Aerosmith

Aerosmith stood out among the major hard rock acts of the 1970s through their emphasis on provocative, gritty boogie tracks paired with over-the-top emotional ballads, and their approach went on to define hard rock and metal aesthetics for years afterward. The five musicians from Boston occupied the space between the Rolling Stones’ threatening edge and the New York Dolls’ exaggerated, provocative showmanship, forging a compact, grimy style of riff-driven boogie that remained fluid and rhythmic while delivering diamond-hard impact. At the same time they established an early template for power ballads via “Dream On,” layering piano beneath string sections and distorted guitars. Their facility with both ballads and rock & roll fueled massive mid-1970s popularity marked by successive gold and platinum albums. By the early 1980s their following had shrunk after the musicians succumbed to drug and alcohol problems, creating conditions for one of rock’s most striking recoveries. A sober Aerosmith adjusted smoothly to the MTV and corporate-rock climate while preserving their playful, lowbrow spirit, which yielded a run of major hits through the late 1980s and 1990s and kept their audience intact into the 2020s, when they announced a farewell tour for their 50th anniversary.

The original lineup of Aerosmith came together in 1970 after vocalist Steven Tyler encountered guitarist Joe Perry at an ice cream parlor in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Tyler, who had begun as a drummer, joined Perry to start a power trio with bassist Tom Hamilton. The lineup soon became a quartet with the addition of second guitarist Ray Tabano, who was promptly replaced by Brad Whitford, previously of Earth Inc. Once drummer Joey Kramer arrived, Tyler shifted to full-time lead vocals by year’s end, and the group moved to Boston late in 1970.

After two years of club dates throughout Massachusetts and New York, the band secured a Columbia contract in 1972. Their self-titled debut appeared in fall 1973 and reached number 166, while the first single “Dream On” climbed to number 59. The following year Aerosmith built a following by touring the United States in support of acts ranging from the Kinks and the Mahavishnu Orchestra to Sha Na Na and Mott the Hoople. Their second album, Get Your Wings (1974), produced by Jack Douglas, benefited from relentless road work and logged 86 weeks on the chart.

Toys in the Attic, the 1975 third album, marked both a commercial and artistic breakthrough. By then the sound had sharpened into sleek, forceful hard rock driven by concise, almost brutal blues-rooted riffs. Critics sometimes tagged the group as punk, and the reason was clear: rather than adopting Led Zeppelin’s global-music ambitions or Black Sabbath’s extended dark mysticism, Aerosmith reduced heavy metal to its essentials, delivering spare riffs that rocked and rolled with equal force. Steven Tyler’s words brimmed with double entendres and sharp humor, and the band projected a street-smart charisma that set them apart from the heavier, slower arena-rock acts of the period. Toys in the Attic distilled the newly energized Aerosmith. Lead single “Sweet Emotion” entered the Top 40 in summer 1975, after which the album reached number 11. That momentum prompted a re-release of the power ballad “Dream On,” which hit the Top Ten in early 1976 and pulled both the debut and Get Your Wings back up the charts. “Walk This Way,” the final single from Toys in the Attic, arrived around the release of the 1976 album Rocks. Although Rocks lacked another Top Ten single, it went platinum quickly and peaked at number three.

Aerosmith paused in early 1977 to write material for a fifth album. Draw the Line, issued late that year, reached number 11 yet revealed signs of fatigue. During a 1978 tour the band appeared in the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, performing “Come Together,” which became a number 23 hit. Live! Bootleg surfaced late in 1978 and climbed to number 13. Night in the Ruts followed at the end of 1979; by then Joe Perry had departed to form the Joe Perry Project. The album reached number 14 and earned gold status, though it remained the band’s weakest commercial showing to date. Brad Whitford exited in early 1980 and formed the Whitford-St. Holmes Band with ex-Ted Nugent guitarist Derek St. Holmes.

With new guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, Aerosmith issued a Greatest Hits collection in late 1980 that eventually surpassed six million copies. The revised lineup released Rock in a Hard Place in 1982, which peaked at number 32. Perry and Whitford rejoined in 1984 for the Back in the Saddle reunion tour. Tyler collapsed onstage early in the trek, underscoring that the members had not yet overcome their well-known substance issues. The following year the reunited group delivered Done with Mirrors, their first Geffen album and first recording with the classic lineup since 1979. Though it underperformed Rock in a Hard Place, the album signaled renewed energy.

After Done with Mirrors, Tyler and Perry completed rehab programs. In 1986 they joined Run-D.M.C. for the cover of “Walk This Way” and appeared in its video; the track reached number four and received heavy MTV rotation. That success paved the way for Permanent Vacation (1987), produced by Bruce Fairbairn. Tyler and Perry worked with professional hard-rock songwriters including Holly Knight and Desmond Child, generating the hits “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Rag Doll,” and “Angel.” The album climbed to number 11 and sold more than three million copies.

Pump, released in 1989, continued the streak, peaking at number five, moving over four million units, and yielding Top Ten singles “Love in an Elevator,” “Janie’s Got a Gun,” and “What It Takes.” Get a Grip arrived in 1993, again produced by Fairbairn with substantial input from outside songwriters. The record matched the prior two in commercial impact, spawning the hits “Livin’ on the Edge,” “Cryin’,” and “Amazing.” In 1994 the band compiled Big Ones, a collection of Geffen-era tracks that satisfied their contract and soon went double platinum.

At the peak of their renewed popularity in the early 1990s, Aerosmith signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Columbia even though two albums remained due to Geffen. Work on the first Columbia release did not begin until 1995, nearly five years after the contract was signed. Album-making had always been arduous for Aerosmith, but Nine Lives encountered additional setbacks. The band cycled through producers and songwriters before settling on Kevin Shirley in 1996. More disruptive was the firing of manager Tim Collins, who had helped steer the group out of addiction; after his dismissal Collins suggested Tyler had resumed hard-drug use, a claim the band firmly rejected.

Recording grew increasingly strained, and when Nine Lives appeared in spring 1997 it arrived amid high expectations, yet reviews were mixed; the album debuted at number one but quickly slid down the charts. The live set A Little South of Sanity followed in 1998. Three years later Aerosmith performed on the CBS Super Bowl halftime show alongside Mary J. Blige, Nelly, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears, shortly before releasing Just Push Play in March 2001. The band next issued the blues project Honkin’ on Bobo in 2004, accompanied by the live albums and DVDs You Gotta Move and Rockin’ the Joint. Another hits package, Devil’s Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith, surfaced in 2006.

Aerosmith then entered a turbulent phase. A world tour took place in 2007, and the group attempted to record a new studio album with Brendan O’Brien, but those sessions remained unfinished. Another tour followed in 2009 tied to a special Guitar Hero edition. That outing turned troubled when Tyler sustained a leg injury in June and fell from the stage in August, forcing cancellation of remaining dates. Late in 2009 Joe Perry issued the solo album Have Guitar, Will Travel while Tyler announced plans to focus on his personal brand, including an autobiography, a solo album, and rehab to address painkillers prescribed after his stage injuries.

Before pursuing those solo ventures, Tyler rejoined the band for 2010 concerts, during which it was announced he would serve as a judge on American Idol. Perry expressed public frustration, yet Tyler’s Idol tenure elevated the band’s visibility and promoted his memoir Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? The book outsold his two solo singles—“Love Lives” (2010) and “(It) Feels So Good” (2011)—neither of which indicated his departure. Tyler continued touring with Aerosmith, and in 2011 the group recorded Music from Another Dimension! with Jack Douglas, producer of their classic 1970s albums. Originally slated for summer 2012, the record was delayed until the holiday season, by which point Tyler had left American Idol.

Aerosmith remained on the road through 2013 and 2014, issuing live documents such as Rock for the Rising Sun and Aerosmith Rocks Donington. Solo activities occupied the members: Joe Perry published his memoir Rocks: My Life in and Out of Aerosmith in 2014 before concentrating on Hollywood Vampires; Steven Tyler released the country-leaning solo album We’re All Somebody from Somewhere in 2016; and Joey Kramer devoted time to his Rockin’ & Roastin’ coffee company. In 2015 several members discussed a farewell tour, but those ideas stayed undeveloped while Perry continued with Hollywood Vampires and issued the solo album Sweetzerland Manifesto in 2018. That year Aerosmith began the Las Vegas residency Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild, which ran through 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced postponement. During this interval Joey Kramer injured his shoulder; he performed the final Vegas dates but was absent when the band resumed touring in 2022, having chosen to prioritize family.

After completing the Vegas run and staging a long-delayed 50th-anniversary concert at Fenway Park in 2022, Aerosmith launched Peace Out: The Farewell Tour in September 2023. Following three shows Tyler suffered bleeding vocal cords, prompting postponement of several dates into 2024.