Aerosmith performs on the National Mall in Washington, DC

Aerosmith is a long-running hard rock band, originally forming in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1970s, and enjoying a later resurgence in popularity in the late 1980s and mid-1990s.

The original lineup included Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar) and Tom Hamilton (bass guitar), soon adding Ray Tabano as a second guitarist, then replacing him with Brad Whitford (formerly of Earth Inc.). Tyler, who was originally a drummer and singer, became a full-time vocalist when drummer Joey Kramer joined. After some local success doing live shows, Aerosmith signed with Columbia Records in 1972 and issued a debut album, Aerosmith that included a minor hit single, 'Dream On'. After constant touring, the band released Get Your Wings (1974), which did quite well on the charts.

It was 1975's Toys in the Attic that established Aerosmith as international stars. Part heavy metal, part glam rock and part punk music, Toys in the Attic was an immediate success, starting with the single 'Sweet Emotion', then a successful rerelease of 'Dream On' and a new song from the album, 'Walk This Way'. Both of the band's previous albums recharted. Aerosmith's next album, Rocks, went platinum swiftly and featured two FM hits, 'Back in the Saddle' and 'Last Child'. The next album, Draw the Line, was not as successful as the previous releases. While continuing to tour and release a few more albums in the late 1970s, Aerosmith acted in the movie version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Joe Perry also left the band, followed by Brad Whitford. After replacing the two ex-members with Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, Aerosmith released its mammoth-selling Greatest Hits album in 1980, followed by a relative failure, Rock in a Hard Place. A reunion tour was scheduled in 1984 after the return of Perry and Whitford. Tyler collapsed onstage due to drug problems early in tour.

1985 saw the release of Done With Mirrors, which fared much better than any previous Aerosmith album since the late 1970s. By the time the album was released, Tyler and Perry had exited rehab and the group appeared on Run D.M.C.'s massively successful cover of 'Walk This Way', blending rock and roll and hip hop, and thereby beginning Aerosmith's comeback. The group's next release was Permanent Vacation (1987), which included 'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)', 'Rag Doll' and 'Angel'. The true comeback album, however, was Pump, featuring three Top Ten singles in 'Janie's Got a Gun', 'What It Takes' and 'Love in an Elevator'. Get a Grip (1993) was just as successful, reestablishing Aerosmith as a serious musical force again.

Aerosmith signed to Columbia Records in the early 1990s, but had to complete two contractual albums for Geffen before recording for the new label. The next album was Nine Lives, and was plagued with personnel problems, including the firing of manager Tim Collins. The reviews were mixed, and Nine Lives fell down the charts quickly. This was followed by a series of late 1990s albums that sold respectably, but have shown the beginning of a second decline in popularity and critical respect. However, Aerosmith's biggest hit of the '90s, and its only #1 single to date, was the love theme from the film Armageddon, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (conceived by Joe Perry and Diane Warren, although Warren did get songwriting credit).

The band entered its next decade with 'Just Push Play' in 2001, which charted well.

Their long-promised blues album, Honkin' on Bobo was released March 30, 2004 on Columbia. Honkin' on Bobo continues to be a success for the resurgeance of blues and roots music across the US and Europe and was followed up by the accompanying live DVD in December 2004.

Discography

Albums

• Aerosmith (1973) #21 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
• Get Your Wings (1974) #74 US, US Sales: 3,000,000
• Toys in the Attic (1975) #11 US, US Sales: 8,000,000
• Rocks (1976) #3 US, US Sales: 4,000,000
• Draw the Line (1977) #11 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
• Live Bootleg (1978) #13 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Night in the Ruts (1979) #14 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Greatest Hits (1980) #53 US, US Sales: 10,000,000
• Rock in a Hard Place (1982) #32 US, US Sales: 500,000
• Done with Mirrors (1985) #36 US, US Sales: 500,000
• Classics Vol. 1 (Purple cover) (1986) #84 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Classics Vol. 2 (Red cover) (1987), US Sales: 500,000
• Permanent Vacation (1987) #11 US, #37 UK, US Sales: 5,000,000
• Gems (1988) #133 US, US Sales: 500,000
• Pump (1989) #5 US, #3 UK, US Sales: 7,000,000
• Pandora's Box (1991) #45 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Get a Grip (1993) #1 US, #2 UK, US Sales: 7,000,000
• Box of Fire (1994), US Sales: 500,000
• Big Ones (1994) #6 US, #7 UK, US Sales: 4,000,000
• Nine Lives (1997) #1 US, #4 UK, US Sales: 2,000,000
• A Little South of Sanity (1998) #12 US, #36 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Just Push Play (2001) #2 US, #7 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology (2001) #191 US, #32 UK, US Sales: 500,000
• O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (2002) #4 US, #6 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000
• Honkin' on Bobo (2004) #5 US, #28 UK, US Sales: 700,000

Hit singles

• from 'Toys in the Attic'
  • 1975 'Sweet Emotion' #36 US
• from 'Aerosmith'
  • 1976 'Dream On' #6 US
• from 'Rocks'
  • 1976 'Last Child' #21 US
  • 1977 'Back in the Saddle' #38 US
• from 'Toys in the Attic'
  • 1977 'Walk This Way' #10 US
• from 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' soundtrack
  • 1978 'Come Together' #23 US
• from 'Permanent Vacation'
  • 1987 'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)' #14 US, #20 UK (1990 release)
  • 1988 'Angel' #3 US
  • 1988 'Rag Doll' #17 US
• from 'Pump'
  • 1989 'Love in an Elevator' #5 US, #13 UK
  • 1989 'Water Song/Janie's Got a Gun' #4 US
  • 1990 'What It Takes' #9 US, #10 UK
  • 1990 'The Other Side' #22 US
• from 'Get a Grip'
  • 1993 'Livin' on the Edge' #18 US, #19 UK
  • 1993 'Eat the Rich' #34 UK
  • 1993 'Cryin'' #12 US, #17 UK
  • 1993 'Amazing' #24 US
  • 1994 'Shut Up and Dance' #24 UK
  • 1994 'Crazy' #17 US, #23 UK (double A-side with Blind Man in the UK)
• from 'Nine Lives'
  • 1997 'Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)' #35 US, #22 UK
  • 1997 'Hole in My Soul' #29 UK
  • 1997 'Pink' #27 US (1998 release), #38 UK
• from 'Armageddon' soundtrack
  • 1998 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' #1 US, #4 UK
• from 'Nine Lives'
  • 1999 'Pink' (re-issue) #13 UK
• from 'Just Push Play'
  • 2001 'Jaded' #7 US, #13 UK

12/23/1989 #29 The Billboard Hot 100

'Janie s Got A Gun'

12/24/1994 #49 The Billboard Hot 100

'Blind Man'

Arrowsmith

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) wrote Arrowsmith. Aerosmith claims that their name has no relationship to this book. According to their biography 'Walk this Way', drummer Joey Kramer came up with the name in high school when coming up with cool band names. He liked names that began with 'Aero' and decided that 'Aerosmith' was his favorite combination.

External links

• Official site, Aerosmith.com (http://Aerosmith.com)
• Aerosmith Forever - Posters, Books, Lyrics and more (http://www.aerosmithforever.com)
• Aerosmith Lyrics (http://lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/A/Aerosmith.html)