Brad Whitford

Bradley Ernest Whitford (born February 23, 1952) is an American musician who is best known as a guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He has also worked as a songwriter for the group, co-composing well-received tracks such as 1976's "Last Child".

Whitford graduated from Reading Memorial High School in Reading, Massachusetts in 1970. He then attended the Berklee College of Music.

Whitford played as lead guitarist in forming local bands Cymbals of Resistance (1965–1968), Teapot Dome, Earth, Inc. (1968–1970) as bassist, and Justin Thyme (1970–1971) as guitarist before joining Aerosmith in 1971, where he replaced original guitarist Ray Tabano. Aerosmith went on to be one of the most successful bands of the 1970s. Following several less successful albums in the late 1970s, however, Whitford left Aerosmith in 1981 to work on his own project with singer Derek St. Holmes, called Whitford/St. Holmes. The project was dissolved after a sole self-titled album was released in 1981, although Whitford/St. Holmes reunited for 2015 and 2016 tours and released another album, Reunion.

Whitford briefly toured with Joe Perry Project, featuring former Aerosmith bandmate Joe Perry, before both Perry and Whitford rejoined Aerosmith in 1984. In the mid-late 1980s, all band members completed drug rehabilitation, including Whitford, who completed programs to combat his alcohol abuse. Whitford remains sober to this day and continues to be an active member in Aerosmith.

Whitford also served as a producer for the Neighborhoods, a Boston band that was led by David Minehan, a rabid Aerosmith fan. In 1994, a family illness forced Whitford to leave unexpectedly in the middle of a tour of Asia, and Minehan flew to Japan, where he performed in Whitford's place for several days until Whitford returned.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.