Aerosmith is an American rock band founded in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has since incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal and rhythm and blues and inspired many later rock artists. They are sometimes referred to as "the bad boys from Boston" and "America's greatest rock and roll band. As a partnership, the primary songwriting team of Tyler and Perry is often collectively referred to as the "Toxic Twins".
Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time and has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, with over 70 million in the United States alone. With 25 gold albums, 18 platinum albums and 12 multi-platinum albums, they hold the record for the most total certifications by an American band and are on par with an American band on most multi-platinum albums. The band has scored twenty-one top 40 hits in the Billboard Hot 100, nine number one mainstream rock hits, four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and were ranked 57th and 30th in both the Rolling Stone and VH1 lists of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2013, the band's two main songwriters, Tyler and Perry, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2020 the band received the MusiCares Person of the Year award.
German site with information about the band Aerosmith - very useful.
Formation
In 1964, Steven Tyler formed his own band, the Strangeurs-later Chain Reaction, in Yonkers, New York. Meanwhile, Perry and Hamilton formed the Jam Band (commonly known as "Joe Perry's Jam Band") based on free form and blues. Hamilton and Perry moved to Boston, Massachusetts in September 1969, where they met Joey Kramer, a drummer from Yonkers, New York. Kramer knew Tyler and had always hoped to play in a band with him. Kramer, a student at Berklee College of Music, decided to leave school and joined the jam band.
In 1970 Chain Reaction and Jam Band played at one and the same concert. Tyler immediately liked the sound of Jam Band and wanted to combine the two bands. In October 1970, the bands met again and considered the proposal. Tyler, who had been the drummer and background vocalist for Chain Reaction, stubbornly refused to play drums in this new band and insisted that he would only join if he could be front man and lead singer. The others agreed, and a new band was formed. The band moved into a shared house on 1325 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, where they wrote and rehearsed music together and relaxed between gigs.
According to reports the band members spent the afternoons getting stoned and watching Three Stooges reruns. One day they had a meeting after the Stooges to try to find a name. Kramer said that at school he would write the word "Aerosmith" on his notebooks. The name had come to his mind after listening to Harry Nilsson's album Aerial Ballet, which featured the jacket of a circus artist jumping out of a biplane. Kramer's bandmates were initially unimpressed; they all thought he was referring to the novel by Sinclair Lewis, which they had to read in high school English classes. "No, not Arrowsmith," Kramer explained. "A-E-R-O...Aerosmith." The band chose that name after also considering "The Hookers" and "Spike Jones".
Soon the band hired Ray Tabano, a childhood friend of Tyler's, as rhythm guitarist and started playing local shows. Aerosmith played their first gig in Mendon, Massachusetts, at Nipmuc Regional High School (now Miscoe Hill Middle School) on November 6, 1970. In 1971 Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, who also attended Berklee School of Music and was a former member of the band Earth Inc. Whitford from Reading, Massachusetts, had already performed at AW Coolidge Middle School in Reading. Except for the period from July 1979 to April 1984, the line-up with Tyler, Perry, Hamilton, Kramer and Whitford has remained the same.
Style
Aerosmith play a special mixture of Rhythm and Blues and Hardrock with a certain swing. The voice of Steven Tyler and the guitar playing of Joe Perry, which impresses more by melody and creativity than by speed, are considered to be distinctive signs of Aerosmith. The blues roots of the band are reflected in Steven Tyler's harmonica solos (especially in the songs Milk Cow Blues and Big Ten Inch Record, but also in their album Honkin' on Bobo). While in the past hard rock was at the top of the repertoire, today the focus is more on the ballads, with which the band has achieved a number of chart successes since the 1990s.
The Rolling Stone listed Aerosmith as number 59 of the 100 greatest musicians of all times. See alos tablatures.
Personnel
Current members
- Steven Tyler – lead vocals, harmonica, percussion (1970–present)
- Tom Hamilton – bass (1970–present)
- Joe Perry – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1970–1979, 1984–present)
- Brad Whitford – lead and rhythm guitar (1971–1981, 1984–present)
- Joey Kramer – drums, percussion (1970–present)
Touring members
- Buck Johnson – keyboards, piano, backing vocals, guitar (2014–present)
Former members
- Ray Tabano – rhythm and lead guitar (1970–1971)
- Jimmy Crespo – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1979–1984)
- Rick Dufay – rhythm and lead guitar (1981–1984)
Discography
Studio albums
- Aerosmith (1973)
- Get Your Wings (1974)
- Toys in the Attic (1975)
- Rocks (1976)
- Draw the Line (1977)
- Night in the Ruts (1979)
- Rock in a Hard Place (1982)
- Done with Mirrors (1985)
- Permanent Vacation (1987)
- Pump (1989)
- Get a Grip (1993)
- Nine Lives (1997)
- Just Push Play (2001)
- Honkin' on Bobo (2004)
- Music from Another Dimension! (2012)
Filmography
In addition to recording and performing music, Aerosmith has also been involved with movies, television, video games and music videos. In 1978 the band played the lead role as the "Future Villain Band" in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Later, when the band revived in the late 1980s and 1990s, Aerosmith had more performances, including the sketch "Wayne's World" in Saturday Night Live 1990, the episode "Flaming Moe's" by The Simpsons in 1991, and the movie Wayne's World 2 in 1993. The band also appeared in the 2005 John Travolta/Uma Thurman comedy Be Cool, in which Steven helps Tyler and Thurman's characters put pop music star Linda Moon (Christina Milian) in the limelight.
The band has been the subject of several video games, including Revolution X in 1994, Quest for Fame in 1995 and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith in June 2008, and has made over 30 major music videos and released seven home videos or DVDs.
Tours
- 1970–1972: Club Days
- 1973: Aerosmith Tour
- 1974: Get Your Wings Tour
- 1975: Toys in the Attic Tour
- 1976–1977: Rocks Tour
- 1977–1978: Aerosmith Express Tour (Draw the Line Album)
- 1978: Live! Bootleg Tour
- 1979–1980: Night in the Ruts Tour
- 1982–1983: Rock in a Hard Place Tour
- 1984: Back in the Saddle Tour
- 1985–1986: Done with Mirrors Tour
- 1987–1988: Permanent Vacation Tour
- 1989–1990: Pump Tour
- 1993–1994: Get a Grip Tour
- 1997–1999: Nine Lives Tour
- 1999–2000: Roar of the Dragon Tour
- 2001–2002: Just Push Play Tour
- 2002: Girls of Summer Tour
- 2003: Rocksimus Maximus Tour
- 2004: Honkin' on Bobo Tour
- 2005–2006: Rockin' the Joint Tour
- 2006: Route of All Evil Tour
- 2007: World Tour 2007
- 2009: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Tour
- 2010: Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour
- 2011: Back on the Road Tour
- 2012–2014: Global Warming Tour
- 2014: Let Rock Rule Tour
- 2015: Blue Army Tour
- 2016: Rock 'N' Roll Rumble Tour
- 2017–2018: Aero-Vederci Baby! Tour
- 2019–2020: Aerosmith: Deuces are Wild
History
Perry and Hamilton, who originally played together in a band called "Jam Band", met with Tyler, Kramer and guitarist Ray Tabano and formed Aerosmith. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Whitford, and the band began building a fan base in Boston. They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972 and released a series of gold and platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 debut album of the same name, followed by Get Your Wings in 1974. In 1975, the band made their breakthrough into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their successor Rocks in 1976 cemented their status as hard rock superstars. Draw the Line and Night in the Ruts followed in 1977 and 1979 respectively, and their first five albums have since achieved multi-platinum status. In the 1970s, the band undertook extensive touring and charted a dozen Billboard Hot 100 singles, including their first top 40 hit, "Sweet Emotion" and the top 10 hits "Dream On" and "Walk This Way". By the end of the decade, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a fan base often referred to as the "Blue Army".
Drug addiction and internal conflicts took their toll on the band, leading to the departure of Perry and Whitford in 1979 and 1981; they were replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay. Between 1980 and 1984, the band did not fare well and released the album Rock in a Hard Place, which was awarded gold but could not continue their earlier successes.
Perry and Whitford returned to Aerosmith in 1984, and the band signed a new contract with Geffen Records. After a comeback tour, the band recorded "Done with Mirrors" (1985), which was praised by critics but did not meet commercial expectations. It was only after working with rap group Run-D.M.C. in 1986 and the 1987 multi-platinum release Permanent Vacation that the band regained the popularity it had enjoyed in the 1970s.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, the band achieved several top 40 hits and won numerous awards for music from the multi-platinum albums Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993) and Nine Lives (1997), while making their most extensive concert tours to date. Their greatest hits singles (all of which reached the Top 20) during this period included "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Angel", "Rag Doll", "Love in an Elevator", "Janie's Got a Gun", "What it Takes", "Livin' on the Edge", "Cryin'" and "Crazy". The band also became a phenomenon of pop culture with popular music videos and notable appearances on television, film and video games. In 1998, they scored their first number one hit with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from the soundtrack to Armageddon, and the following year opened their own roller coaster attraction at Walt Disney World. Her comeback was described as one of the most remarkable and spectacular in rock history. Further albums Just Push Play (with the top 10 hit "Jaded"), Honkin' on Bobo (a collection of blues covers) and Music from Another Dimension! followed in 2001, 2004 and 2012, and in 2008 they released Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, considered the best-selling tape-centric video game. After 50 years of performing, the band continues to tour and record music, but they're embarking on a farewell tour that will probably last several years. The band has an ongoing concert residency in Las Vegas that will last until mid 2020.
Remark: this site was originally operated by Cristoffer Eriksson (from Sweden) who unfortunately abandoned it in 2019.
Some of the stuff on this site was taken from
Nicole's Aerosmith Tribute Page. That site is no longer online. See also Aerosmith (German Version)