Joe Perry

Anthony Joseph "Joe Perry" Pereira (born September 10, 1950) is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith. He is influenced by many rock artists especially The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was ranked 84th in the Rolling Stone's list The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The paternal side of Perry's family are Portuguese, originally from Madeira. His grandfather changed the family's name from Pereira to Perry upon arriving in the United States. His maternal side is Italian, more specifically Neapolitan. Perry was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and 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 when Perry's father died in 1975. Perry also attended the prep school Vermont Academy, a boarding school of about 232 students in Saxtons River, Vermont. During Joe Perry's early years he formed a band with Tom Hamilton called The Jam Band. Steven Tyler, Joe, Tom, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer eventually joined and the band became Aerosmith. While initially dismissed