Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an iconic American rock band that formed in Boston in 1970, originally consisting of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, and Brad Whitford. They achieved significant commercial success with their self-titled debut album released in 1973, which featured the hit "Dream On." Over the years, Aerosmith's music evolved, with albums like "Toys in the Attic" and "Rocks" solidifying their reputation through hit songs such as "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way." Known for their high-energy performances and extravagant lifestyle, the band's journey was marked by periods of turmoil, including struggles with substance abuse and interpersonal conflicts, which affected their output and success in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Despite these challenges, Aerosmith experienced a successful comeback in the late 1980s and continued to produce popular music, earning multiple Grammy Awards and achieving mainstream hits like "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing." The band remains influential in the hard rock genre, known for their engaging live shows and lasting impact on rock music culture. They have continued to perform and record, including a residency in Las Vegas and a new album release in 2012, illustrating their enduring appeal and musical talent.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Aerosmith
Identification American hard-rock band
Date Formed in 1970
Aerosmith released seven albums and rose to prominence as a flamboyant rock band in the 1970s, performing in front of crowds of fifty thousand or more. Despite some instances of conflict amongst its members, the group continued to produce music and perform on tour into the second decade of the twenty-first century.
Key Figures
Steven Tyler (1948– ), lead vocalistJoe Perry (1950– ), guitaristTom Hamilton (1951– ), bass playerJoey Kramer (1950– ), drummerBrad Whitford (1952– ), guitarist
Debuting in the fall of 1970, Aerosmith, based in Boston, consisted of Steven Tyler on lead vocals and keyboard, Joe Perry on guitar, Tom Hamilton on bass guitar, Joey Kramer on drums, and Brad Whitford on guitar. In 1972, the five musicians signed with Columbia Records. The band’s first album, Aerosmith, was released in 1973 and contained the hit “Dream On.” Although the band’s second album, Get Your Wings (1974), did not achieve instant commercial success, “Same Old Song and Dance” received significant radio airtime. The album reached gold-record status in 1975. The group’s third album, Toys in the Attic (1975), reached platinum-record status quickly, buoyed by the defining songs “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”
Aerosmith’s phenomenal success intensified the excesses of the band members’ lifestyles. Renowned for their wild concerts, backstage parties, and brash behavior, the members engaged in heavy drug and alcohol use and sexual promiscuity. The release of Aerosmith’s fourth album was delayed because the group’s main lyricist, Tyler, was preoccupied with drugs and was not productive. Rocks came out in 1976, and riding on the band’s fame, it reached the platinum-record level immediately. However, “Back in the Saddle” and “Last Child” were the only two songs from the album to warrant inclusion on Aerosmith’s first “greatest hits” collection in 1980.
At the end of 1977, Aerosmith released Draw the Line, which also went platinum quickly. Critically, the record was unsuccessful and yielded none of the quality rock anthems for which the group had become famous.
In 1978, Aerosmith appeared in a film adaptation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The film was not well received, but Aerosmith’s soundtrack cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together” made the Top 20 on the charts. Live Bootleg (1978) was a rough album containing rehearsal recordings, covers of Aerosmith favorites, and live recordings of the band’s own classic hits. The album was the group’s sixth platinum recording.
Tyler and Perry were feuding when Aerosmith recorded its last album of the decade, Night in the Ruts (1979), and it was the group’s first record that failed to go platinum since 1975. Perry resigned from Aerosmith during the recording of Night in the Ruts. As the decade ended, Aerosmith’s popularity diminished.
Though Whitford then departed before the recording of Aerosmith's next album, Rock in a Hard Place, was completed and released in 1982, the band worked with two new guitarists before all of the members of the original lineup came back together in 1984, a milestone marked by a dedicated tour that same year. While the reunited band's 1985 effort Done with Mirrors did not fare well commercially, the latter half of the 1980s saw Aerosmith find greater success again and was considered the beginning of a comeback period. Their albums Permanent Vacation and Pump, released in 1987 and 1989, respectively, were popular overall with fans and critics, launching such hit singles as "Dude (Looks Like a Lady), "Angel," "Love in an Elevator," and "Janie's Got a Gun"; the latter track earned the group their first Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1990. During the final ten years of the twentieth century, the band went on to put out two more records, the similarly praised and successful Get a Grip (1993) and Nine Lives (1997), both of which featured songs that garnered the group their second, third, and fourth Grammy trophies in 1993, 1994, and 1998, respectively. Additionally, their contribution to the soundtrack for the blockbuster film Armageddon (1998), "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," was a hit that became their first song to reach the top position on the Billboard Hot 100.
In addition to landing a coveted spot in the Super Bowl halftime show in 2001, Aerosmith released their new album Just Push Play, which spawned the hit single "Jaded," and were honored with an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, as some of the members faced personal struggles and further conflicts as well as engagements for solo projects, the band would not put out an album of original songs again until 2012 (they had released a blues cover album, Honkin' on the Bobo, in 2004). After inconsistent periods of live performances and touring, the group released Music from Another Dimension! in 2012; while this effort was not as well received as some of those in the past, it debuted in the fifth position on the Billboard 200. The years between 2013 and 2019 saw the band intermittently touring while also working separately again, but in 2019, they launched a residency in Las Vegas. While extended dates had been planned into 2020, many had to be canceled due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Impact
Despite the anticlimactic end to the 1970s for Aerosmith, the band’s racy lyrics and high-energy live shows influenced rock bands that emulated the group’s style and attitude. In an era of wild concerts, Aerosmith maintained a reputation as rock’s most over-the-top band. Aerosmith’s longevity, which included the release of an album featuring entirely new music in 2012 and a Las Vegas residency in 2019, may be attributed to the members’ genuine musical talent, exciting stage presence, and appeal to mainstream audiences. The group is considered by critics as one of the most influential hard-rock bands to emerge from the 1970s.
Bibliography
Aerosmith, and Stephen Davis, ed. Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Huxley, Martin. The Fall and Rise of Rock’s Greatest Band: Aerosmith. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
Willman, Chris. "Aerosmith Talks about Getting a Star in Hollywood, Residency in Vegas and 50th Anniversary." Variety, 14 Feb. 2019, variety.com/2019/music/news/aerosmith-interview-hollywood-star-walk-of-fame-vegas-residency-1203139680/. Accessed 2 Dec. 2020.