by Joe Perry
First published 2014
Joe Perry opens his life story as the rebel kid whose parents wanted him to fit in, but who walked away from school rather than cut his hair. When he meets Steve Tyler at a New Hampshire restaurant, Perry pulls him away from pop toward rock and roll. Together they become the "Toxic Twins" and rocket into fame and excess as cofounders of Aerosmith. Perry chronicles his volatile relationship with Tyler and exposes the real people behind the stage personas. He takes readers through the band's nearly five decades together, from record breaking hits and massive album sales to the moments when he couldn't cover his room service bill. The memoir covers their collaboration with Run DMC on "Walk This Way" and their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Perry examines the enablers, controllers, and change agents who shaped the band's journey. He presents multiple narratives within his account: the loner's path, the band's evolution, recovery and relapse, cult following, love, success, failure, rebirth, destruction, and rebirth again. This is the complete inside story of endurance in rock and roll.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, music, 21st-century, musicians
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: celebrity, rags-to-riches, redemption
Setting: New Hampshire
Period: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s
432 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Content warnings: addiction, substance-abuse