Aerosmith

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 pretensions 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 Fairbairn-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 Fairbairn 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 Super Bowl 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, Rovi

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry says the band will never top performing with Jimmy Page.

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Aerosmith's Joe Perry says the band can never top performing with Jimmy Page.

The guitarist compared playing with the Led Zeppelin founder in August 1990 to meeting the Pope and admits it did more than fulfil his childhood dreams.

He said: "I would never have thought it would have been possible growing up in Boston in the late 60s, when the idea of being in London was like for a Catholic going to the Vatican, the holy grail. The fact that 20 years down the line I'd not only know Jimmy Page but be able to play with him, that was beyond anything I thought could ever happen."

The 59-year-old 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' hitmaker said that his band always identified with the legendary rockers.

He said: "People call Aerosmith the American Stones, but we were always the American Zeppelin."

And he admitted that hanging out with Joe was almost as great as playing a gig with him.

He explained: "He travelled with us on the bus and we hung out with him for the whole weekend. It blows my mind to think that Jimmy would think that much of the band that he'd want to spend that much time hanging out with us and then play with us."

Aerosmith have overcome their problems and are playing as well as they did in 1971.

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Aerosmith have stepped back in time almost 40 years.

Bass player Joe Perry - who was ranked 48th in 'Rolling Stone's' list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time - revealed despite the band going through plenty of ups and downs in the past, they are now playing as well as in the height of their success in the early 70s.

He explained: "Steve Tyler is singing better than I've heard in a long time and the shows have just gotten better and better. It feels like 1971 again. We've had a lot of ups and downs in the past, and we're up-ing right now."

However, the 59-year-old rocker admitted over the past four years, relations between the group haven't been the best.

He said: "Our whole rhythm just got thrown off over the last three or four years. We ended up touring without new albums a couple of times and it just didn't work out. It felt off-kilter and the tension was pretty high."

Earlier in the year, frontman Steve Tyler revealed he wanted to take a long break from Aerosmith to work on "Brand Tyler", while his bandmates threatened to bring a new singer on board.

Joe explained after Tyler - who has battled against drugs for many years - came out of rehab a few months ago, the group's members managed to sort their tempestuous relationships.

He told Rolling Stone: "Basically I just said one or two things to Steven and he said one or two things to me. Being as close as we are, that's all we needed to do. Then we just looked at each other and knew it was time to get the band back together."

Aerosmith have announced dates for a new North American tour this summer, beginning in Oakland, California on July 23.

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Legendary rockers Aerosmith have announced dates for a North American summer tour.

The 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' hitmakers - who had to call off their tour last summer when frontman Steve Tyler landed in hospital after falling off stage - are set to begin their 'Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock' showcase in Oakland, California on July 23, following dates in Europe.

Tyler said: "I thought it was time to get my mojo back, by rocking South America and Europe with a little home run at Boston's Fenway Park thrown in and then off to the rest of America to do what we do best! 

"We're gonna rock you into the middle of next week."

Aerosmith's summer 2009 tour resulted in an array of injuries for the rockers - Steve Tyler broke his shoulder and severely pulled a leg muscle when he fell off the stage in South Dakota, while Tom Hamilton underwent surgery and Brad Whitford missed various dates due to a head injury.

In December 2009, it was reported Tyler - who is the father of Hollywood actress Liv Tyler - had quit the band altogether.

Guitarist Joe Perry explained: "Steven quit as far as I can tell. He has had no contact with me or the other band members. He's notorious for that, that's one thing I've learned to live with. I try to overlook it

"Obviously he hasn't been giving 100 per cent to this thing for a long time. He's obviously had this planned for a long time. To disregard his brothers to the point where we have to find out about it on the internet. I still care for him as a person, or at least the person I used to know. But things change."

The summer tour will take in Fort Lauderdale, Boston, Toronto, New York and Detroit - among other cities - before finishing in Uncasville on September 4.