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01-24 Aerosmith Blocks Joey Kramer
06-26 Aerosmith announce last tour
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Aerosmith were one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the
nexttwo decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the
RollingStones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and
swingingand 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
anddistorted guitars. Aerosmit ...read more
Aerosmith were one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the
nexttwo decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the
RollingStones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and
swingingand 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
anddistorted guitars. Aerosmith's ability to pull off both ballads and rock & roll made them extremely popular during the mid-'70s, when they
hada 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 equaled, 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,
NewHampshire, ice cream parlor. Tyler, who originally was a drummer, and Perry decided to form a power trio with bassist Tom Hamilton.
Thegroup soon expanded to a quartet, adding a second guitarist called Ray Tabano; he was quickly replaced by Brad Whitford, a former
memberof Earth Inc. With the addition of drummer Joey Kramer, Tyler became the full-time lead singer by the end of year. Aerosmith
relocated toBoston 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 in1972.
Aerosmith's self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1973, climbing to number 166. "Dream On" was released as the firstsingle and
it was a minor hit, reaching number 59. For the next year, the band built a fan base by touring America, supporting groups asdiverse as the
Kinks, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Sha Na Na, and Mott the Hoople. The performance of Get Your Wings (1974), the group's secondalbum 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
wasrecorded, the band's sound had developed into a sleek, hard-driving hard rock powered by simple, almost brutal, blues-based riffs.
Manycritics 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
LedZeppelin or the prolonged gloomy mysticism of Black Sabbath, Aerosmith stripped heavy metal to its basic core, spitting out spare riffs
thatnot only rocked, but rolled. Steven Tyler's lyrics were filled with double entendres and clever jokes, and the entire band had a
streetwisecharisma that separated it from the heavy, lumbering arena rockers of the era. Toys in the Attic captured the essence of the
newlyinvigorated Aerosmith. "Sweet Emotion," the first single from Toys in the Attic, broke into the Top 40 in the summer of 1975, with the
albumreaching number 11 shortly afterward. Its success prompted the re-release of the power ballad "Dream On," which shot into the Top
Ten inearly 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
singlefrom 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
themovie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, performing "Come Together," which eventually became a number 23 hit. Live!
Bootlegappeared late in 1978 and became another success, reaching number 13. Aerosmith recorded Night in the Ruts in 1979, releasing the
recordat 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
performedrespectably, climbing to number 14 and going gold, yet it was the least successful Aerosmith record to date. Brad Whitford left the
group inearly 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;
therecord would eventually sell over six million copies. The new lineup of Aerosmith released Rock in a Hard Place in 1982. Peaking at
number32, 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
reuniontour dubbed Back in the Saddle. Early in the tour, Tyler collapsed on-stage, offering proof that the bandmembers hadn't conquered
theirnotorious drug and alcohol addictions. The following year, Aerosmith released Done with Mirrors, the original lineup's first record since
1979and 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
coverof "Walk This Way," along with appearing in the video. "Walk This Way" became a hit, reaching number four and receiving saturation
airplayon 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
(LooksLike 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 TopTen
singles "Love in an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," and "What It Takes." Aerosmith released Get a Grip in 1993. Like Permanent Vacationand
Pump, Get a Grip was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and featured significant contributions by professional songwriters. The album was
assuccessful as the band's previous two records, featuring the hit singles "Livin' on the Edge," "Cryin'," and "Amazing." In 1994,
Aerosmithreleased Big Ones, a compilation of hits from their Geffen years that fulfilled their contract with the label; it went double platinum
shortlyafter its release.
While Aerosmith was at the height of their revitalized popularity in the early '90s, the group signed a lucrative multi-million dollar
contractwith Columbia Records, even though they still owed Geffen two albums. It wasn't until 1995 that the band was able to begin working
on theirfirst record under the new contract -- nearly five years after the contract was signed. The making of Aerosmith albums usually had
beendifficult affairs, but the recording of Nine Lives was plagued with bad luck. The band went through a number of producers and
songwritersbefore settling on Kevin Shirley in 1996. More damaging, however, was the dismissal of the band's manager, Tim Collins, who'd
beenresponsible for bringing the band back from the brink of addiction. Upon his firing, Collins insinuated that Steven Tyler was using hard
drugsagain, 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
withgreat anticipation, yet the initial reviews were mixed and even though album debuted at number one, it quickly fell down the charts. The
liveA Little South of Sanity followed in 1998. Three years later, Aerosmith strutted their stuff on the Super Bowl halftime special on CBS with
thelikes of Mary J. Blige, Nelly, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears, just prior to issuing their heart-stomping Just Push Play in March 2001. Next up
forthe 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.
From there, Aerosmith entered a period of volatility. A world tour followed in 2007 and the group attempted to record a new studio albumwith
producer Brendan O'Brien but the sessions were never finalized. Instead, another tour followed in 2009, this time a supporting jaunt
forAerosmith's own special edition of the Guitar Hero video game. This tour proved to be ill-fated, with Steven Tyler suffering a leg injury
inJune, then falling off the stage in August, leading to the cancellation of the subsequent dates. As 2009 came to a close, Joe Perry released
asolo album called Have Guitar, Will Travel as Tyler announced that he was planning on "working on the brand of myself," which
includedworking on an autobiography and a solo album, along with a stint in rehab to wean himself off painkillers prescribed due to his stage
injuries.
Before Tyler embarked on solo projects, he returned to the band for a series of concerts in 2010, in the midst of which it was announced
thatthe singer would be a new judge on the televised singing competition American Idol. Perry voiced his dissatisfaction in the press but
Tyler'stime on American Idol helped raise the band's profile, while providing a platform for Tyler's memoir, Does the Noise in My Head
Bother You?The book performed better than his two solo singles -- 2010's "Love Lives" and 2011's "(It) Feels So Good" -- singles that did not
wind upsignaling his departure from Aerosmith. Tyler continued to tour with the band and in 2011 they recorded a new album with producer
JackDouglas, the man who helmed their classic '70s LPs. Originally scheduled for release in summer of 2012, Music from Another
Dimension!wound up being pushed back to that year's holiday season, by which time Tyler had departed his judgeship on American Idol. « hide |
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