• Genre: Rock
• Active: '70s - 2000s
• Major Members: Brad Whitford, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton

Biography

Aerosmith was one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the Rolling Stones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and swinging and as hard as a diamond.

In the meantime, they developed a prototype for power ballads with "Dream On," a piano ballad that was orchestrated with strings and distorted guitars. Aerosmith's ability to pull off both ballads and rock & roll made them extremely popular during the mid-'70s, when they had a string of gold and platinum albums. By the early '80s, the group's audience had declined as the band fell prey to drug and alcohol abuse. However, their career was far from over -- in the late '80s, Aerosmith pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history, returning to the top of the charts with a group of albums that equalled, if not surpassed, the popularity of their '70s albums.

In 1970, the first incarnation of Aerosmith formed when vocalist Steven Tyler met guitarist Joe Perry while working at a Sunapee, NH, ice cream parlor. Tyler, who originally was a drummer, and Perry decided to form a power trio with bassist Tom Hamilton. The group soon expanded to a quartet, adding a second guitarist called Ray Tabano; he was quickly replaced by Brad Whitford, a former member of Earth Inc. With the addition of drummer Joey Kramer, Tyler became the full-time lead singer by the end of year. Aerosmith relocated to Boston at the end of 1970.

After playing clubs in the Massachusetts and New York areas for two years, the group landed a record contract with Columbia Records in 1972. Aerosmith's self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1973, climbing to number 166. "Dream On" was released as the first single and it was a minor hit, reaching number 59. For the next year, the band built a fan base by touring America, supporting groups as diverse as the Kinks, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Sha Na Na, and Mott the Hoople. The performance of Get Your Wings (1974), the group's second album and the first produced by Jack Douglas, benefited from their constant touring, spending a total of 86 weeks on the chart.

Aerosmith's third record, 1975's Toys in the Attic, was their breakthrough album both commercially and artistically. By the time it was recorded, the band's sound had developed into a sleek, hard-driving hard rock powered by simple, almost brutal, blues-based riffs. Many critics at the time labeled the group as punk rockers, and it's easy to see why -- instead of adhering to the world-music pretentions of Led Zeppelin or the prolonged gloomy mysticism of Black Sabbath, Aerosmith stripped heavy metal to its basic core, spitting out spare riffs that not only rocked, but rolled. Steven Tyler's lyrics were filled with double entendres and clever jokes, and the entire band had a streetwise charisma that separated them from the heavy, lumbering arena rockers of the era. Toys in the Attic captured the essence of the newly invigorated Aerosmith. "Sweet Emotion," the first single from Toys in the Attic, broke into the Top 40 in the summer of 1975, with the album reaching number 11 shortly afterward. Its success prompted the re-release of the power ballad "Dream On," which shot into the Top Ten in early 1976. Both Aerosmith and Get Your Wings climbed back up the charts in the wake of Toys in the Attic. "Walk This Way," the final single from Toys in the Attic, was released around the time of the group's new 1976 album, Rocks. Although it didn't feature a Top Ten hit like "Walk This Way," Rocks went platinum quickly, peaking at number three.

In early 1977, Aerosmith took a break and prepared material for their fifth album. Released late in 1977, Draw the Line was another hit, climbing to number 11 on the U.S. charts, but it showed signs of exhaustion. In addition to another tour in 1978, the band appeared in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, performing "Come Together," which eventually became a number 23 hit. Live! Bootleg appeared late in 1978 and became another success, reaching number 13. Aerosmith recorded Night in the Ruts in 1979, releasing the record at the end of the year. By the time of its release, Joe Perry had left the band to form the Joe Perry Project. Night in the Ruts performed respectably, climbing to number 14 and going gold, yet it was the least successful Aerosmith record to date. Brad Whitford left the group in early 1980, forming the Whitsford-St. Holmes Band with former Ted Nugent guitarist Derek St. Holmes.

As Aerosmith regrouped with new guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, the band released Aerosmith's Greatest Hits in late 1980; the record would eventually sell over six million copies. The new lineup of Aerosmith released Rock in a Hard Place in 1982. Peaking at number 32, it failed to match the performance of Night in the Ruts. Perry and Whitford returned to the band in 1984 and the group began a reunion tour dubbed Back in the Saddle. Early in the tour, Tyler collapsed on-stage, offering proof that the band hadn't conquered their notorious drug and alcohol addictions. The following year, Aerosmith released Done with Mirrors, the original lineup's first record since 1979 and their first for Geffen Records. Although it didn't perform as well as Rock in a Hard Place, the album showed that the band was revitalized.

After the release of Done with Mirrors, Tyler and Perry completed rehabilitation programs. In 1986, the pair appeared on Run-D.M.C.'s cover of "Walk This Way," along with appearing in the video. "Walk This Way" became a hit, reaching number four and receiving saturation airplay on MTV. "Walk This Way" set the stage for the band's full-scale comeback effort, the Bruce Fairburn-produced Permanent Vacation (1987). Tyler and Perry collaborated with professional hard rock songwriters like Holly Knight and Desmond Child, resulting in the hits "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Rag Doll," and "Angel." Permanent Vacation peaked at number 11 and sold over three million copies.

Pump, released in 1989, continued the band's winning streak, reaching number five, selling over four million copies, and spawning the Top Ten singles "Love in an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," and "What It Takes." Aerosmith released Get a Grip in 1993. Like Permanent Vacation and Pump, Get a Grip was produced by Bruce Fairburn and featured significant contributions by professional songwriters. The album was as successful as the band's previous two records, featuring the hit singles "Livin' on the Edge," "Cryin'," and "Amazing." In 1994, Aerosmith released Big Ones, a compilation of hits from their Geffen years that fulfilled their contract with the label; it went double platinum shortly after its release.

While Aerosmith was at the height of their revitalized popularity in the early '90s, the group signed a lucrative multi-million dollar contract with Columbia Records, even though they still owed Geffen two albums. It wasn't until 1995 that the band was able to begin working on their first record under the new contract -- nearly five years after the contract was signed. The making of Aerosmith albums usually had been difficult affairs, but the recording of Nine Lives was plagued with bad luck. The band went through a number of producers and songwriters before settling on Kevin Shirley in 1996. More damaging, however, was the dismissal of the band's manager, Tim Collins, who'd been responsible for bringing the band back from the brink of addiction. Upon his firing, Collins insinuated that Steven Tyler was using hard drugs again, an allegation that Aerosmith adamantly denied.

Under such circumstances, recording became quite difficult, and when Nine Lives finally appeared in the spring of 1997, it was greeted with great anticipation, yet the initial reviews were mixed and even though album debuted at number one, it quickly fell down the charts. The live A Little South of Sanity followed in 1998. Three years later, Aerosmith strutted their stuff on the halftime special on CBS with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Nelly, *N Sync, and Britney Spears, just prior to issuing their heart-stomping Just Push Play in March 2001. Next up for the band was a blues album, Honkin' on Bobo, released in 2004, along with two live album/DVDs, You Gotta Move and Rockin' the Joint. Another greatest-hits collection, Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith arrived in 2006. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith Buy this CD	Toys in the Attic [SACD] Buy this CD	Gold Buy this CD	Chronicles Buy this CD	Aerosmith Greatest Hits 1973-1988 [Japan Bonus Tracks] Buy this CD
The Collection: Aerosmith/Get Your Wings/Toys in the Attic [2004 Long Box] Buy this CD	Honkin' on Bobo Buy this CD	Honkin' on Bobo [Limited Edition] Buy this CD	You Gotta Move Buy this CD	You Gotta Move [Clean] Buy this CD

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Aerosmith, the Boston-based band that became America's version of the Rolling Stones, has been making music for nearly 40 years. The band essentially has had two careers: one before they kicked drugs and alcohol and an even bigger one after rehabilitation.

One of the longest-running, top 10 best-selling bands in American hard rock history, Aerosmith was formed in late 1969 in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Two bands, Chain Reaction, led by Steven Tallarico, and the Jam Band, featuring Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton, had often played at a local club called The Barn. At a Jam Band gig at The Barn, Tallarico decided that he should front this sloppy, blues-based band, and that they needed another guitarist and a new drummer.

The new band formed, and Aerosmith played its first gig at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts, in autumn 1970. The lineup: Steven Tallarico (born March 26, 1948) on vocals, Joe Perry (born September 10, 1950) on lead guitar, Ray Tabano on rhythm guitar, Tom Hamilton (born December 31, 1951) on bass, and Joey Kramer (born June 21, 1950) on drums.

The group moved into a three-bedroom apartment together on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. The band played at high school and fraternity parties and began writing their own material. Kramer had come up with the band's name back in high school and insists it had nothing to do with Sinclair Lewis' novel, Arrowsmith.

Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford (born February 23, 1952) in 1971 after some artistic differences. Tabano later came back to work on Aerosmith's road crew and then as the band's marketing director.

First Record Contract

In 1972, Steven Tallarico changed his name to Steven Tyler. Big things were about to happen for the band. At a summer gig at Max's Kansas City in New York that year, record industry mogul Clive Davis saw the band perform. Aerosmith, managed by David Krebs and Steve Leber, was offered a $125,000 contract with Columbia Records.

"We weren't too ambitious when we started out," Tyler said in their autobiography, Walk This Way. "We just wanted to be the biggest thing that ever walked the planet, the greatest rock band that ever was. We just wanted everything. We wanted it all."

Moving quickly, the band's self-titled debut album was released in January 1973. Aerosmith went on tour in support of the album, opening for big acts like Mott the Hoople and The Kinks. Stardom would be a relatively short climb for the band from this point.

The following year, a second album, Get Your Wings, was released. A single, "Same Old Song And Dance"/"Pandora's Box" made a small splash and the album went gold. In April 1975, Toys In The Attic was released and hit the Billboard Top 20 Album Chart. "Sweet Emotion" was released on a single and became the band's first Top 40 hit.

On June 12, 1976, Aerosmith headlined their first stadium show at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, to a crowd of 80,000. The show had sold out within 12 hours. It was only the first in a series of successful stadium tours to follow.

Tyler later reflected, "The stage was so high and so far from the audience, you couldn't even see any kids, just lines of bullet-head security guys with their backs to us. The whole thing was too abstract. We were in, like, surrealism shock."

An Army of Fans

The band started calling their fans "The Blue Army" for the blue jeans that they all wore. In Walk This Way, "We were America's band," Joe Perry said. "We were the guys you could actually see. Back then in the Seventies, it wasn't like Led Zeppelin was out there on the road in America all of the time. The Stones weren't always coming to your town. We were. You could count on us to come by."

In 1976, the band released the platinum-selling Rocks album. Earlier songs, "Walk This Way" and "Dream On"/"Sweet Emotion" were re-released and garnered the band Top 40 hits. "Dream On," re-released from their first album, peaked at number three on the charts. In March 1977, "Back In The Saddle"/"Nobody's Fault" was released as a single. In October of that year, "Draw the Line" was released on a single, previewing tracks from their fifth album of the same name, to be released in December of that year. The album went platinum.

In October 1978, the band made a movie appearance in Robert Stigwood's flop, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as the Future Villain Band. (Stigwood had produced '70s movie hits Grease and Saturday Night Fever.) The band recorded a cover of The Beatles' "Come Together" for the film, and the song made it to the top 30 on the charts. Kramer later remarked, "It was a disaster. A real debacle. The Stones refused to do the part that was offered to us. Now we know why. It was just a pretty silly movie." That same month, Live Bootleg, featuring live versions of the band's hits was released.

The End of Aerosmith

Disagreements between band members and ego clashes tore at the lineup in 1979 as their seventh album, Night in the Ruts, was recorded. Perry left, and Jimmy Crespo replaced him as lead guitarist. Aerosmith toured briefly with new lineup, but fans yelled for Perry.

Perry had formed the Joe Perry Project, rounding up a band of relatively unknown musicians. They released an album of covers and Perry originals called Let the Music Do the Talking. The group released three albums between 1980 and 1983, doing small tours, as well.

By 1980, the year Aerosmith's Greatest Hits was released, Whitford left the band as well. Rick Dufay replaced Whitford in the Aerosmith lineup. Whitford joined forces with Derek St. Holmes, from Ted Nugent's band, on an album, Whitford/St. Holmes. That summer, Tyler took a forced sabbatical after a motorcycle accident. Drugs and alcohol were involved, and the singer spent six months in a hospital.

Rock In A Hard Place, recorded with the new lineup, was released in August 1982. The follow-up tour was hit and miss. In the meantime, Whitford was on tour with The Joe Perry Project.

Aerosmith Reformed

On Valentine's Day in 1984, after a long and publicly infamous estrangement between Tyler and Perry, the two, along with Whitford, were reunited backstage after an Aerosmith show at The Orpheum Theater in Boston. Conversations continued between Tyler and Perry, and by April of that year, the original band was back together. They began this new phase with the aptly titled "Back In The Saddle Tour" and a new manager, Tim Collins.

In November 1985, the band released Done With Mirrors on a new label, Geffen. The album, produced by Ted Templeman, who had produced the early Van Halen albums, was not a platinum-selling comeback.

In 1986, up-and-coming rappers Run DMC gave Aerosmith the push back into the spotlight they needed with their cover of "Walk This Way" on their album, Raising Hell. The song hit the charts, and the video, featuring Tyler and Perry dueling with the rappers through a thin wall, played frequently on MTV.

Over the years, the band had become infamous for their alcohol and drug abuse. The press dubbed Tyler and Perry "The Toxic Twins." In September 1986, Collins called a 6 a.m. band meeting and included New York psychiatrist Dr. Lou Cox. It was an intervention for Tyler, but the whole band needed help.

In the band's 1997 autobiography, Walk This Way, Collins recounted that he had told the band, "You guys need to change your lives and get sober and I'll promise you this: We will turn this group around and make it the biggest band in the world by 1990." Tyler and Perry went through rehab. The band worked together to become - and to stay - sober.

Aerosmith released Permanent Vacation in August 1987. For the first time, the band had songwriting help. Desmond Child, who had written hit songs for Bon Jovi, was called in and helped finish "Dude Looks Like A Lady" and "Angel." The songs garnered the band their first hits in years. In September 1988, Aerosmith received their first MTV Music Award for "Best Group Video" for "Dude Looks Like a Lady." Single "Angel" peaked at number three on the Billboard charts.

Tyler's Famous Children

Tyler's former girlfriend, Bebe Buell, and her daughter, Liv, went to see Aerosmith in August 1988. "She was eleven years old," Buell said. "We were the only ones allowed in Steven's dressing room, and Steven took her around and introduced her to everybody. She met her sister Mia for the first time.… This was when everything finally clicked for her."

Liv Tyler, to that point, had been brought up believing that her father was performer/producer Todd Rundgren. Rundgren had been involved in her life and contributed support. Her younger sister, Mia, was born to Tyler and his first wife, Cyrinda Foxe. Tyler's two daughters made names for themselves in acting and modeling, respectively.

Hit the Charts, Won Grammys

Pump was released in September 1989 and produced multi-platinum album sales and numerous awards. In 1990, Aerosmith won MTV's Best Metal/Hard Rock Video and Viewers' Choice Awards, as well as their first Grammy Award, for "Janie's Got A Gun," a song about child abuse.

Their success continued in 1993 with Get A Grip, which shot up the charts to number one. Four tracks from the album, "Livin' On the Edge," "Cryin,'" "Crazy" and "Amazing" hit the charts. "Livin' On the Edge" won the 1993 Grammy for "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal." "Crazy" also won a Grammy in 1994.

Nine Lives debuted at number one on the album charts in 1997 and spawned the hit single, "Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)." The following year, the band contributed a track for the movie Armageddon, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (written by Diane Warren). It was the band's first number one hit. Aerosmith continued recording for film in 2003, with a track called "Lizard Love," on the sound-track of the movie Rugrats Go Wild! Perry wrote score music for the 2003 Small Planet Pictures film, This Thing of Ours, as well.

In March 2001, Just Push Play was released, debuting at number two on the charts. "Jaded," the single from the album, hit number seven on the charts that year. The album was unusual in that it was recorded without the band being in the same room together. Joe Perry told The Tennessean, "We were making the record on ProTools and massaging everything, polishing everything up.… I couldn't make another record like that and call it an Aerosmith record."

The new century saw Aerosmith gaining awards and recognition. On March 19, 2001, Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Boston's Berklee College of Music awarded Steven Tyler an honorary doctoral degree in music in May 2003. The band also has an "Aerosmith Endowment Award" recognizing outstanding musical and academic achievement, at Berklee.

Aerosmith was one of the few bands in rock history to come back as strong as they had started. One reviewer from The Times of London summed up the Aerosmith concert experience: "Tyler, a glamorous stick insect, brought the band out dancing through a two-hour set which took in all the best tunes of their career.… They saved "Walk This Way" for the last encore as the sunset grew to a distant purple glow. Tyler strutted and pouted until a giant fireworks display signaled the end. The shimmering brilliance belonged, however, to Aerosmith alone, a band who retain the power to astound."

In August 2003 Aerosmith once again, 30 years later, joined forces with Kiss to launch a summer tour called the Rocksimus Maximus Tour. This nation-wide tour was a huge success producing a gross of approximately $50 million. With some time on their hands before the tour with Kiss took off, Aerosmith decided to produce an all-blues album. "Honkin' on Bobo," the album's title, was released March 30, 2004. This album got back to Aerosmith's earlier sound of the 1970's making it appeal to past fans as well as new. According to Jim Farber from the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service the new album "treats blues as slamming party music rather than as the soul-searching stuff of legend."

Books

Aerosmith and Stephen Davis, Walk This Way, Avon Books, 1997.

Huxley, Martin, Aerosmith: The Fall and the Rise of Rock's Greatest Band, St. Martin's Press, 1995.

Periodicals

Associated Press Newswires, May 10, 2003.

Billboard, August 16, 2003; April 4, 2004.

Billboard Bulletin, January 20, 2004.

Business Wire, September 8, 2003.

Finance Wire, October 8, 2003.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, March 30, 2004.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 22, 2003.

Plain Dealer, September 6, 2002.

Press-Enterprise, November 1, 2002.

Reuters News, September 4, 2003.

Rocky Mountain News, December 6, 2002.

San Antonio Express-News, October 4, 2003.

State Journal-Register, October 19, 2003.

Tennessean, September 19, 2003.

Times Union, November 27, 2003.

Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, September 6, 2002.

Online

"Aerosmith" 46th Grammy Awards,http://www.grammy.com (January 19, 2004).

"Aerosmith: Bio," MTV.com,http://www.mtv.com (January 12, 2004).

"Aerosmith: History," Aerosmith.com,http://www.aerosmith.com (January 12, 2004).