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Aerosmith
Aerosmith is a prominent American hard rock band, regarded by some as "America's greatest rock and roll band".
Although they are known as "the bad boys from Boston", none of the band's members are actually from that city. Three of them, Steven 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 base.
Guitarist Brad Whitford and drummer Joey Kramer rounded out the lineup, and the band released their eponymous debut album in 1973. The band created 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. 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. 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 same lineup for 32 of the past 37 years, have sold 150 million albums worldwide, 65.5 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 28 Top 40 hits on multiple charts around the world, nine #1 Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy awards, and ten Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. 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, pop, glam, 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 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.
Formation
The formation of Aerosmith began in the late 1960s in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Steven Tyler was a drummer/vocalist originally from Yonkers, New York who had been in a series of relatively unsuccessful bands in the mid-late 1960s such as the Vic Tallarico Orchestra, the Strangeurs/Chain Reaction, The Chain, Fox Chase, and William Proud. In 1969, while vacationing in Sunapee, New Hampshire, Tyler met Joe Perry, who was at the time playing in a band called the Jam Band with bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer David "Pudge" Scott, while Perry was washing dishes at the Anchorage in Sunapee Harbor, New Hampshire. This meeting would eventually lead to the formation of Aerosmith.
Hamilton and Perry moved to Boston, Massachusetts in September 1970. There they met Joey Kramer, a drummer from Yonkers, New York who had also known Steven Tyler, with whom he had always hoped to perform in a band. Kramer, a Berklee College of Music student, decided to quit school to join the band. In October 1970, they met up once again with Steven Tyler, who was originally a drummer and backup singer, but adamantly refused to play drums in this band, insisting he would only be in the band if he could be the frontman and lead vocalist. The band agreed and thus Aerosmith was born. The band added Ray Tabano, a childhood friend of Tyler, as rhythm guitarist and began playing local shows. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, who also attended the Berklee School of Music and was formerly of the band Earth Inc. Other than a period from July 1979 to April 1984, the line-up of Tyler, Perry, Hamilton, Kramer, and Whitford has stayed the same.