The Top 5 Songs That Joe Perry Named His Favorites Of All Time
Joe Perry is one of the most creative and popular guitarists in the rock world. He gained international fame as a part of the rock band Aerosmith, and Joe Perry has influenced numerous people who are related to music. In this article, we will inform you about the songs that influenced Joe Perry himself and what he said about his favorite songs.
Perry‘s guitar playing style is characterized by a mix of blues, rock, and hard rock influences. He’s known for his soulful and emotive lead guitar work, combining melodic solos with powerful riffs. Perry often employs techniques such as bending, vibrato, and slides to add expressiveness to his playing.
His guitar solos, like those in Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way, are renowned for their memorable melodies and dynamic phrasing. Perry‘s collaboration with Brad Whitford in Aerosmith has resulted in a distinctive dual-guitar sound that has become a trademark of the band’s music.
In addition to his guitar skills, Perry is a songwriter, contributing to Aerosmith‘s catalog with his catchy riffs and memorable hooks. His creativity and innovative approach to songwriting have helped shape the band’s sound and influence generations of rock musicians.
So, let’s learn the songs that Joe Perry picked as his favorites of all time.
The 5 Songs Joe Perry Named His Favorites Ever
Joe Perry has always been open to sharing his favorite songs that influenced him throughout his career. In 2016, he sat with Rolling Stone magazine to reveal his favorite songs in rock and roll. From Deep Purple to Bob Dylan, there were a lot of great songs from the genre.
However, it is time to learn Joe Perry’s favorite songs.
#5. The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women
Conceived amidst the summer haze of 1969, Honky Tonk Women emerged as a siren’s call to all those captivated by the magnetic rhythm of the city streets. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the legendary tandem of lyricism and melody, fashioned a narrative that vividly portrays the intoxicating dance between a man and a woman – a dance that teeters on the precipice of pleasure and consequence.
The song unfurled with an instantly recognizable guitar riff, its staccato notes served as an invitation to a world where inhibition is left behind. The relentless, infectious rhythm section – Watts’ drums and Wyman’s bass – propelled the track forward, creating an inescapable gravitational force that draws listeners into its chaotic embrace.
Moreover, Honky Tonk Women exuded an energy that transcends time and genre. Its flirtation with country music elements, coupled with a rock ‘n’ roll heartbeat, gives birth to a genre-bending experience that remains fresh even as the years stack up like dusty records in a vintage store.
When Perry opened up about one of his favorite songs, Honky Tonk Women, he said: “This has all the elements of what makes the Stones the Stones. It’s a simple song, but those are the hardest ones to write.”
#4. Jimi Hendrix – Driving South
Joe Perry also named Jimi Hendrix‘s Driving South one of his favorite songs in rock. In the crucible of 1966, a time when electric guitars were still finding their electric identities, Jimi Hendrix crafted Driving South with an audacity that mirrored the ferocity of his stage presence. This instrumental tour de force showcased Hendrix‘s prowess not only as a guitarist but as an alchemist of sound.
The rhythm section, a vital undercurrent in any Hendrix composition, drove the track forward with unrelenting momentum. Noel Redding’s bass and Mitch Mitchell’s drums form an intricate lattice of grooves, a foundation upon which Hendrix‘s sonic tapestry is woven. The trio operated as a unified entity, each member responding to the other’s musical cues like an expertly choreographed ballet.
At its core, Driving South was a sonic panorama that encapsulates the freedom and unpredictability of the open road. It was a musical odyssey that defies conventional structure, weaving through changes in tempo and mood with an improvisational spirit that mirrors the unscripted thrill of a cross-country adventure.
At the time Joe Perry talked about the song, he said: “It really gives you an idea of his blues roots.”
In 2020, Joe Perry sent respectful words to mourn the musician on his 50th death anniversary.
“Today is a sad day, 50 years ago the genius of electric guitar passed, way too soon,” he said. “Some times I think he was just passing thru. Left us and thru his brilliance, showed us how he saw the world and moved on. He made music never heard before and and we’ll never hear again, but thru his music he’ll be with us forever… Rock on JIMI.”
#3. The J. Giles Band – Love Stinks
A siren call to the scorned, the bruised, and the lovelorn; a raucous reminder that love’s lofty promises often crumble beneath the weight of reality. Enter The J. Geils Band‘s timeless anthem, Love Stinks, a harmonious masterpiece that has morphed into the battle cry of the broken-hearted.
The song, released in the turbid waters of 1980, encapsulated the disillusionment of an era that had once soared on the wings of free love and flower power. In a world where disco had begun to wane, Love Stinks catapulted onto the scene with a cathartic force that seemed to scream, “Enough is enough!” A fusion of rock, new wave, and bluesy fervor, the song was an audible catharsis, an emotional exorcism that saw listeners dance their woes away while simultaneously flipping a rebellious middle finger to the saccharine fantasies of romance.
As the signature saxophone riff wailed and the energetic guitar licks danced, Love Stinks transformed from a mere song into a sonic testimonial. It resonated across generational boundaries, finding resonance in the cassette decks of those nursing heartaches in the ’80s, the CD players of those navigating the complexities of the ’90s, and now, in the digital playlists of a new millennium grappling with love’s many contradictions.
When he picked Love Stinks one of his favorite songs, Perry praised the band’s frontman, Peter Wolf, saying: “I don’t know if there is a better frontman than Peter Wolf.”
#2. Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone
Joe Perry also picked Bob Dylan‘s Like A Rolling Stone as one of his favorite songs. Released in 1965 as a thunderclap across the horizon of popular culture, this anthem of disillusionment and wanderlust reverberated with a force that transcended generations. A serendipitous collision of poetry and protest, the song’s essence continues to ripple through the tapestry of time.
Yet, Like a Rolling Stone transcended mere lyrical ingenuity. It redefined the very concept of the popular song by stretching the boundaries of the standard radio playtime, spanning over six minutes—a revolutionary gesture that mirrored the song’s revolutionary message. Dylan‘s distinct fusion of rock ‘n’ roll, folk, and a certain indefinable rawness birthed a sonic landscape that echoed the tumultuous zeitgeist.
Moreover, Like a Rolling Stone wasn’t merely an auditory offering; it was a reflection of a restless spirit seeking meaning amidst chaos. It echoed the ancient human narrative of traversing uncharted territories, and in doing so, it spoke to a collective yearning for emancipation. With each note, the song’s wild heart challenged the complacent to seek the roads less traveled, to embrace their inner wanderer, and to revel in the uncertainty that defines the human experience.
“I don’t know what he’s singing about half the time, but somehow the lyrics were easy to wrap your head around,” Perry says to praise Bob Dylan and his Like A Rolling Stone song. “This is a song that has stuck with me forever.”
Also, in 2012, Joe Perry honored Bob Dylan by covering the musician’s Man of Peace song.
#1. Deep Purple – Highway Star
Deep Purple‘s Highway Star was also one of those songs that Joe Perry named his favorites. As the opening bars of Highway Star erupted, the stage ignited with a ferocious energy that catapulted the audience into a sonic thrill ride. It was as if the very laws of physics had been momentarily suspended, allowing a fusion of musical prowess and boundless energy to take center stage.
Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore‘s signature riff, a frenetic dance of fingers on strings, served as the song’s ignition switch. It was a call to arms, a declaration that listeners were about to embark on an aural journey where speed and precision reigned supreme. Paired with Jon Lord’s electrifying keyboard wizardry, the result was a musical tapestry that transcended genres, a testament to the boundless capabilities of rock’s sonic palette.
Ian Gillan‘s vocals soared above the instrumental maelstrom, a fierce melodic wail that fused power with vulnerability. “Nobody gonna take my car, I’m gonna race it to the ground,” he sang, channeling the essence of youthful rebellion, the unquenchable desire to break free from the mundane and embrace the open road of possibility. His voice was a dynamic force, oscillating between the controlled chaos of the verses and the anthemic explosion of the chorus.
However, according to Joe Perry, the song’s solo was insane, as he said: “This was constructed back when real players knew how to hold your attention with a solo for three minutes.”
Joe Perry’s Favorite Songs:
- Deep Purple – Highway Star
- Bob Dylan – Like A Rolling Stone
- Jimi Hendrix – Driving South
- The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women
- The J. Giles Band – Love Stinks
