For over three decades, Aerosmith have been
one of rock's most revered and popular bands,
crafting classic songs full of raw guitar runs
and intensely energetic vocals. The band first
reached fame in the 1970’s with a string of hits
including "Dream On," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk
This Way." During this period, Aerosmith's
music defied easy categorization, falling some-
where between hard rock/blues and early punk,
with occasional power ballads here and there.
The band enjoyed major popularity throughout
the 1970's, but a split from 1979-84, and the
serious substance abuse and drug addictions
that contributed to their decline, would nearly
relegate them to the annals of history. However,
in 1984, Aerosmith was born again. They went
on to enjoy resurgence in popularity that has
made them one of the top-selling and most
popular rock bands in the world today.
Throughout their rough and rocky history,
Aerosmith defied failure and even defied
mediocrity in a fast-paced rock-and-roll
world abundant in tragedy and also-rans.
Aerosmith signed with Columbia in 1972 and
debuted their first album simply titled
Aerosmith, which included a hit single,
"Dream On". After constant touring, the band
released Get Your Wings in 1974, which did
quite well on the charts, but it was Toys in
the Attic in 1975 that established Aerosmith
as international superstars. Originally pegged
as Rolling Stones clones, Toys in the
Attic showed that Aerosmith was a unique
and original talent in their own right. Part
heavy metal, part glam rock, and part punk,
Toys in the Attic was an immense
success, starting with the single "Sweet Emotion",
then a successful re-release of "Dream
On", and a new song from
the album, "Walk This Way". Both of the
band's previous albums re-charted as a
result. Aerosmith's next album,Rocks,
went platinum swiftly and featured two
hits, "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child".
Their next album, Draw the Line, was not
nearlyas successful, though the title track
proved to be a minor hit. While continuing
to tour and record into the late 1970’s,
Aerosmith acted in the movie version of
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
covering the Beatles hit "Come Together.
" As their popularity wanedand drug abuse
began affecting their output, Joe Perry
left the band in 1979 during the recording
of their sixth studio album Night in the
Ruts and formed The Joe Perry Project.
Perry’s role in Aerosmith was initially taken
by long-time friend and songwriter Richie
Supa and then laterby guitarist Jimmy
Crespo who recorded the remainder of
the album.
Aerosmith released its mammoth-selling
Greatest Hits album in 1980, and in
1981 the band suffered another loss
with the departureof Brad Whitford.
Rick Dufay replaced Whitford and the
band recorded their seventh album,
Rockin a Hard Place. The album was
considered a relative failure. The tour
that followed this release is notable for
Steven Tyler’s collapse onstage during
a 1983 performance.
On Valentine's Day 1984, Perry and Whit-
ford went to see Aerosmith play. They
officially rejoined the ranks of Aerosmith
once more in April of that year. Steven
Tyler recalls, "You should have felt the
buzz the moment all five of us got
together in thesame room for the first time
again. We all started laughing - it was
like the five years had never passed. We
knew we'd made the right move."
Aerosmith embarked on a lucrative
reunion tour entitled "Back in the Saddle",
which produced thelive album Classics
Live II. Their problems were still not behind
them when the group signed with Geffen
Records and began working on a comeback.
1985 saw the release of Done with Mirrors,
their first studio album since the highly
publicized reunion. It fared relatively
well commercially, but it did not produce
a hit single or generate much hope for their
comeback. By the time the record was
released, Tyler and Perry had exited drug
rehabilitation. The group appeared on
RunD.M.C.'s incredibly successful cover
of "Walk This Way", blending rock and roll
and hip-hop and successfully
beginning Aerosmith's comeback. The
group's next release was Permanent
Vacation (1987), which included the hits
"Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Rag Doll", and
"Angel". Their next album, Pump, was
received even better; Pump featured four
Top Ten singles: "Janie's Got a Gun", "What
It Takes", "Love in an Elevator", and "The
Other Side". Aerosmith was definitely in the
midst of a major resurgence.
 
Despite significant shifts in mainstream
music at the beginning of the 1990’s, the
band's 1993 follow-up to Pump, Get a Grip,
was just as successful commercially.
Though many critics were unimpressed by
the focus on power-ballads in promoting
the album, three songs ("Cryin' ", "Crazy"
and "Amazing") proved to be huge
successes on radio and MTV. The music
videos featured then fresh up-and-coming
actress Alicia Silverstone; her
provocative performances earned her
the title of "the Aerosmith chick" for half
a decade. Steven Tyler's daughter, Liv
Tyler, was also featured in the "Crazy"
video. Aerosmith signed with Columbia
Records again in the early 1990’s, but
they had to complete two contractual
albums for Geffen before recording for the
new label.
The next album, Nine Lives, was plagued
with personnel problems, including the firing
of manager Tim Collins. Reviews were
generally mixed, and Nine Lives initially
fell on charts, although it had a long chart
life and sold double platinum in the US alone.
It was followed by a series of late '90’s
releases, mostly earlier material that was
live or retrospective. The albums sold
relatively well, but also marked a second
decline in popularity and critical respect
for the band.
Aerosmith's biggest hit of the '90’s, and its
only #1 single to date, was the love
theme from the film Armageddon, "I
Don't Want to Miss a Thing". This
song was conceived by Joe Perry and
Diane Warren, although Warren alone
received songwriting credit. Steven
Tyler's daughter Liv was featured in
the movie. In 1999, they were in the
Disney-MGM Studios ride (and laterin
the Walt Disney Studios Park ride),
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Aerosmith
provided the sound track and theme for
the ride, which is based on their recording
session and following concert.
The band started its next decade with
the release in 2001 of Just Push Play,
which charted well. They were also
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame. Later that year, the band
appeared as part of the United We
Stand concert in Washington D.C. for
9/11 victims and their families. Stubbornly,
the band flew back to Indianapolis for a
show the same night, refusing to interrupt
their Just Push Play tour schedule.
In 2002, Aerosmith released the
2-disc compilation O Yeah! Ultimate
Aerosmith Hits and embarked on the
Girls of Summer tour with opening acts
Kid Rock and Run-DMC.In 2003,
Aerosmith co-headlined with Kiss on
the Rocksimus Maximus tour. Their
long-promised blues album, Honkin'
on Bobo, was released in 2004. The Album
continues to be a success, helping to inspire
the resurgence of blues and roots music
across the US and Europe. A live DVD,
You Gotta Move, followed it in December
2004. The band also lent its well-known
"Dream On" to an advertisingcampaign for
Buick in 2004, targeting their audience,
which is now composed largely of people
who were teenagers when the song first
charted.
In 2005, guitarist Joe Perry released his
eponymous solo album. Many claim that it
is inmany ways truer to the Aerosmith of
the '70’s than any of their recent output.
This is mostly due to its raw energy and
lack of song doctoring. In October
2005, Aerosmith released a CD/DVD named
Rockin' the Joint. The band hit the road
for the Rockin' The Joint tour on October
30th with Lenny Kravitz.
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