Showing posts with label Aerosmith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aerosmith. Show all posts

Monday, March 19, 2018

AEROSMITH Just Keeps On Rockin'

Aerosmith at their Guitar Hero Press Release
Photo  by ChrisGampat 
For over three decades, Aerosmith has been one of rock's most revered and popular bands, crafting classic songs full of raw guitar runs and intensely energetic vocals. The band first reached fame in the 1970's with a string of hits including "Dream On," "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way." During this period, Aerosmith's music defied easy categorization, falling somewhere between hard rock/blues and early punk, with occasional power ballads here and there. The band enjoyed major popularity throughout the 1970's, but a split from 1979-84, and the serious substance abuse and drug addictions that contributed to their decline, would nearly relegate them to the annals of history. However, in 1984, Aerosmith was born again. They went on to enjoy the resurgence in popularity that has made them one of the top-selling and most popular rock bands in the world today.

Throughout their rough and rocky history, Aerosmith defied failure and even defied mediocrity in a fast-paced rock-and-roll world abundant in tragedy and also-rans. Aerosmith signed with Columbia in 1972 and debuted their first album simply titled Aerosmith, which included a hit single, "Dream On". After constant touring, the band released Get Your Wings in 1974, which did quite well on the charts, but it was Toys in the Attic in 1975 that established Aerosmith as international superstars. Originally pegged as Rolling Stones clones, Toys in the Attic showed that Aerosmith was a unique and original talent in their own right. Part heavy metal, part glam rock, and part punk, Toys in the Attic was an immense success, starting with the single "Sweet Emotion", then a successful re-release of "Dream On", and a new song from the album, "Walk This Way". Both of the band's previous albums re-charted as a result. Aerosmith's next album, Rocks, went platinum swiftly and featured two hits, "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child".

Their next album, Draw the Line, was not nearly as successful, though the title track proved to be a minor hit. While continuing to tour and record into the late 1970's, 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 in 1979 during the recording of their sixth studio album Night in the Ruts and formed The Joe Perry Project. Perry's role in Aerosmith was initially taken by longtime friend and songwriter Richie Supa and then later by guitarist Jimmy Crespo who recorded the remainder of the album.

Aerosmith released its mammoth-selling Greatest Hits album in 1980, and in 1981 the band suffered another loss with the departure of Brad Whitford. Rick Dufay replaced Whitford and the band recorded their seventh album, Rock in a Hard Place. The album was considered a relative failure. The tour that followed this release is notable for Steven Tyler's collapse onstage during a 1983 performance.

On Valentine's Day 1984, Perry and Whitford went to see Aerosmith play. They officially rejoined the ranks of Aerosmith once more in April of that year. Steven Tyler recalls, "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 laughing - it was like the five years had never passed. We knew we'd made the right move."

Aerosmith embarked on a lucrative reunion tour entitled "Back in the Saddle", which produced the live album Classics Live II. Their problems were still not behind them when the group signed with Geffen Records and began working on a comeback.

1985 saw the release of Done with Mirrors, their first studio album since the highly publicized reunion. It fared relatively well commercially, but it did not produce a hit single or generate much hope for their comeback. By the time the record was released, Tyler and Perry had exited drug rehabilitation. The group appeared on Run D.M.C.'s incredibly successful cover of "Walk This Way", blending rock and roll and hip-hop and successfully 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". Their next album, Pump, was received even better; Pump featured four Top Ten singles: "Janie's Got a Gun", "What It Takes", "Love in an Elevator", and "The Other Side". Aerosmith was definitely in the midst of a major resurgence.


Despite significant shifts in mainstream music at the beginning of the 1990's, 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, three songs ("Cryin' ", "Crazy" and "Amazing") proved to be huge successes on radio and MTV.  The music videos featured then fresh up-and-coming actress Alicia Silverstone; her provocative performances earned her the title of "the Aerosmith chick" for half a decade. Steven Tyler's daughter, Liv Tyler, was also featured in the "Crazy" video. Aerosmith signed with Columbia Records again in the early 1990's, but they had to complete two contractual albums for Geffen before recording for the new label.

The next album, Nine Lives, was plagued with personal problems, including the firing of manager Tim Collins. Reviews were generally mixed, and Nine Lives initially fell on charts, although it had a long chart life and sold double platinum in the US alone. It was followed by a series of late '90's releases, mostly earlier material that was live or retrospective. The albums sold relatively well, but also marked the second decline in popularity and critical respect for the band.

Aerosmith's biggest hit of the '90's, and its only #1 single to date was the love theme from the film Armageddon, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". This song was conceived by Joe Perry and Diane Warren, although Warren alone received songwriting credit. Steven Tyler's daughter Liv was featured in the movie. In 1999, they were in the Disney-MGM Studios ride (and later in the Walt Disney Studios Park ride), Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.  Aerosmith provided the soundtrack and theme for the ride, which is based on their recording session and following the concert.

The band started its next decade with the release in 2001 of Just Push Play, which charted well. They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later that year, the band appeared as part of the United We Stand concert in Washington D.C. for 9/11 victims and their families. Stubbornly, the band flew back to Indianapolis for a show the same night, refusing to interrupt their Just Push Play tour schedule.

In 2002, Aerosmith released the 2-disc compilation O Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits and embarked on the Girls of Summer tour with opening acts Kid Rock and Run-DMC. In 2003, Aerosmith co-headlined with Kiss on the Rocksimus Maximus tour. Their long-promised blues album, Honkin' on Bobo, was released in 2004. The Album continues to be a success, helping to inspire the resurgence of blues and roots music across the US and Europe. A live DVD, You Gotta Move, followed it in December 2004. The band also lent its well-known "Dream On" to an advertising campaign for Buick in 2004, targeting their audience, which is now composed largely of people who were teenagers when the song first charted.

In 2005, guitarist Joe Perry released his eponymous solo album. Many claims that it is in many ways truer to the Aerosmith of the '70's than any of their recent output. This is mostly due to its raw energy and lack of song doctoring. In October 2005, Aerosmith released a CD/DVD named Rockin' the Joint. The band hit the road for the Rockin' The Joint tour on October 30th with Lenny Kravitz and is still touring.

They expect to be on the road until some time around Spring 2006. Rumor has it that they will begin work on a new album at that time. It was announced in January that the band will embark on a 5-week tour with Cheap Trick in the spring. Rumors of a tour started a week before the announcement when Cheap Trick frontman Robin Zander joined the band onstage for "Come Together" during a concert in Tampa, Florida. Early reports also indicate that the band plans to resume touring in the fall of 2006, most likely in support of the new album. According to insiders, an upcoming tour may see them alongside Motley Crue.

More and newer Information on Wikipedia.




Monday, November 27, 2017

AEROSMITH - The Story of the Bands Epic Three Decade Rise to Rock God Status

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performing live in ...
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performing live in concert
(Photo credit: 
Wikipedia)
Music critics in the 70s widely described Aerosmith as a vulgar, cheap imitation of the Rolling Stones. Steven Tyler was often nastily referred to as a "Mick Jagger Look-alike". Even with all that criticism and negativity being hurled their way, Aerosmith kept pushing ahead. Despite the critic's ill-informed opinions, Aerosmith turned out to be one of the most popular acts of the decade.

Aerosmith's band roots were planted back in 1970 when Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton met Steven Tyler. Perry and Hamilton were already playing in a band called The Jam Band. Drummer Joey Cramer and guitarist Ray Tabano were the next members added to the band. By 1971 though, changes were already happening in the band and Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford.

By '72 Aerosmith had developed a loyal following of fans in the Boston area. They were gaining attention from recording studios as well and landed a deal with Columbia Records. It took three years for the band to finally break into the mainstream, but the album 'Toys In The Attic' was the break they needed. Aerosmith assured their place in rock and roll history with their next album titled, 'Rocks'.

Fame and fortune, as it often does in rock and roll, brought addiction to the band in the mid 70's. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were dubbed rocks "Toxic Twins" due to their excessive drug and alcohol use. Their drug troubles and the internal conflicts between members nearly destroyed what the band had built in the late 70's. The music they produced during these troubled times wasn't nearly as good either.

From 1977 to 1979, Aerosmith put out the 'Draw The Line' and 'Live! Bootleg' albums. Neither garnered much commercial success for the band though. Whether it was the drugs or the tension between Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, things were not good in the Aerosmith camp. After recording the studio album entitled, 'Night In The Ruts', Perry left the band to start the Joe Perry Project. Perry was replaced and the band set out on a tour to promote the new album.

The early 80's brought challenge after challenge to the Aerosmith band members. The music wasn't the same and the band's commercial success was in a serious rut. Despite several album and tour attempts, Aerosmith was in danger of losing its mega-rock band status. Steven Tyler is reported to have been so high that he passed out on-stage at least twice during this time. The negative publicity and downward spiral seemed to be putting a halt any future Aerosmith had.

By 1984, Joe Perry and Brad Whitmore had rejoined Aerosmith and the band was signed under a new record label. Their reunion tour dubbed "The Back In The Saddle Tour" brought in crowds of fans. Still, Tyler and the others hadn't changed their partying habits much and old problems began to resurface.

Finally, in '86, Steven Tyler was nearly forced into drug rehab. Tim Collins, Aerosmith's manager was certain that if Tyler didn't clean up his act, the band would be in serious trouble. Over the next couple of years, Joe Perry and the rest of the band followed Tyler's lead and entered rehab. Collins supposedly made the band a promise that if they completed rehab, he could make Aerosmith the biggest rock band in the world by 1990.

With rehab behind them, Aerosmith set to work on an album that would once again get them the attention they deserved. Their comeback album, 'Done With Mirrors' did moderately well, but it wasn't a blockbuster. It wasn't until Tyler and Perry teamed up with Run DMC for a remake of "Walk This Way" that Aerosmith got the attention of the younger generation. While that single was peaking on the charts, Aerosmith released their 'Permanent Vacation' album.

'Permanent Vacation' was the monster album Aerosmith had been trying to create. It spawned three top 20 singles and videos. 'Dude Looks Like A Lady' topped the charts at number 14, 'Angel' soared to number 3 and 'Rag Doll' made it up to the number 17 spot. By all accounts, Aerosmith was back in their groove.

Aerosmith proved that they were back in a big way when they followed up 'Permanent Vacation' with 'Pump'. Settling in at the number 5 spot on the charts, 'Pump' went quadruple-platinum. "Janies Got A Gun", one of the singles from the album, earned Aerosmith a Best Rock Performance Grammy in 1990.

With their mega-rockstar status fully restored, Aerosmith spent the rest of the nineties doing what they do best. They produced several hit albums including 'Get a Grip' which hit Number One. In 1994 Aerosmith's greatest-hits package, Big Ones made it up to number six. Three years later, 'Nine Lives' entered the charts at number one.



In 2001, Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of fame. There's no doubt that these hard-core rockstars have earned it in every way possible. The coveted award was received just as Aerosmith's album 'Just Push Play' and the number 7 single, 'Pink' were released.

These days, Aerosmith has been doing what they always do, but with a twist. They're featured in one of the hottest new video games out there. And yes, they've still got their issues with addictions. Recently, Steven Tyler checked himself into rehab once again. Some habits die hard, but a great rock band like Aerosmith will live on forever.