&nb sp; AeRoSmItH
One of the USA's most popular of all
hard-rock acts, Aerosmith was formed in 1970 when vocalist Steven Tyler
(b. Steven Victor Tallarico, 26 March 1948, Yonkers, New York City, New
York, USA; vocals) met Joe Perry (b. Anthony Joseph Perry, 10 September
1950, Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA; guitar) while the latter was
working in a Sunapee, New Hampshire ice cream parlour, the Anchorage.
Tyler was in the area visiting the family-owned holiday resort,
Trow-Rico. Perry, then playing in the Jam Band, invited Tyler (who had
previously released one single, "When I Needed You", with his own band
Chain Reaction, and another, "You Should Have Been Here Yesterday",
with William Proud And The Strangeurs) to join him in a Cream-styled rock combo. Together
with fellow Jam Band member Tom Hamilton (b. 31 December 1951, Colorado
Springs, Colorado, USA; bass) and new recruits Joey Kramer (b. 21 June
1950, the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA; drums) and Ray Tabano
(guitar), the band's founding line-up was complete. However, Tabano was
quickly replaced by the former member of Justin Tyme, Earth Inc.,
Teapot Dome and Cymbals Of Resistance, Brad Whitford (b. 23 February
1952, Winchester, Massachusetts, USA).
After playing their first gig at the Nipmuc
Regional High School, the band took the name Aerosmith (rejecting other
early monikers including Hookers). Their popularity throughout the
Boston area grew rapidly, and a triumphant gig at Max's Kansas City,
witnessed by Clive Davis, led
to a recording contract with Columbia
Records. In 1973, Aerosmith secured a minor chart placing
with their self-titled debut album. Although its attendant single,
Dream On, initially peaked at number 59, it became a Top 10 hit in
April 1976. Get your wings inaugurated a
fruitful working relationship with producer Jack Douglas. Nationwide
tours established the quintet as a major attraction, a position
consolidated by the highly successful Toys in the attic, which has now sold in excess of six million copies
worldwide. A fourth album, Rocks, achieved
platinum status within months of its release. Aerosmith maintained
their pre-eminent position with Draw the
line and the powerful Live! Bootleg, but despite popular
acclaim, they failed to gain the approbation of many critics who dubbed
the band "derivative", particularly of Led Zeppelin. Tyler's physical
resemblance to Mick
Jagger, and his foil-like relationship with guitarist
Perry, also inspired comparisons with the Rolling Stones, with whom they
shared several musical reference points.
In 1978, the band undertook a US tour of smaller,
more intimate venues in an attempt to decelerate their rigorous
schedule. They appeared in the ill-fated Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie (as the Future
Villain band), and although their rousing version of Come
together reached the US Top 30, tension between Tyler and Perry proved
irreconcilable. The guitarist left the band following the release of
the disappointing Night in the Ruts and
subsequently founded the Joe Perry
Project. Jimmy Crespo joined Aerosmith in 1980, but the
following year Brad Whitford left to pursue a new career with former
Ted Nugent band member,
guitarist Derek St. Holmes. Newcomer Rick
Dufay debuted on Rock in a hard Place, but this lacklustre set failed to capture the fire
of the band's classic recordings.
Contact between the band and Perry and
Whitford was re-established during a 1984 tour. Antagonisms were set
aside, and the following year, the quintet's most enduring line-up was
performing together again. The first fruits of a lucrative new contract
with Geffen Records, the
Ted Templeman-produced
Done With Mirrors was a
tentative first step, after which Tyler and Perry underwent a
successful rehabilitation programme to rid themselves of drug and
alcohol dependency, synonymous with the band's hedonistic lifestyle. In
1986, they accompanied rappers Run-DMC on Walk this way, an
Aerosmith song from Toys In The
Attic and a former US Top 10 entry in its own right. The
collaboration was an international hit, rekindling interest in
Aerosmith's career, with the following year's Dude, looks like a
lady reaching number 14 in the US charts. Recorded with producer Bruce
Fairbairn, Permanent
Vacation became one of their bestselling albums, and the
first to make an impression in the UK, while the highly
acclaimed Pump and Get a Grip (also
produced by Fairbairn) emphasized their revitalization.
Fêted by a new generation of acts, the
quintet are now seen as elder statesmen, but recent recordings show
them leading by example. Big
Ones was a well-chosen compilation, satisfying long-term
fans, but more importantly, it introduced a younger audience to a
dinosaur band who still sound fresh and exciting, refuse to compromise
and certainly have not "gone soft". Those wishing to immerse themselves
should invest in the impressive 13-CD box set Box Of Fire, which comes complete
with rare bonus tracks and a free, ready-to-strike match!
The band returned to Columbia Records in
the mid-90s and spent an age recording Nine Lives. In Tyler's words, "this
album has taken me as far as I've ever wanted to go and gotten me back
again". It was worth the wait, bearing all the usual trademarks, and
yet sounding strangely fresh. The hit single Falling In Love (Is Hard
On The Knees) preceded its release in February 1997. Although Tyler has
reached his half-century, he still seems ageless on stage - even Jagger
and Bruce Springsteen
seem jaded compared to this rock 'n' roll ballet-dancer, apparently
still in his prime. In September 1998, the band achieved their first
ever US number 1 with the Diane
Warren-penned ballad I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, taken
from the soundtrack of the movie Armageddon. The song stayed at the top for
four weeks, and provided the band with their first UK Top 10 single,
eventually climbing to number 4 in October. The new century saw the
band as sharp as ever, with Just Push
Play proving to be another strong album in a career that
now spans four decades.
Aerosmith have also appeared in one of the best films of all time, Waynes World 2, if u haven't seen it, go and watch it!
