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Aerosmith’s Joe Perry Hospitalized After Collapsing at Billy Joel Concert

Joe Perry. Photo: Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Images

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who surprised concert-goers at Billy Joel’s standing Madison Square Garden residency on Saturday evening with an impromptu performance of Walk This Way, collapsed in his dressing room following the jam session — subsequently causing widespread backstage panic about his health. Per Rolling Stone, paramedics tended to Perry for about 40 minutes before rushing him by ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment. “Joe Perry experienced shortness of breath and was treated backstage by paramedics who gave the guitarist oxygen and used a tracheal tube to clear his airway before taking him to a hospital,” Perry’s reps told RS in a statement. “This morning Perry remains in the hospital where he is alert and responsive.” In 2016, Perry experienced a similar backstage collapse while touring with his supergroup the Hollywood Vampires. He later blamed “dehydration and exhaustion” for the scare.

Joe Perry Hospitalized After Collapsing at Billy Joel Gig