Joe Perry Reveals Aerosmith Took Advantage Of Jeff Beck

The guitarist for Aerosmith recently spoke to Total Guitar about how the band “took advantage” of Jeff Beck many years ago.

Jeff Beck, a legendary guitarist, passed away earlier this year at the age of 78. As he was such a significant musical figure, many musicians have paid respect to him since hearing of his death. Joe Perry of Aerosmith is just one musician whose work has been influenced by his. Joe Perry attended some of Beck’s performances and even shared the stage with him on a few occasions. After the guitarist’s death, it was only natural for him to reflect on a fond recollection of their time together. What’s intriguing about that is his recall also includes a confession.

“When we were just starting to make it in Aerosmith, our manager had been one of the big promoters in Boston, and so we were able to get tickets and backstage passes to a Jeff Beck show. We had a road manager who was a great guy, but he just looked at the world a little differently. Backstage, I didn’t talk to Jeff then, but he was using an orange Colorsound. We’re driving home, and our road manager pulls this orange Colorsound out of his jacket. He said, ‘Well, he had six of them, so I just picked it up for you!”

Perry said he was unhappy with the decision. He tried to remedy the issue right away, but financial constraints prevented him from doing so.

“I got really pissed off,” Perry continued. “I said, ‘No, we don’t do that! That is not us.’ But we were still pretty hand-to-mouth, and back then, getting equipment going back and forth across the pond was a big deal. What was I gonna do – ship it to him? I had it for about three weeks, and then it got stolen from me. I was actually kind of happy to see it go. I always felt bad about it.”

For decades, until he reconnected with Beck, he harbored this regret. After telling Beck everything, he decided to make apologies by giving him one of his Klon Centaur pedals.