Bio

Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry (Born September 10, 1950 in Lawrence, Massachusetts), is the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith.

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.

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 (album) in 1976, thanks largely to the prevenlance 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.

More Info from Wikipedia