Artist of the Month - Aerosmith

[Kara_J]

AotM - Aerosmith

 

Aerosmith came into being in 1970, in Boston in Massachusetts. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. A year later Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford and they started to gain a following.

 

They signed a record deal with Columbia Records in 1972 and released their début album in 1973. The band's style was rooted in blues-based hard rock and has since also incorporated elements as diverse as pop, heavy metal, rhythm and blues and glam. They broke into the mainstream in 1975 with their album Toys in the Attic and their follow up in 1976, Rocks, cemented their status as Hard Rock Superstars. They developed a loyal set of fans, known as the "Blue Army" that has stayed with them throughout their career, despite drug addictions and internal conflict that resulted in 2 band members, Perry and Whitford, leaving, although they were shortly replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay. The band didn't fare too well during the early 80's, only releasing one album, Rock in a Hard Place, which went gold but failed to match their previous platinum successes.

 

In 1984 Perry and Whitford returned and the band signed a new deal with Geffen Records, but it wasn't until 1987 and the released Permanent Vacation album that they started to regain the popularity they'd experienced in the 1970's.

Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, the band scored several hits and won numerous awards for music from the multi-platinum albums Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993), and Nine Lives (1997). Their comeback has been described as one of the most remarkable and spectacular in rock 'n' roll history. After 38 years of performing, the band continues to tour and record music.

 

Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine #1 Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2005 they were ranked #57 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

 

 

 

Their 21 Top 40 hits are:

 

    * 1975: "Sweet Emotion", #36 click

    * 1976: "Dream On", #6 click

    * 1976: "Last Child", #21 click

    * 1977: "Walk This Way", #10 click

    * 1977: "Back in the Saddle", #38 click

    * 1978: "Come Together", #23 click

    * 1987: "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", #14 click

    * 1988: "Angel", #3 click

    * 1988: "Rag Doll", #17 click

    * 1989: "Love in an Elevator", #5 click

    * 1990: "Janie's Got a Gun", #4 click

    * 1990: "What it Takes", #9 click

    * 1990: "The Other Side", #22 click

    * 1993: "Livin' on the Edge", #18 click

    * 1993: "Cryin'", #12 click

    * 1994: "Amazing", #24 click

    * 1994: "Crazy", #17 click

    * 1997: "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)", #35 click

    * 1998: "Pink", #27 click

    * 1998: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", #1 click

    * 2001: "Jaded", #7 click

 

 

*Warning* Some of the above videos are the original Aerosmith music videos and as such aren't exactly PG13 :P

 

[Taymist]

Yeayyy I love Aerosmith.  :D They're just the epitomy of my kinda music lol. So many great songs, but I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing is still my all time favourite, in spite of being given so much air time.

[Auld Manriva]

My girlfriend, me and my best friend were going to Yellowstone Park in 74 in a 65 VW bus. We stopped to visit a college friend of hers in Salt Lake City. He had an album I hadn't heard (Get Your Wings)and I put it on. When I heard their version of Train Kept a Rollin'. I was hooked and have been ever since. This version from a TV Show back in the day and is so like hearing them in a bar it's scary.. Train Kept Rollin from Midnight Special... Has the feel and sound of a small room. For an old roady for bar bands it's like going home.

 

 

[Samuraiflip05]

I have literally grown up with Aerosmith.  I have Toys in the Attic on Vinyl.  Definitely one of my favorite bands, and one of the big influences in my musical tastes. 

[Arrandion]

I will just I like them. I'm not their big fan and follower but stil like many of their songs. :-)

[KingKastchei]

Even before I knew who they were, I loved their music.  I would hear a song on the radio, or playing in somebody's car and I'd go "Man, that's some good stuff, I wonder who that is..."  Surprisingly enough I only discovered Aerosmith within the last 8 years or so, and it turned out that some of my favorite songs were from them, and I never even knew it!  That's the mark of a darn good band, and one that'll go down in history as one of the best rock bands EVER.