Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith

By Joe Perry and David Ritz

In this riveting inside account of his life in rock-and-roll band Aerosmith, Joe Perry opens up for the first time to tell the story of his wild, unbridled life as the band's lead guitarist. He delves deep into his volatile, profound, and enduring relationship with singer Steve Tyler, and reveals the real people behind the larger-than-life rock-gods on stage. It's an intimate account of nearly five decades of mega highs and heartbreaking lows. The story of Aerosmith is not your average rock-and-roll tale. It's an epic saga, at once a study in brotherhood and solitude that plays out on the killing fields of rock and roll.

With record-making hits and colossal album sales that compete with legends such as U2 and Frank Sinatra, Aerosmith has earned their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But with a sweeping comeback in the late 80s, one can see there is a bigger story here: to come back that high, you have to have plummeted pretty low. Aerosmith's game with fame is one of success, failure, rebirth, re-destruction, even the post-destructive rebirth, but here they are today, in their 60s and still on top.

ROCKS is ultimately a story of endurance, and it starts almost half a century ago with young Perry, the misanthrope whose loving parents practically begged him to assimilate, but who quits school because he doesn't want to cut his hair. He meets Tyler in a restaurant in Boston, sways him from pop music to the darker side, rock-and-roll, and it doesn't take long for the "Toxic Twins" to skyrocket into a world of fame, drugs, and utter excess. Perry takes fora personal look into the two stars behind Aerosmith, the people who enabled them, the ones who controlled them, and the ones who changed them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781471138638

Joe Perry

Lead guitarist Joe Perry and singer Steven Tyler wrote the majority of the songs that form the backbone of Aerosmith’s catalogue. In 2013, they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Reviews for Rocks

[claireh18 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of this eBook from the publisher, via netgalley, in return for an honest review.I was so looking forward to reading this autobiography, as I'm a fan of rock music and have enjoyed musician's memoirs in the past. This book started off well, and I found the first 25% or so really engaging and hard to put down. Perry's experiences in the studio and on the road with Aerosmith, as well as the formation of the band, are entertaining and interesting. The tempestuous relationship between Perry and vocalist Steven Tyler has been well documented in the press, so it's inclusion here is no surprise. Unfortunately, I found myself getting a bit bored with the endless confrontations between the two and a variety of other players. Reading about the music was great, but I feel this was very much overshadowed by so much emphasis placed on the tangled web of personal relationships the members of Aerosmith shared, both within and outside of the band.I found it quite interesting, but it lost me relatively early on. This took me so long to read, a sure sign that it didn't hold my interest. Disappointing, but sure to appeal to die hard fans. 3/5

[norinrad10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This one was kind of fun. Perry kind of glosses over the drug issues but the insight into his relationship with Stephen Tyler is fascinating. Never fails to crack me up how much stock these guys put in their solo records. All in all a good read that'll make you want to listen to your Aerosmith records again and that's the point of these books.

[howifeelaboutbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’m a huge Aerohead so it’s strange that I haven’t read this book until now. It definitely read like Joe Perry wrote it, which is cool since he had a ghostwriter helping. I loved hearing a different side of well-known Aerosmith stories, but I wished he spilled more. I know he’s not the type, so I still really enjoyed the book, but still. I want the dirt, Joe! This book fueled my Aerolove again!