Joe Perry

An integral part of Aerosmith's sound, success and "sex, drugs and rock n' roll" reputation, guitarist Joe Perry also forged an intermittent solo career every bit as hard-rocking as his day job. Born in Lawrence, MA in 1950, Perry first picked up the six-string after developing an infatuation with The Beatles and went onto play in several bands including Flash, Just Us and Plastic Glass before forming The Jam Band with bassist Tom Hamilton in 1970. Following the addition of rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, drummer Joey Kramer and charismatic lead vocalist Steven Tyler, the group changed their name to Aerosmith and subsequently built up a large loyal following on the US rock circuit. Alongside Tyler's dramatic yelping vocals, Perry's gutsy guitar riffs helped push 1975's Toys in the Attic and 1976's Rocks, both of which he also received several co-writing credits on, to combined sales of over 12 million in the US alone. But the pair, nicknamed the Toxic Twins due to their colossal drug and alcohol intake, soon became more renowned for their hedonism and in-fighting, and by the end of the decade the group's status was in serious decline. Perry eventually left the group during the recording of 1979's Night in the Ruts, and a year later scored a moderate hit with Let the Music Do the Talking, an LP recorded under the guise of The Joe Perry Project. This new outfit, which included a rotating cast of musicians, released two further LPs, 1981's I've Got the Rock'n'Rolls Again and 1983's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker, before Perry rejoined Aerosmith. Thanks to "Walk This Way," the innovative genre-blurring collaboration with Run-D.M.C. which Perry co-wrote, Aerosmith reasserted their position in the rock elite, and went onto score multiple hits (including chart-topper "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing"), become an MTV staple and win numerous Grammy Awards throughout the '80s and '90s. Following the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Perry recorded his first entirely solo album with 2005's Joe Perry and four years later revived The Joe Perry Project for Have Guitar, Will Travel. Despite constant intra-band tensions, Perry remained a member of Aerosmith's recording and touring line-up, but still continued to explore other avenues, releasing a 2014 festive E.P. titled Joe Perry's Merry Christmas and teaming up with Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp to form the '70s rock tribute act Hollywood Vampires.