Joe Perry (musician)
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| Joe Perry | |
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| Born | September 10, 1950 |
| Genre(s) | Hard rock |
| Affiliation(s) | Aerosmith |
| Notable guitars | Joe Perry Signature Model Les Paul |
| Years active | 1972 - present |
| Official site | Aerosmith official site |
Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry (Born September 10, 1950 in Lawrence, Massachusetts), is the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith.
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[edit] Early life
Perry, was born to the children of Portuguese and Italian immigrants. His grandfather changed the family's name from Pereira to Perry upon arriving in America. He has a younger sister, Ann-Marie. His family grew up in the small town of Hopedale, Massachusetts. There, his father was an accountant and his mother a high school gym teacher and later an aerobics instructor. She later retired to Arizona while Perry's father died in 1975.
[edit] Early career
Joe Perry joined Aerosmith at its formation in 1969. While initially dismissed as Rolling Stones knock-offs, the band came into its own during the mid-1970s with a string of hit records. Chief among these successes were Toys in the Attic in 1975 and Rocks in 1976, thanks largely to the prevalence of free-form, album-oriented FM radio. The group also managed hit singles on the AM dial with songs like "Dream On," "Same Old Song and Dance," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way."
During this time, Perry and Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler became known as the "Toxic Twins" for their notorious hard-partying and drug use.
Following Rocks, the group began to stumble - drug use escalated and the creative process became hampered by strained relationships within the band. They managed another hit record in 1977 with Draw the Line, but by all accounts this is where things started to unravel; while recording their next album (Night in the Ruts), Perry and Tyler had a spat that resulted in Perry finally leaving the band. If nothing else, at least the album title was appropriate.
[edit] The Project
By the end of the year, Perry had formed his own band - The Joe Perry Project. Their debut record, Let the Music Do the Talking, reached #47 on the Billboard album charts, selling 250,000 copies domestically. While sales and reviews were respectable, the group mainly thrived as a live act. It managed to do so even after its sophomore effort, I've Got the Rock'n'Rolls Again, went largely ignored.
In the end, the Project never solidified a lineup; all three studio releases would feature a different lead vocalist and the entire roster was replaced before their final effort (1983's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker.) Even a brief stint with then-former Aerosmith rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford failed to ignite things again and the group found themselves with minimal label support by 1984.
[edit] Return to the spotlight
In 1984, manager Tim Collins worked to get Perry back in contact with his former band mates in Aerosmith. He was eventually invited to rejoin the group, which he did - along with the also-estranged Brad Whitford. This restored the band's classic lineup and resulted in a lucrative reunion tour.
Perry and Tyler collaborated with Run-DMC in a remake of their 1975 hit "Walk This Way," which brought their band renewed mainstream attention.
After completing drug rehabilitation, Aerosmith went on to collaborate with various big-name songwriters and producers to launch their true comeback. Another string of successful albums (most notably the triple-platinum Pump in 1989) and many hit singles followed. Perry and Tyler resumed their tight friendship, again co-writing songs and performing very close together on stage.
In 1998, Perry helped conceive the group's first number one single, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," with pop songwriter Diane Warren. It appeared on the soundtrack to the hit film Armageddon.
From 2001 to present, Aerosmith has been heavily active in the music scene, and have toured every year. Recently, Joe Perry has come to high prominence in Aerosmith's live shows, peforming his solo hit "Shakin' My Cage" on the Rockin' the Joint Tour and singing lead on "Stop Messin' Around" on the Route of All Evil Tour. He has also become a guitar virtuoso of sorts, playing lead solos behind his back, performing extended solos on songs such as "Rattlesnake Shake", using a talk box and theremin heavily in the song "Sweet Emotion", and beating his guitar with his shirt on "Draw the Line".
In 2006, Perry performed alongside Steven Tyler for a three-song medley ("Dream On", "Walk This Way", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing") with the Boston Pops Orchestra as part of a nationally-televised event to celebrate the Fourth of July in Boston, Massachusetts.
[edit] Solo album
He released his first bona fide solo record, the self-titled Joe Perry, in May 2005. Recorded at his home studio (The Boneyard) in suburban Boston, with every instrument but the drums played by Perry himself, the album was greeted with enthusiasm by fans who felt that his classic rock "edge" had been stifled on recent Aerosmith releases. Critics also responded favorably; Rolling Stone magazine crowned it with three-and-a-half (out of five) stars, declaring "A Joe Perry solo joint? about time!" He was also nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental" at the 2006 Grammys for the track "Mercy" but lost to legend Les Paul.
[edit] Family Life
Perry was married to Elyssa Jerret from 1975-1985, a union that gave him a son, Adrian. The couple had a turbulent relationship, and she once bit him in the face during an altercation. Perry is now married to Billie Paullete Montgomery Perry; they have two children together, Tony and Roman, and she has a son from a previous relationship, Aaron. They married in 1985 after meeting on the set of his "Black Velvet Pants" video in 1983. Billie appears on one of Joe's guitars, which is dubbed "The Billie Perry Guitar."
Perry's first grandchild, Austin, was fathered by his stepson Aaron, who is also the CEO for the Joe Perry's Rock Your World hot sauce brand.
Joe's sister in law is Diana Minor, a well-known pool player. Perry is one of her sponsors.
Perry is also known to bring his entire family with him on several of Aerosmith's concert tours in the recent past.
[edit] Chef Perry
Joe Perry has spearheaded the creation of an entire line of hot sauces entitled Joe Perry's Rock Your World Hot Sauces, which are featured widely in the marketplace. A quesadilla featuring a flavor of the namesake hot sauce is available as an appetizer at Hard Rock Cafe. Additionally, Perry was featured in a television episode of Inside Dish with Rachael Ray on a recent stop on Aerosmith's tour, in which he prepared a meal, displayed his passion for knives, discussed his hot sauce brand and cooking, and gave insight into what goes into meal preparation on Aerosmith tours.
Perry, along with Aerosmith band member Steven Tyler and other partners, until recently co-owned Mount Blue, a restaurant in Norwell, Massachusetts.
[edit] Trivia
- He is left-handed, but plays the guitar right-handed
- He sings lead vocals on the Aerosmith songs "Bright Light Fright" (Draw the Line - 1977), "Walk On Down" (Get a Grip - 1993),"Falling Off" (Nine Lives - 1997) "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (Just Push Play - 2001), "Stop Messin' Around" (Honkin' On Bobo - 2004), and "Back Back Train" (Honkin' On Bobo - 2004), and a lead duet with Steven Tyler on "Combination" (Rocks - 1976)
- He is a huge fan of early Fleetwood Mac, particularly their legendary first lead guitarist, Peter Green, which explains the occasional inclusion of the FM classics "Stop Messin' Round" and "Rattlesnake Shake" in Aerosmith's sets.
- He played the guitar solo in Eminem's Sing For The Moment
- He also appeared in the Nelly video "#1"
