Sept. 10: Joe Perry, lead guitarist with Aerosmith, is 60 today.

Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and grew up in the small town of Hopedale, Massachusetts.  Early in his musical career, Perry formed a band with Tom Hamilton called The Jam Band. After meeting with Steven Tyler, Joe and Tom, along with Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer formed the band which became Aerosmith. Perry became the band's lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter.

 Press links below to view You Tube videos:
-- "Walk This Way"
-- "Toys in the Attic"

The band became successful in the mid-1970s with a string of hit records including . "Dream On," "Same Old Song and Dance," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way."  As their fame grew, drug use escalated and the creative process hampered by strained relationships within the band. Perry and vocalist Steven Tyler became known as the "Toxic Twins" for their partying and drug use.


They managed another hit record in 1977 with Draw the Line, on which Perry sang lead vocals on the track "Bright Light Fright." In 1979, An argument backstage in Cleveland resulted in Joe Perry's wife throwing a glass of milk at Tom Hamilton's wife. Perry quit Aerosmith, taking a collection of unrecorded material with him, which would later become the basis of his album Let the Music Do the Talking.


That same year, Perry 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 second album, I've Got the Rock'n'Rolls Again, flopped. In the mid-1980s, Perry and Whitford rejoined Aerosmith.

Joe Perry was ranked 48th in the Rolling Stone's list - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. His personal guitar collection numbers around 600.

-- "Draw the Line"

As an aside; Perry was featured in a television episode of Inside Dish with Rachael Ray on a t stop on Aerosmith's tour. On the show, 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.