Joe Perry

Best known for his role as lead guitarist and co-founder of Aerosmith, Joe Perry has supplied the group’s signature riffs and gritty blues-rooted tone that helped shape American hard rock from the 1960s onward. Aerosmith became one of the most durable and commercially dominant acts across the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; their brash attitude and stylistic flexibility allowed them to bridge classic rock, pop, and heavy metal while moving more than 150 million records, collecting several Grammy Awards, and securing induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Beyond Aerosmith, Perry has maintained an active solo career that includes the expansive 2009 release Have Guitar Will Travel and the 2023 follow-up Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII. He also fronts the Joe Perry Project and performs as a member of the Hollywood Vampires alongside Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp.

Joseph Anthony Pereira entered the world on September 10, 1950, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. At age six he first encountered rock & roll when neighbors introduced him to early singles such as “Rock Around the Clock” and “Tutti Frutti.” During the 1960s the Beatles and the Rolling Stones sparked his interest; he took up the guitar as a teenager and began replicating the British blues-rock of the Yardbirds on Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds and John Mayall on Bluesbreakers, influences that later informed the tough blues phrasing central to Aerosmith’s sound. Early groups included Flash, Just Us, Plastic Glass, and the Jam Band, the last of which introduced him to future Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton. In 1969, while both musicians were performing at The Barn in Sunapee, New Hampshire, Perry met New York City native Steven Tyler, then performing under the name Steven Tallarico. Aerosmith quickly coalesced with Perry on guitar, Tyler on vocals, Hamilton on bass, Joey Kramer on drums, and Ray Tabano handling second guitar before Brad Whitford assumed that role. The band fused the blues edge of the Stones and the Yardbirds with Led Zeppelin’s weighty riffs; their Columbia debut appeared in 1973, and by the late 1970s they ranked among the planet’s leading rock attractions, propelled by exhaustive touring and landmark albums such as 1975’s Toys in the Attic and 1976’s Rocks.

Substance issues soon fractured internal relationships and clouded the band’s focus, producing friction between Perry and Tyler. Perry exited during the sessions for 1979’s Night in the Ruts and launched the Joe Perry Project. Its original lineup—Perry, vocalist Ralph Mormon, bassist David Hull, and drummer Ronnie Stewart—delivered the underappreciated Let the Music Do the Talking in 1980. Although the Project showed promise, recurring drug problems derailed momentum; Perry nevertheless persisted through financial hardship and released two additional albums with shifting personnel. Aerosmith’s fortunes had likewise declined, prompting Perry to reconcile with Tyler and restore the classic lineup by 1984. Lingering substance abuse yielded the uneven 1985 Geffen debut Done with Mirrors, yet a guest appearance alongside RUN-D.M.C. on a new version of “Walk This Way,” coupled with the members’ collective decision to achieve sobriety, triggered a swift commercial revival. By the close of the 1980s Aerosmith again dominated the rock landscape, issuing the successful Permanent Vacation and Pump.

The 1990s brought continued momentum with Get a Grip, Nine Lives, and the concert set A Little South of Sanity; a Super Bowl halftime performance followed in 2001 ahead of Just Push Play. Further successes in the 2000s encompassed the blues-oriented Honkin’ on Bobo, various greatest-hits packages, additional live recordings, and extensive international touring. Perry also returned to solo work with the 2005 album Joe Perry and 2009’s Have Guitar Will Travel. Around the same period he introduced Joe Perry’s Rock Your World Hot Sauces, one variety of which appeared at Hard Rock Cafes and earned him a spot on Rachael Ray’s Inside Dish. Throughout the 2010s Perry maintained his place in Aerosmith’s touring lineup while completing the 2014 memoir Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith. He also recorded the holiday EP Joe Perry’s Merry Christmas, which featured Johnny Depp on rhythm guitar.

Although Aerosmith reconvened for shows in 2015, Perry’s primary undertaking that year was the formation of Hollywood Vampires with Depp and Alice Cooper; the trio issued a self-titled debut in September. Sporadic Aerosmith dates occurred in 2016 and 2017, while Perry delivered the 2018 solo album Sweetzerland Manifesto, which included contributions from Depp, Robin Zander, David Johansen, and Gary Cherone. Hollywood Vampires followed with Rise in 2019, featuring appearances by Jeff Beck and John Waters. That same year Aerosmith launched the Las Vegas residency Deuces are Wild. Perry’s fifth solo project, Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII, surfaced in 2023 and contained eleven original hard-rock tracks supported by several recurring collaborators.