, the tour was postponed when Steven Tyler suffered a serious vocal injury.
43. In August 2024, "Aerosmith" announced that Tyler's vocal injury would not fully recover and that the band was retiring from touring. The announcement did not say that the band was breaking up.
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