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 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.
By the end of the year, Perry had formed his own band - The Joe Perry Project. Their debut record, Let the Music Do the Talking, reached #47 on the Billboard album charts, selling 250,000 copies domestically. While sales and reviews were respectable, the group mainly thrived as a live act. It managed to do so even after its sophomore effort, I've Got the Rock'n'Rolls Again, went largely ignored.
In the end, the Project never solidified a line-up; all three studio releases would feature a different lead vocalist, and the entire roster was replaced before their final effort (1983's Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker.) Even a brief stint with then-former Aerosmith rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford failed to ignite things again, and the group found themselves with minimal label support by 1984.
In 1984, manager Tim Collins worked to get Perry back in contact with his former bandmates in Aerosmith. He was eventually invited to re-join the group, which he did - along with the also-estranged Brad Whitford. This restored the band's classic line-up, and resulted in a lucrative 'reunion' tour.
Perry and Tyler collaborated with Run-DMC in a remake of their 1975 hit "Walk This Way", which brought their band renewed mainstream attention.
After completing drug rehabilitation, Aerosmith went on to collaborate with various big-name songwriters and producers to launch their true comeback. Another string of successful albums (most notably the triple-platinum Pump in 1989) and many hit singles followed. Perry and Tyler resumed their tight friendship, again co-writing songs and performing very close together on stage.
In 1998, Perry helped conceive the group's first number one single, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", with pop songwriter Diane Warren. It appeared on the soundtrack to the hit film Armageddon.
Hold On Me
Joe Perry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You, gotta know that I'm knocked down
Hey, Step on over on my gound
I'm, feeling numb from my knees down
You, gotta hold on me
You gotta hold on me
You, gotta hold on me
I'm, overcome by this sound
I'm overrun by the walls you've torn down
Thanks, for turning me on to what you've found
You, gotta hold on me
You gotta hold on me
You, gotta hold on me
Don'tcha ever set me free
It was love, the first time I saw you,
It was love, the second I saw you,
Third time, I had adored you
Now I feel it everytime I see you
Hey, c'mon over and sit down
You, gotta know that I'm knocked down
Hey, Step on over on my gound
I'm, feeling numb from my knees down
You, gotta hold on me
You gotta hold on me
You, gotta hold on me
Don'tcha ever set me free
It was love, the first time I saw you,
It was love, the second I saw you,
Third time, I had adored you
Now I feel it everytime I see you
The lyrics to Joe Perry's song "Hold on Me" convey the idea of being completely captivated by someone's love and unable to resist it. The singer is talking directly to his lover, telling them to sit down and acknowledging that he is already knocked down by their love. He describes feeling numb from his knees down, completely overwhelmed by the emotions he's feeling. He acknowledges that this person has a hold on him and that they shouldn't ever let him go.
The chorus repeats the idea that this person has a hold on the singer and that they must never let him go. The bridge talks about how the singer fell in love with this person, first sight, second sight, and third sight, and how now he feels the love every time he sees them. The song ends with the chorus once again, cementing the idea that the singer is helplessly in love and unable to resist this person's hold on him.
Overall, "Hold on Me" is a love song that conveys the idea of being completely consumed by someone's love.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, c'mon over and sit down
Joe Perry invites someone to come over and sit with him.
You, gotta know that I'm knocked down
He admits that he's feeling down and needs someone there for him.
Hey, Step on over on my gound
Joe Perry wants someone to come closer to him to give him comfort.
I'm, feeling numb from my knees down
Joe Perry is describing how he's feeling so badly that he can barely move.
You, gotta hold on me
He needs someone to hold him tight and not let him go.
You gotta hold on me
Joe Perry repeats his previous line to emphasize how much he needs someone to hold him tight.
You, gotta hold on me
He once again says that he needs someone to be there for him and never let him go.
Don'tcha ever set me free
He begs not to be left alone as he's desperately in need of companionship.
I'm, overcome by this sound
The sounds around him are affecting him emotionally and he's overwhelmed.
I'm overrun by the walls you've torn down
The person with him has helped him break down his walls and he's more vulnerable as a result.
Thanks, for turning me on to what you've found
He is grateful to the person for introducing him to something new or meaningful.
It was love, the first time I saw you,
Joe Perry reflects on how he felt the first time he saw this person, realizing it was love at first sight.
It was love, the second I saw you,
He repeats that he fell in love the second time he saw them, emphasizing how deeply he feels.
Third time, I had adored you
By the third time they met, he had already been in love with them, revealing how much they've already impacted him.
Now I feel it everytime I see you
Joe Perry expresses how he feels every time he sees the person, indicating that his love for them still remains strong.
Contributed by Gabriel I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.