AEROSMITH

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry didn't meet in Boston, but almost four years earlier, in the summer of 1966, in front of a hamburger stand in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Their reunion came in August 1969, at a nightclub in the same area called The Barn, where Perry was playing in a trio with bassist Tom Hamilton. From that conversation came the idea of forming a band — but it was Boston, not New Hampshire, where that idea finally took shape.

In 1970, Perry and Hamilton rented a two-bedroom apartment at 1325 Commonwealth Avenue, in Allston. Tyler moved in that same October, and shortly after, drummer Joey Kramer, originally from Yonkers, New York, joined them. Tyler brought in a childhood friend, Ray Tabano, as a second guitarist, completing the original lineup. It was in that apartment — today marked with an official plaque and the musicians' footprints on the sidewalk, placed in 2012 by then-Mayor Thomas Menino — that Aerosmith truly formed.

The band debuted on November 6, 1970, at a sophomore dance at Nipmuc Regional High School, in Mendon, Massachusetts, before about 200 people and for $50. In early 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, completing the lineup that would define the band for more than five decades. In 1972, Aerosmith signed with Columbia Records, beginning a career that would make Boston — not where each member was born, but where they decided to become a band — the starting point of their entire story.

Aerosmith, the 1973 debut album, wasn't an immediate hit: "Dream On" barely reached No. 59 on its original release and wouldn't crack the top 10 until years later, after a reissue. The real breakthrough came with Get Your Wings in 1974 and, above all, with Toys in the Attic in 1975 — the album that cemented the band's signature sound with "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion," and would go on to be certified 9× Platinum by the RIAA. Rocks, released in 1976 and certified 4× Platinum, deepened that identity: a raw, blues-rooted rock that would influence later generations of hard rock and metal bands.

The mid-seventies commercial success didn't prevent internal wear. Draw the Line (1977) and Night in the Ruts (1979) reflected a band strained by heavy substance use. In July 1979, Perry left the band after a dispute during a tour; he was replaced by guitarist Jimmy Crespo while he formed his own project, Joe Perry Project, recording three albums between 1980 and 1983. Two years later, in 1981, Whitford also left, to form Whitford/St. Holmes; Rick Dufay took his place. Rock in a Hard Place, released in 1982 without either original guitarist, arrived amid serious financial trouble for the band.

The reconciliation came on February 14, 1984, when Perry and Whitford reunited with the rest of the original lineup backstage at Boston's Orpheum Theatre. That reunion, in the same city where everything had begun, marked the return of the classic lineup and the start of the second — and longer — half of Aerosmith's story.

Done with Mirrors (1985), the first album from the reunited band and their debut on Geffen Records, didn't have the commercial impact hoped for. The real turning point came the following year, when Run-D.M.C. invited Tyler and Perry to re-record "Walk This Way" for their album Raising Hell — a collaboration that introduced Aerosmith to a whole new audience and helped bridge rock and hip-hop in American pop culture.

That momentum translated, in 1987, into Permanent Vacation, the band's true commercial comeback, followed by Pump in 1989 and Get a Grip in 1993 — their first album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts. During these years, Aerosmith became one of the defining bands of the MTV era, with music videos that combined humor, narrative, and a visual identity as recognizable as their sound.

Back on Columbia Records, Aerosmith released Nine Lives in 1997, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. A year later came the moment of greatest mass reach in the band's history: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," written by Diane Warren for the Armageddon soundtrack, became Aerosmith's only single to top the Billboard Hot 100 — an achievement none of their 1970s classics had reached.

Just Push Play followed in 2001, and in 2004 the band took a different direction with Honkin' on Bobo, an album entirely devoted to classic blues covers that reaffirmed their deepest musical roots. Music from Another Dimension!, released in 2012, remains — to date — Aerosmith's most recent studio album. The band closed out this era with a Las Vegas residency, Deuces Are Wild, presented in 2019 and again in 2022.

Although Tyler and Perry met in New Hampshire, Boston is the city Aerosmith has claimed as its own throughout its entire career — and the city that, in turn, has claimed Aerosmith. The official plaque at 1325 Commonwealth Avenue, placed in 2012 along with the band's footprints on the sidewalk, and the site's recognition on the Boston Music Trail by the Music Museum of New England, are just the starting point of that relationship.

In 2013, the band performed at a "Boston Strong" benefit concert at TD Garden, in support of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. But the moment that best sums up that connection came on September 8, 2022, when Aerosmith celebrated the 50th anniversary of their record deal with a concert at Fenway Park that, at the time, set a ticket-sales record for the stadium — more than 38,700 attendees. The show was explicitly framed under "humble beginnings in Allston," with a comedic introduction from Boston comedian Bill Burr and local band Extreme opening. Four of the five classic members — Tyler, Perry, Whitford, and Hamilton — took the stage that night; the band's touring drummer, John Douglas, filled in for Joey Kramer.

Aerosmith's recent decade has been marked by both challenges and new beginnings. In 2020, following a legal dispute with the band over his reinstatement after an injury, Joey Kramer stopped performing with the group; a Massachusetts court ruled against his request to rejoin certain shows that year. That same year, MusiCares recognized Aerosmith as its Person of the Year, honoring their 50th anniversary and philanthropic work.

In September 2023, Aerosmith launched their farewell tour, Peace Out: The Farewell Tour, suspended after only three shows when Steven Tyler suffered a fractured larynx that damaged his vocal cords. In August 2024, the band formally announced their retirement from touring; according to their doctors, a full recovery wasn't possible.

But Aerosmith's story didn't end there. In November 2025, the band released One More Time, an EP with British artist Yungblud — their first new music in more than twelve years. In March 2026 came Aerosmith (Legendary Edition), a 50th-anniversary reissue of their 1973 debut album, with a new 2024 remix by Tyler and Perry alongside producers Zakk Cervini and Steve Berkowitz, plus a 1973 live recording from Boston's Paul's Mall. And in October 2026, the band surprised fans with the announcement of "California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends," two special shows at the Hollywood Bowl scheduled for October 29 and November 1, with Tyler, Perry, Hamilton, and Whitford fronting a cast of guest artists that includes Black Crowes, Run-D.M.C., Heart, Billy Idol, Sammy Hagar, Slash, Duff McKagan, Tom Morello, and Eric Church. "We've pretty much ruled out the idea of going back out on tour, but that doesn't mean we can't play some shows," Joe Perry told SPIN. The band and the press have been explicit: these dates are a one-time exception, not a reversal of the retirement announced in 2024.