Aerosmith biography

Aerosmith are a prominent American rock band, sometimes regarded as "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band".

Although they are known as "the bad boys from Boston", none of the members are actually from the city. Three of the members, Steven Tallarico (Tyler), Joe Perry, and Tom Hamilton had originally met in Sunapee, New Hampshire in the late '60s, but had not yet formed a band together. Tyler was from Yonkers, New York, Perry from Hopedale, Massachusetts, and Hamilton from New London, New Hampshire. In 1970, the three decided to form a band and decided that Boston, Massachusetts would be the ideal home base. Guitarist Brad Whitford and drummer Joey Kramer rounded out the lineup, and the band released their eponymous debut album in 1973. The band produced a string of ground-breaking hard rock albums and enjoyed major popularity throughout the 1970s, but their serious substance abuse and drug addictions contributed to their decline (The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia reportedly said they were "the druggiest bunch of guys I've ever seen"), and almost relegated them to the annals of history. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford left the group, and the period from 1979-1984 was a dark one for the band, which carried on with replacements. However, in 1984, chiefly due to the tireless efforts of Joe Perry's then manager, Tim Collins, to reform the original band, Aerosmith was born again. Despite the insistence of his own client Perry that it was unthinkable, Collins succeeded in helping the band resolve old differences and ultimately overcome their addictions. Since then, Aerosmith have remained sober for over 20 years, and have achieved a level of sustained success that has well eclipsed their 1970s heyday.

Aerosmith, who have been performing as the original lineup for the past 23 years, have sold 140 million albums worldwide, 66.5 million albums in the United States alone, making them the bestselling American hard rock band of all time. They also hold the record for the most gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored twenty-one Top 40 hits, nine #1 Mainstream Rock hits, and four Grammy awards. They continue to tour and average one million dollars a show. Their musical evolution over the years has made them major innovators in American hard rock, heavy metal, pop, glam metal, blues, and rap, and has inspired legions of rock artists that came after them. Their numerous contributions to other forms of media have further solidified their status as pop culture icons. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Aerosmith #57 on their list of The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.The band has a loyal fanbase numbering over a million worldwide, known as the Blue Army,that has equally spanned the last three generations. Aerosmith's longevity,durability, and adaptability have allowed them to sustain high levels of popularity,acclaim, and success for the better part of the 37 years they have been active.