“Rick Nielsen would come into my dressing room with a guitar and say, ‘Joe, you really should buy this one’”: Joe Perry on the ’57 Gretsch Duo Jet that recorded Dude (Looks Like a Lady)

The year was 1987. Long-term Vacation remained in record shops around the world. Aerosmith’s development from rock ‘n’ roll criminals to rock’s box-office crowdpleasers remained in full speed, and guitar player Joe Perry was a natural option for GW‘s year-end cover.

Photographed by Glen La Ferman, Perry was holding a 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet, and here he discusses why he selected the Duo Jet, and why some guidance from Brad Whitford made him pay more attention to his option of amp.

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Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving reporter from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing author for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has actually talked to favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm gamer), Keith Richards, continues to avoid him.