JOE PERRY

singer-guitarist with rock band Aerosmith

“I think it was probably ‘Having a Rave Up With the Yardbirds,’ ‘cause I was definitely into them at a pretty young age.

“But it’s hard for me to remember. It was either that or one of the Beatles’ albums. And then Chuck Berry. Those were the albums that really got me inspired to play guitar -- to play guitar and rock out.

“When I was 14 years old and I saw ‘A Hard Days Night,’ I thought it would be great to be in a band, and oh yeah, I thought I should play guitar, too. A big part of it was the comradery, the concept of being in a gang and that whole thing. But the music was just so incredible that it was beyond what I thought I could play. They were just so untouchable. I didn’t feel like I could say ‘I’m gonna be like the Beatles’ because I don’t know about that.

“But when I heard Chuck Berry or when I heard the Yardbirds, I thought, ‘Hey, I can do that.’”