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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.
* * * *
History
The 70's
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, though the title track proved to be a minor hit (and is still
a live staple.) While continuing to tour and record into the late 1970s,
Aerosmith acted in the movie version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
covering the Beatles hit "Come Together." As their popularity waned and drug
abuse began affecting their output, Joe Perry left the band during the recording
of their sixth studio album Night in the Ruts in 1979 and formed The Joe Perry
Project. Perry was replaced first by longtime band friend and songwriter Richie
Supa and then by guitarist Jimmy Crespo (formerly of the band 'Flame') who
recorded the remainder of the album.
The 80's
Aerosmith released its
mammoth-selling Greatest Hits album in 1980 and in 1981 the band suffered
another loss with the departure of Brad Whitford. Whitford was replaced by Rick
Dufay and the band recorded their seventh album Rock in a Hard Place. The album
was considered a relative failure.
On Valentine's Day 1984, Perry and
Whitford came to see Aerosmith play and were officially re-inducted into the
ranks of Aerosmith once more in April of that year.
"You should have felt the buzz the
moment all five of us got together in the same room for the first time again. We
all started laughin' - it was like the five years had never passed. We knew we'd
made the right move." - Steven Tyler
Aerosmith embarked on a lucrative
reunion tour entitled "Back in the Saddle", which produced the live album
'Classics Live II'. Their problems still not behind them (Tyler collapsed
onstage due to drug problems early in the tour), the group was signed to Geffen
Records and began working on a comeback.
1985 saw the release of Done With
Mirrors - their first studio album since the much-publicized reunion - which
fared relatively well commercially but did not produce a hit single or generate
much buzz. By the time the record was released, Tyler and Perry had exited
rehab. The group appeared on Run D.M.C.'s massively successful cover of "Walk
This Way", blending rock and roll and hip hop and 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". The true comeback
album, however, was Pump, featuring four Top Ten singles in "Janie's Got a Gun",
"What It Takes", "Love in an Elevator", and "The Other Side", reestablishing
Aerosmith as a serious musical force again.
The 90's
Despite significant shifts in
mainstream music at the beginning of the 90s, 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, all three ("Cryin'",
"Crazy" and "Amazing") proved to be huge successes on radio and MTV. The music
videos featured then up-and-coming actress Alicia Silverstone; her provocative
performances earned her the title of "the Aerosmith chick" for the first half of
the decade. Steven Tyler's daughter Liv Tyler also featured in the "Crazy"
video.
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, Nine Lives, was
plagued with personnel problems, including the firing of manager Tim Collins.
Reviews were mixed, and Nine Lives fell down the charts quickly, though it had a
long shelf life and sold double platinum in the US alone. It was followed by a
series of late '90s releases (live and retrospective) that sold respectably but
began a second decline in popularity and critical respect. Yet 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, though Warren received songwriting credit).
In 1999 they featured in the new
Disney MGM Studios (an later in a Disney Studios Paris version) ride, the "Rock
n Roller Coaster", providing the soundtrack and theme of the ride; it's based on
their recording session and following concert.
The 00'S
The band entered its next decade
with 'Just Push Play' in 2001, which charted well and were inducted to the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year
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 by a live DVD, 'You Gotta Move' in December
2004.
In 2005, guitarist Joe Perry
released his eponymous solo album. Many claim that it is in many ways truer to
the Aerosmith of the 70s than any of their recent output, mostly because no song
doctors were used. Personnel around the band confirmed in spring of 2005 that
the band was sifting through material for a live CD-DVD release and are planning
a tour in the fall of 2005, followed by a studio album release of new material.
* * * *
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosmith
Date Article Copied:
July 11, 2005
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