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Aerosmith’s Joe Perry names his five favourite songs
Joe Perry knows the value of a great riff. As the lead guitarist for American hard rock heroes Aerosmith, Perry has composed some of the most iconic riffs of the genre, including ‘Walk This Way’, ‘Back in the Saddle’ and ‘Get the Lead Out’. It’s safe to say that if you’re looking for an expert on what makes a great rock song tick, Perry is a great go-to figure.
So what songs make the man himself tick? As it turns out, Perry writes most of his riffs while channelling the work of his heroes. While discussing how he created the iconic lick for ‘Love in an Elevator’, Perry revealed that a little bit of Jimi Hendrix helped create the spark that led to the song’s creation.
”That particular riff kind of floated my way during one of mine and Steven (Tyler’s) writing sessions,” Perry recalled. “I was probably listening to Jimi Hendrix on the ride up. I was talking to Rick Rubin once about writer’s block, and he said, ‘Make a CD of all the songs that you fell in love with and made you love rock ‘n’ roll.'”
He continued: “‘Listen to that over and over again, and it’ll start the wheels going’. So I was listening to a lot of Hendrix. It was one of those riffs that just played itself. I picked up the guitar, and it just started coming out.”
So what does Perry listen to while writing riffs? When Rolling Stone asked Perry to name his five favourite songs of all time, the answers were revealing.
Joe Perry’s five favourite songs:
Bob Dylan – ‘Like a Rolling Stone’
Bob Dylan might not seem like the first person that a hard rock legend like Joe Perry would cite as an influence, but Perry came up at a time when Dylan was practically a god. Once Dylan made the transition from acoustic folk to electric rock and roll, Perry was right there to soak it all in.
“I don’t know what he’s singing about half the time, but somehow the lyrics were easy to wrap your head around,” Perry explained. “This is a song that has stuck with me forever.”
The Rolling Stones – ‘Honky Tonk Women’
No band has done more for the evolution of rock and roll than The Rolling Stones. Aerosmith had to battle constant comparisons to the Stones in their earlier days, with Perry playing the Keith Richards role to Steven Tyler’s Mick Jagger. However, Perry willingly admits the band’s major influence.
“This has all the elements of what makes the Stones the Stones,” Perry said about ‘Honky Tonk Women’. “It’s a simple song, but those are the hardest ones to write.”
Jimi Hendrix – ‘Driving South’
As he explained about the process of writing ‘Love in an Elevator’, Perry was a massive disciple of Jimi Hendrix. The original guitar hero, Hendrix has a million classic songs that could be cited here. But Perry decided to go with a relatively obscure pick: ‘Driving South’ from The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s BBC Sessions collection.
“There’s a version from the BBC with the original Experience where he just cuts loose for six minutes,” Perry says. “It really gives you an idea of his blues roots.”
The J. Giles Band – ‘Love Stinks’
While Aerosmith were reinventing themselves as MTV heartthrobs throughout the latter half of the 1980s, they needed to take notes from some of their fellow 1970s survivors. One band that made a seamless transition between classic rock and synthpop was The J. Giles Band, and Perry shared his admiration for the band’s classic single ‘Love Stinks’.
“I don’t know if there is a better frontman than Peter Wolf,” Perry explained. “They were one of the first bands to understand the value of videos and MTV.”
Deep Purple – ‘Highway Star’
For his final pick, Perry went with a classic. Other than ‘Smoke on the Water’, no song is more synonymous with heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple. Perry isn’t much for noodling or mindless soloing, so it’s no surprise that he admires the laser-focused style that the band brought to their own extended solos.
“This was constructed back when real players knew how to hold your attention with a solo for three minutes,” Perry explained.
