Formation (1964–1970) In 1964,
Steven Tyler, then a drummer, formed his own band called the Strangeurs—later renamed to Chain Reaction—in
Yonkers, New York. Meanwhile, Perry and Hamilton formed the Jam Band (commonly known as "Joe Perry's Jam Band"), which was based on
free-form and
blues. Hamilton and Perry moved to
Boston, Massachusetts, in September 1969, where they met
Joey Kramer, a drummer from Yonkers, New York, who was a student at the
Berklee College of Music prior to going full-time with the Jam Band. In 1970, Chain Reaction and Jam Band played at the same gig in New Hampshire. Tyler immediately loved Jam Band's sound, and wanted to combine the two bands. In October 1970, the bands met up again and considered the proposition. Tyler, who had been a drummer and
backing vocalist in Chain Reaction, adamantly refused to play drums in this new band, insisting that he would take part only if he could be their frontman. The others agreed, and a new band was formed. The band moved into a home together at 1325 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, where they wrote and rehearsed music together and relaxed in between shows. One day, they had a post-Stooges meeting to try to come up with a name. Kramer said that, when he was in school, he would write the word "aerosmith" all over his notebooks. The band settled upon this name after also considering "the Hookers" and "Spike Jones". At some point prior to the weekend of December 25, 1971, they had also been known as "Fox Chase". Soon, the band hired
Ray Tabano, a childhood friend of Tyler, as rhythm guitarist and began playing local shows. Aerosmith played their first gig in
Mendon, Massachusetts, at
Nipmuc Regional High School (now Miscoe Hill Middle School) on November 6, 1970. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by
Brad Whitford, who also attended the Berklee School of Music, and was formerly a member of the band
Earth Inc. Whitford, from
Reading, Massachusetts, had played at Reading's
AW Coolidge Middle School. Other than a period from July 1979 to April 1984, the line-up of Tyler, Perry, Hamilton, Kramer, and Whitford has stayed the same. the band signed a promotion deal with Frank Connelly, and eventually secured a management deal with David Krebs and Steve Leber in 1972. Krebs and Leber invited
Columbia Records President
Clive Davis to see the band at
Max's Kansas City in New York City. Aerosmith was not originally scheduled to play that night at the club, but they paid out of their own pockets to secure a place on the bill, reportedly the only band ever to do so at Max's. "
No Surprize" from their
Night in the Ruts album celebrated the moment their fame rose. Aerosmith signed with Columbia in mid-1972 for a reported $125,000, and recorded their debut album,
Aerosmith. Released in January 1973, the album peaked at number 166. Although the highest-charting single from the album was "
Dream On" at number 59, several tracks, such as "
Mama Kin" and "
Walkin' the Dog", would become staples of the band's live shows, and received airplay on rock radio. The album reached gold status initially, eventually went on to sell two million copies, and was certified double platinum after the band reached mainstream success over a decade later. After constant touring, the band released their second album,
Get Your Wings in 1974, the first of a string of multi-platinum albums produced by
Jack Douglas. This album included the rock radio hits "
Same Old Song and Dance" and "
Train Kept A-Rollin'", a cover done previously by
the Yardbirds. The album also contained several fan favorites, including "
Lord of the Thighs", "
Seasons of Wither", and "
S.O.S. (Too Bad)", darker songs that have become staples in the band's live shows. To date,
Get Your Wings has sold three million copies.
Toys in the Attic was an immediate success, starting with the single "
Sweet Emotion", which became the band's first
Top 40 hit. This was followed by a successful re-release of "
Dream On" which hit No. 6, becoming their best charting single of the 1970s. "
Walk This Way", re-released in 1976, reached the Top 10 in early 1977. As a result of this success, both of the band's previous albums re-charted.
Toys in the Attic has gone on to become the band's bestselling studio album in the United States, with certified US sales of nine million copies.
Rocks, Draw the Line, and Live! Bootleg (1976–1978) (left) and
Joe Perry (right) became known as "the
Toxic Twins" due to their extensive drug use In 1976, Aerosmith's fourth album was
Rocks, which music historian Greg Prato described as "captur[ing] Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking". It went
platinum swiftly
Rocks would eventually go on to sell over four million copies. and are cited as influential by members of
Guns N' Roses,
Metallica, and
Mötley Crüe.
Kurt Cobain also listed
Rocks as one of the albums he thought were most influential to
Nirvana's sound in his
journal in 1993. Soon after
Rocks was released, the band continued to tour heavily, this time headlining their own shows, including large stadiums and rock festivals. While continuing to tour and record in the late 1970s, Aerosmith appeared in the ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. during the Draw the Line
tour. The standalone single "Chip Away the Stone", also released in 1978, charted at number 77. Also in 1980, Aerosmith released their first compilation album, Greatest Hits''. While the compilation did not chart very high initially, it gained popularity later, and went on to become the band's best selling album in the United States, with sales of 12 million copies. In 1981, Aerosmith began work on their next album,
Rock in a Hard Place, which saw them reunite with producer Jack Douglas. However, after the first song for the album, "
Lightning Strikes", was recorded, Brad Whitford left the band and formed a duo with
Derek St. Holmes, with whom he recorded a
self-titled album, which failed to garner much interest. Whitford later joined up with the Joe Perry Project and played with them in 1984. With
Rick Dufay taking Whitford's place,
Rock in a Hard Place was released on August 27, 1982. The album reached number 32 on the
Billboard 200 album chart. On February 14, 1984, Perry (by then divorced from his first wife Elissa) and Whitford saw Aerosmith perform at Boston's
Orpheum Theater. Shortly thereafter, discussions began to reintegrate the two into the band and several months later, the original members of Aerosmith officially reunited. Steven Tyler recalls:
Back in the Saddle reunion tour, Done with Mirrors, and drug rehab (1984–1986) In 1984, Aerosmith embarked on a reunion tour called the
Back in the Saddle Tour, In 1985, the band released the album
Done with Mirrors, their first studio album since reuniting. While the album did receive some positive reviews, it only went gold Nevertheless, the band became a popular concert attraction once again, touring in support of
Done with Mirrors, well into 1986. In 1986, in an unprecedented crossover collaboration, Aerosmith (largely the additional contributions of leaders Tyler and Perry) appeared on
Run–D.M.C.'s cover of "
Walk This Way", a track
blending rock and roll with hip hop. Despite their resurrecting performance, the band members' drug problems still stood in their way. In 1986, Tyler completed a successful
drug rehabilitation program, after an intervention by his fellow band members, a doctor, and manager
Tim Collins, who believed that the band's future would not be bright if Tyler did not get treated in time. The rest of the band members also completed drug rehab programs over the course of the next couple of years. According to the band's tell-all autobiography, Collins pledged in September 1986 that he could make Aerosmith the biggest band in the world by 1990 if they all completed drug rehab. Their next album was crucial because of the commercial disappointment of
Done With Mirrors, and as the band members became clean, they worked hard to make their next album a success.
Permanent Vacation and Pump (1987–1991) Permanent Vacation was released in August 1987, becoming a major hit and the band's bestselling album in over a decade (selling 5 million copies in the US), Part of
Permanent Vacations commercial success involved producer
Bruce Fairbairn whose production touches (such as sound effects and high-quality recording) added interest to the album and the use of outside songwriters such as
Desmond Child,
Jim Vallance, and
Holly Knight who assisted the band with lyrics. While the group was initially hesitant to using outside songwriters, including Tyler being furious for Knight getting songwriting credits for changing one word ("Rag Time" became "Rag Doll"), the method paid off, as
Permanent Vacation became the band's most successful album in a decade. The group went on
a subsequent tour with labelmates
Guns N' Roses (who have cited Aerosmith as a major influence), which was intense at times because of Aerosmith's new struggle to stay clean amidst Guns N' Roses' well-publicized, rampant drug use. {{Listen|filename=Aerosmith - Janie's Got a Gun.ogg|title="Janie's Got a Gun" Aerosmith's next album was even more successful.
Pump, released in September 1989, featured three top-ten singles: "
Love in an Elevator", "
Janie's Got a Gun", and "
What It Takes", as well as the top 30 "
The Other Side",
Pump was a critical and commercial success, eventually selling 7 million copies,
Pump ranked as the fourth-bestselling album of 1990. The band also won its first
Grammy in the category of
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, for "Janie's Got a Gun". The recording process for
Pump was documented in the video
The Making of Pump, which has since been re-released as a DVD. The music videos for the album's singles were featured on the release
Things That Go Pump in the Night, which quickly went platinum. On February 21, 1990, the band appeared in a "
Wayne's World" sketch on
Saturday Night Live, debating the fall of communism and the Soviet Union, and performed their recent hits "Janie's Got a Gun" and "
Monkey on My Back". The appearance of the band in the "Wayne's World" sketch was later ranked by
E! as the number-one moment in the history of the program. On August 11, 1990, the band's performance on MTV's
Unplugged aired. In October 1990, the Pump Tour ended, with the band's first ever performances in Australia. That same year, the band was also inducted to the Hollywood Rock Walk. In November 1991, the band appeared on
The Simpsons episode "
Flaming Moe's" and released a box set titled ''
Pandora's Box. In coordination with the release of Pandora's Box'', the band's 1975 hit "Sweet Emotion" was re-mixed and re-released as a single, and a music video was created to promote the single. Also in 1991, the band performed their 1973 single "Dream On" with
Michael Kamen's orchestra for MTV's 10th Anniversary special; this performance was used as the official music video for the song. In 1992, Tyler and Perry appeared live as guests of Guns N' Roses during the latter's 1992 worldwide pay-per-view show in Paris, performing a medley of "Mama Kin" (which GN'R covered in 1986) and "Train Kept-A Rollin".
Get a Grip and Big Ones (1992–1995) The band took a brief break before recording their follow-up to
Pump in 1992. Despite significant shifts in mainstream music at the beginning of the 1990s, and racking up sales of 7 million copies in a two-and-a-half-year timespan The first singles were the hard rocking "
Livin' on the Edge" and "
Eat the Rich". Though many critics were unimpressed by the focus on the subsequent interchangeable power-ballads in promoting the album, for the first half of the decade. Steven Tyler's daughter
Liv Tyler was also featured in the "Crazy" video. The band won two
Grammy Awards for songs from this album in the category of
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: for "Livin' on the Edge" in 1994 and "Crazy" in 1995. where they performed two songs, the appearance of the band and their music in the video games
Revolution X and
Quest for Fame, performing at
Woodstock '94, using their song "
Deuces Are Wild" in
The Beavis and Butt-head Experience, and opening their own club, The Mama Kin Music Hall, in
Boston in 1994. That same year saw the release of the band's compilation for
Geffen Records, entitled
Big Ones featuring their biggest hits from
Permanent Vacation,
Pump, and
Get a Grip, "Deuces Are Wild" from the
Beavis and Butt-head Experience, as well as two new songs, "
Blind Man" and "
Walk on Water", both of which experienced great success on the rock charts. Between 1991 and 1996, they released two more albums with Geffen (
Get a Grip and
Big Ones), which meant they now had five albums with Geffen under their belt (along with a planned live compilation), which meant they could now begin recording for their new contract with Columbia. The band took time off with their families before working on their next album,
Nine Lives, which was plagued with personnel problems, including the firing of manager
Tim Collins, The album's producer was also changed from
Glen Ballard to
Kevin Shirley.
Nine Lives was released in March 1997. Reviews were mixed, and
Nine Lives initially fell down the charts, and
Joey Kramer suffering second degree burns when his car caught fire at a gas station. opened on July 29, 1999, in
Disney's Hollywood Studios in
Walt Disney World Resort In 1998, in the midst of setbacks during the Nine Lives Tour, the band released the single "
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", the love theme, written by
Diane Warren for the 1998 film
Armageddon, starring Steven Tyler's daughter
Liv. The song became Aerosmith's first and only number 1 single The song helped open Aerosmith up to a new generation and remains a slow-dance staple. 1998 also saw the release of the double-live album,
A Little South of Sanity, which was assembled from performances on the Get a Grip and Nine Lives tours. The album went platinum shortly after its release. In 1999, Aerosmith was chosen to be featured in the
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, providing the ride's soundtrack and theme at both
Disney's Hollywood Studios at the
Walt Disney World Resort and, formerly, at
Disneyland Paris in the
Walt Disney Studios Park, which opened in 2002 and closed in 2019, to be replaced by an
Iron Man and
the Avengers attraction in the upcoming
Avengers Campus. On September 9, 1999, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry reunited with
Run–D.M.C. and were also joined by
Kid Rock for a collaborative live performance of "Walk This Way" at the
MTV Video Music Awards, a precursor to the
Girls of Summer Tour. The band celebrated the new millennium with a brief tour of Japan, and also contributed the song "
Angel's Eye" to the 2000 film ''
Charlie's Angels''. In December 2000, they wrapped up work on their next album.
Just Push Play, O, Yeah! and Rocksimus Maximus (2001–2003) ,
Steven Tyler, and
Joe Perry of Aerosmith performing at the
NFL Kickoff in Washington, D.C., on September 4, 2003 The band entered their next decade by co-headlining with NSYNC the
Super Bowl XXXV halftime show, titled "The Kings of Rock and Pop", with appearances from Britney Spears,
Mary J. Blige and
Nelly. All of the stars collaborated with Aerosmith at the end for a performance of "
Walk This Way". In March 2001, the band released their 13th studio album
Just Push Play, which quickly went platinum, They were inducted to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon after their album was released, in late March 2001. Aerosmith is the only band to be inducted to the Hall of Fame with a song active in the charts ("Jaded"). The band flew back to
Indianapolis for a show the same night, as part of their
Just Push Play Tour. The band started 2002 by ending the Just Push Play tour, and simultaneously recording segments for their
Behind the Music special on
VH1, which not only chronicled the band's history but also the band's current activities and touring. The special was one of the few
Behind the Musics to run two hours in length. In May, Aerosmith covered the "
Theme from Spider-Man" for the soundtrack of the 2002
film of the same name. On June 27, the band performed at the official
FIFA World Cup concert at
Tokyo Stadium which took place during the
2002 FIFA World Cup held in Korea/Japan. In July 2002, Aerosmith released a two-disc career-spanning compilation
O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, which featured the new single "
Girls of Summer" and embarked on the
Girls of Summer Tour with
Kid Rock and
Run–D.M.C. opening.
O, Yeah! has since been certified double platinum. In 2003, Aerosmith co-headlined with
Kiss on the Rocksimus Maximus Tour, in preparation for release of their blues album. They also performed a song for
Rugrats Go Wild, "Lizard Love".
''Honkin' on Bobo, Rockin' the Joint and Devil's Got a New Disguise'' (2004–2006) Aerosmith's long-promised blues album ''
Honkin' on Bobo'' was released in 2004. This was a return to the band's roots, including recording the album in live sessions, working with former producer
Jack Douglas, and laying down their blues rock grit. 2005 saw
Steven Tyler appear in the film
Be Cool.
Joe Perry released his
self-titled solo album that same year. At the 2006 Grammy Awards, he was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the track "Mercy", but lost to
Les Paul. In October 2005, Aerosmith released a CD/DVD ''
Rockin' the Joint''. The band planned to tour with
Cheap Trick in the spring, hitting secondary markets in the US. Almost all of this leg of the tour was canceled, however. Dates were initially canceled one by one until March 22, 2006, when it was announced that lead singer Steven Tyler needed throat surgery, and the remaining dates on the tour were subsequently canceled. Tyler and Perry performed with the
Boston Pops Orchestra for their annual concert of July 4 on the Esplanade in 2006, a milestone as it was the first major event or performance since Steven Tyler's throat surgery. Around this time, the band also announced that they would embark on the Route of All Evil Tour with
Mötley Crüe in late 2006. On August 24, 2006, it was announced that
Tom Hamilton was undergoing treatment for
throat cancer. In order to make a full recovery, he sat out much of the Route of All Evil Tour until he was well again. Former Joe Perry Project bassist
David Hull substituted for Hamilton until his return. On September 5, 2006, Aerosmith kicked off the Route of All Evil Tour with
Mötley Crüe in Columbus, Ohio. The co-headlining tour took both bands to amphitheaters across North America through November 24, 2006. After that, a select few arena dates were added, some of which were with Mötley Crüe. The tour ended December 17, 2006. On October 17, 2006, the compilation album ''
Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith'' was released. The album contained previous hits with the addition of two new songs, "
Devil's Got a New Disguise" and "Sedona Sunrise", which were older outtakes re-recorded for the album. "Devil's Got a New Disguise" peaked at number 15 on the
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Touring, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and unfinished album (2007–2009) In early 2007, the band announced
a new World Tour, their first for nearly a decade to include dates outside North America or Japan. The band performed at London's
Hard Rock Cafe in February 2007 to promote their European tour which included a night in Hyde Park as part of the
Hyde Park Calling festival sponsored by Hard Rock Cafe. In the spring, the band toured Latin America to sold-out stadium crowds. In the summer, the band toured Europe, performing at several major rock festivals and visiting some countries they had never played before. Additionally, the band played in Middle East countries such as the
United Arab Emirates and India for the first time. The band also played a few select dates in California and Canada in late July. The July 21, 2007 concert in
Prince Edward Island, was the largest in that province's history. In September, the band performed eight dates in major markets in Northeastern North America. These shows were opened by
Joan Jett. The band also played a private gig in Hawaii. A public show in
Maui was canceled for logistical reasons, which spurred a class action lawsuit against the band. In April 2009, Aerosmith agreed to compensate all ticket buyers of the canceled show with a free ticket to a rescheduled Maui show to be held on October 20, 2009, along with reimbursements of all out-of-pocket expenses related to the show. '' in 2008 On November 1, 2007, the band entered the studio to work on the final studio album of their current contract with Sony. At the time, it was believed that the album would include both re-recorded tracks left off previous albums as well as brand new material. In an interview, guitarist Joe Perry revealed that in addition to creating a new album, the band was working closely with the makers of the
Guitar Hero series to develop
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, a video game dedicated to the band's music. The game was released on June 29, 2008, and contains many of their most popular songs. Steven Tyler announced on VH1 Classic Radio on September 4, 2008, that Aerosmith intended to enter the studio at the end of September 2008 to complete the band's
15th studio album. Tyler also confirmed that the band planned to begin a new US tour in June 2009, in support of the as-yet-untitled album. This tour was supposed to be preceded by a concert in Venezuela on February 1, 2009. However, on January 15, 2009, Tyler said the band would be unable to play the gig because of a second knee injury of guitarist Joe Perry. In mid-February 2009, it was announced that the album would be produced by the famed
Brendan O'Brien and that the album would likely be recorded live, like their earlier records. Although the band had hoped to finish the album before the tour started in June 2009, Perry said that the group "realized there wasn't any chance of getting [the album] finished before we hit the road for the summer." The tour featured
ZZ Top as the opening act for most of the tour. The Aerosmith/ZZ Top Tour, presented by
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, was officially announced and the first dates released on April 8, 2009. The tour was slated to take the band across North America from June to September 2009. The tour featured the band performing nearly all of the songs on their 1975 album
Toys in the Attic during the first seven dates of the tour and also featured Joe Perry sing lead vocals on the 1976 "Combination". The tour was plagued with several health problems, however. Guitarist
Brad Whitford had to sit out the first seven dates of the tour in order to recover from head surgery, after injuring his head getting out of his car. On June 28, 2009, at the band's seventh show of the tour at the
Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut, lead singer
Steven Tyler injured his leg, which required seven shows to be postponed. As soon as the band resumed the tour on July 15, Whitford returned to the fold. However,
Tom Hamilton had to depart the tour in order to recover from non-invasive surgery. On August 5, 2009, Tyler was rushed to the hospital after falling from the stage at a concert in
Sturgis, South Dakota. He was helped up by security staff and taken backstage, before guitarist Joe Perry told the audience the show was over. Tyler was airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where he received treatment for head and neck injuries and a broken shoulder. In the wake of Tyler's injuries, the band was forced to postpone five shows in Western Canada. On August 14, 2009, Aerosmith announced that they had decided to cancel the rest of their US tour dates with ZZ Top, due to Tyler's injuries. In the midst of the tour, Perry completed work on his fifth solo album,
Have Guitar, Will Travel and drummer
Joey Kramer released his autobiography,
Hit Hard. Perry's solo album was released on October 6, 2009. After Tyler recovered from falling off stage, the band returned to the stage in mid-October for two shows in Hawaii, one in
Maui which was rescheduled from 2007 and finally played as part of a legal settlement, and an additional show which was played in
Honolulu. In early November, the band played a concert in
Abu Dhabi at the
Grand Prix.
Tyler-Perry feud and Cocked, Locked, and Ready to Rock Tour (2009–2010) , Netherlands, on June 23, 2010Tyler pulled out of a planned South American tour at the end of 2009 and seemed intent on pursuing solo projects, including his autobiography
Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?. Tyler told
Classic Rock magazine, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself – Brand Tyler." Meanwhile, guitarist Joe Perry toured the United States at the end of 2009, and Japan and the UK early in 2010. Perry stated that the rest of the group was "looking for a new singer to work with". It was reported that singer
Lenny Kravitz had been approached for Steven Tyler's position, which he then declined. However, despite the rumors of him leaving the band, Tyler joined the Joe Perry Project onstage on November 10, 2009, at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, and Tyler and Perry performed the Aerosmith single "
Walk This Way" together. According to sources at the event, Tyler assured the crowd that he was "not quitting Aerosmith". On December 22, 2009,
People magazine reported that Tyler had entered a rehabilitation facility to manage his addiction to painkillers, brought on by injuries to his knees, legs, and feet, that resulted from years of performing. In his statement, Tyler said he is grateful for the support he is receiving, is committed to getting things taken care of, and is eager to get back on stage and in the recording studio with his bandmates. On January 20, 2010, Perry confirmed the band were about to audition for a new singer to replace Tyler. Perry said Tyler's surgery to his legs would "take him out of the picture" for up to a year and a half, and in the meantime, the rest of the band wanted to continue performing. Perry also said that the band would be willing to continue working with Tyler in the future if the singer wanted to. In response, Tyler's attorney sent the band and its manager a "cease and desist" letter and threatened further legal action against both if the band did not discontinue this effort to replace Tyler. On February 15, 2010, it was announced that Aerosmith were to headline
Download Festival at
Donington Park, England in June 2010. Tyler was confirmed as the frontman for the show by festival promoter Andy Copping. It was announced that the band would precede the June 13, 2010 date with an appearance at the
Sweden Rock Festival on June 10, 2010, in
Sölvesborg. During the Donington show, Perry celebrated Tyler's position as frontman, dubbing him "the best lead singer on the planet". On February 24, the band announced the first batch of dates for their upcoming
Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour. The tour saw the band play seven dates in South and Central America in May, followed by eleven dates in Europe, in June and early July. The band performed in Colombia, Peru and Greece for the first time in their career on this tour. The band performed 24 concerts in North America in late July, August, and September. Many of the concerts were in locations the band canceled on in 2009. As part of the tour, the band played
Fenway Park in Boston with fellow Bostonians
the J. Geils Band. '' Problems on the band's Cocked, Locked, and Ready to Rock Tour arose in August 2010, including Tyler accidentally hitting Joe Perry in the head with his microphone stand at a show in
Wantagh, New York and Perry bumping into Tyler at the Toronto show, which caused Tyler to tumble off the stage. Perry suffered a minor head injury at the Wantagh show and Tyler was helped back up by fans and Perry at the Toronto show, and both shows went on. Around the same time as these incidents, tension flared again between Perry and Tyler due to Tyler's plans to become a talent judge on
American Idol. Perry criticized Tyler for not consulting the rest of the band, saying that he "found out on the internet, like the rest of the world" and that nobody else in the band knew anything about it. On August 18, 2010, it was reported that Tyler officially signed on with the show. When asked about this in October, Perry declared he understood Tyler's reasons and wished him luck, but stated that he would seek different projects – "I'm tired of waiting around, so I'm not passing up anything right now". While announcing the Cocked, Locked, and Ready to Rock Tour in 2009, Tyler and Perry said that the next item on the agenda was a new Aerosmith album, the group's first since 2004's ''Honkin' on Bobo.'' The group did some recording with producer Brendan O'Brien in 2008 but halted because of Tyler's health problems. Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton told the
Boston Herald in September 2010 that Tyler believes he has the time and energy to continue fronting the band while also being a judge on
American Idol. On November 5, 2010, Brad Whitford said the recording sessions will probably be in Los Angeles, where
American Idol is headquartered, and a world tour would follow.
Touring and Music from Another Dimension! (2010–2013) In a November 2010 interview reported at NME.com, drummer
Joey Kramer confirmed that the band had every intention to finish and release their long-delayed album in 2011, stating, "Really, at this point in time, the only thing that's going to stop us is if someone out-and-out dies. Other than that, we've already been through what we've been through and stood the test of time. What else is there?" On January 18, 2011, Tyler declared that "Joe (Perry) has got some licks and I've got a bunch of songs that I've written for solo and/or Aerosmith" and the band would start prepping the album that week. On March 20, 2011, Aerosmith announced a new greatest hits album,
Tough Love: Best of the Ballads, which was released on May 10, 2011. On May 14, 2011, the band announced a tour of Latin America in the fall of 2011. In June, Joe Perry announced that the band is going to meet at the recording studio to produce the next album of the band in July. On August 30, 2011, it was announced that the new album will be released around May 2012. The album will be produced by
Jack Douglas, who produced four albums for the band in the 1970s. Aerosmith began their fall tour of Latin America and Japan on October 22, 2011, in
Lima,
Peru. As part of the tour, the band performed in
Paraguay, Panama, and
Ecuador for the first time in their careers. Their show in
Asunción,
Paraguay was postponed a day, after lead singer Steven Tyler sustained facial injuries after falling in his hotel room shower, due to a bout of food poisoning that dehydrated him and caused him to faint. On March 11, 2012, Aerosmith was featured on an episode of
60 Minutes. The show included very candid interviews with the band members, interspersed with live performances from the band's 2011 tour. Some of the comments the band members said about each other seemed to re-ignite past tensions in the band. However, on March 22, 2012, Joe Perry surprised Steven Tyler by performing "
Happy Birthday" for him on
American Idol, as an early birthday present for Tyler. On March 26, 2012, Aerosmith announced a summer tour with
Cheap Trick entitled the "
Global Warming Tour". On May 23, 2012, Aerosmith debuted their new single, "
Legendary Child", on the season finale of
American Idol. Shortly after, it was announced that their fifteenth studio album,
Music from Another Dimension!, would be released on November 6, 2012. On May 30, 2012, Aerosmith and Cheap Trick performed for
Walmart shareholders. Aerosmith's "Global Warming Tour" began June 16, 2012 in Minneapolis and took the band to 26 locations across North America through August 12, 2012. The band hinted that the tour would continue in October/November after the album release. On August 22, 2012, Aerosmith released two singles simultaneously, the rocker "
Lover Alot" and the ballad "
What Could Have Been Love". On September 22, 2012, Aerosmith performed at the
iHeartRadio music festival in
Las Vegas. In advance of the release of their new album, the band performed on
The Late Show with David Letterman and
Today, and Tyler and Perry were interviewed on
The Late Show and
The View. In addition, Tyler, Perry and Whitford performed "
Dream On" for the telethon
Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together to raise funds for the victims of the
namesake storm that struck the Northeastern United States. On November 5, 2012, Aerosmith performed an outdoor concert On January 21, 2013, Aerosmith released "
Can't Stop Lovin' You" (featuring
Carrie Underwood) as the fourth single from
Music from Another Dimension!. On February 20, 2013, it was announced that the band's principal songwriters Steven Tyler and Joe Perry would be recipients of the
ASCAP Founders Award at the society's 30th Annual Pop Music Awards on April 17, 2013. Two days later, it was announced that the duo would be inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame at a ceremony to be held on June 13, 2013. In late April 2013 and early May 2013, Aerosmith extended their Global Warming Tour to Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore. This marked the band's first performances in Australia in 23 years, and the band's first-ever performances in the latter four countries. Tom Hamilton had to miss the last three Australian shows due to illness, David Hull filled in for him. On May 5, 2013, Aerosmith cancelled their first-ever performance in Indonesia (scheduled for May 11, 2013) due to safety concerns, the actual threat was not released. On May 30, 2013, Aerosmith performed as part of the "Boston Strong" charity concert for victims of the
Boston Marathon bombing. The band also performed at the
Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia on July 6, 2013 at the
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut on July 10, 2013, four concerts in Japan in mid-August, and as part of the
Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary Concert series in Milwaukee on August 30, 2013. In the fall of 2013, Aerosmith extended their tour to Central and South America, including their first-ever performances in Guatemala, El Salvador and Uruguay. Hamilton had to depart the Latin American tour due to illness. In July 2013, the band released the live concert DVD
Rock for the Rising Sun, which also documented the band's 2011 tour of Japan. The release was also screened in select theaters in October 2013.
Solo endeavors and continued touring (2014–2018) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on August 4, 2015 On March 21, 2014, in tweets released by Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, and
Slash, it was announced that Aerosmith would be touring North America with Slash (along with
Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) in the summer of 2014. This followed a 17-date European tour that Aerosmith took from May 14, 2014, to July 2, 2014. The North American tour, known as the
Let Rock Rule Tour, sent Aerosmith to 21 locations from July 10, 2014, to September 12, 2014. Asked in May 2014 if Aerosmith would release a sixteenth studio album anytime soon, bassist
Tom Hamilton replied, "I hope soon. But I really don't know what we are doing because we no longer have a record contract. We are finished with Columbia. So, there is nothing written in stone. We'll see what the fans want." In an interview with
Rolling Stone about what the future holds, Joe Perry admitted that, "I don't even know if making new albums makes sense anymore. Maybe we'll just release an EP every six months. I don't know what the future looks like." On October 7, 2014, Perry released his autobiography
Rocks: My Life in and Out of Aerosmith, co-written by David Ritz. Perry promoted the book with a book-signing tour that took him to 14 locations across the United States in the month of October. On February 26, 2015, Aerosmith premiered the film
Aerosmith Rocks Donington in 300 movie theaters across North America; the concert video is from the band's 2014 performance at
Download Festival at
Donington Park in
Leicestershire, England. The video was released on DVD/Blu-ray on September 4, 2015. On March 31, 2015, lead singer Steven Tyler stated that he was working on his first solo
country album. On April 6, 2015, it was announced that Tyler signed a record deal with
Scott Borchetta's
Dot Records (a division of the
Big Machine Label Group). On May 13, 2015, Tyler released the lead single, "
Love is Your Name", from his forthcoming solo debut album. He promoted the song on the
Bobby Bones Show,
iHeartMedia,
CBS This Morning,
Entertainment Tonight, and the
American Idol season 14 finale. On June 10, 2015, Aerosmith embarked on the
Blue Army Tour, which sent the band to 17 North American locations through August 7, 2015, many of them in smaller venues in secondary markets that the band has either never performed in or hasn't performed in many years. The band also played a one-off show in Moscow on September 5, 2015. On the tour, the band played several lesser-known deep cuts. After the tour, Tyler completed work on his solo album, ''
We're All Somebody from Somewhere'', which was released on July 15, 2016. Prior to the album's release, a second single, "Red, White & You", was released in January 2016, followed by the third single (the title track) in June 2016. Meanwhile, Joe Perry worked with
Alice Cooper and
Johnny Depp on the side project
Hollywood Vampires, which released their
eponymous debut album in September 2015 and performed at the
58th Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016. Brad Whitford re-joined
Derek St. Holmes for a handful of tour dates in November 2015 and a new
Whitford/St. Holmes album that was made available to fans at their live performances and was scheduled for wide release in 2016. Tom Hamilton performed with
Thin Lizzy at a handful of concert dates in Europe in the summer of 2016 and also joined
Pearl Jam for a performance of "
Draw the Line" at Boston's Fenway Park on August 7, 2015. Meanwhile, Joey Kramer became actively involved in his "Rockin' & Roastin'" coffee business, which opened a location in
Newry, Maine, in December 2015 and a second location in
North Attleborough, Massachusetts, in July 2016. Since December 2015, in various interviews, Whitford, Tyler, and Perry all discussed the possibility of a farewell tour or "wind-down tour" slated to start in 2017. Perry has suggested the tour could last for two years and Tyler said it could potentially last "forever", Whitford and Tyler also discussed the potential of doing one last studio album. 2017 On July 10, 2016, Perry collapsed onstage at a concert he was performing with the Hollywood Vampires on
Coney Island in
Brooklyn, New York. It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest. He was revived and rushed to the hospital, where he was quickly upgraded to stable condition later that night. The Vampires continued the show without Perry that evening and continued the rest of their tour, but canceled an appearance on
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After resting for a few days, Perry made a complete recovery and returned to the Hollywood Vampires tour. From September through October 2016 Aerosmith embarked on a nine-date tour of Latin America, called the
Rock 'N' Roll Rumble Tour, preceded by a performance at the Kaaboo Festival in
San Diego, California, on September 17. In November 2016, Aerosmith announced that they would be going on a "farewell" tour in Europe in the spring and summer of 2017, titled the
Aero-Vederci Baby! Tour. The tour launched in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 17, 2017, where approximately 45,000 tickets were sold. In early July, the band completed the European leg of the tour; the band extended the tour to South America in September and October 2017, but the last few shows had to be canceled due to health issues. According to Brad Whitford, the tour could end anytime from 2017 to the next four years in 2021. On 19 January 2018, Perry released a solo disc titled
Sweetzerland Manifesto. He also announced that the 2017 tour titled "
Aero-Vederci Baby!" was not really a final tour and the band will be touring in 2019 to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
"Deuces are Wild" residency (2019–2022) residency Aerosmith appeared on NBC's
Today show on August 15, 2018, to announce a
residency in Las Vegas called "
Aerosmith: Deuces are Wild", a reference to both Las Vegas
casino gambling and their
1994 single of the same name. The band's Las Vegas residency took place in April, June, July, and September thru December 2019. It had been scheduled to be extended into January, February, May, and June 2020 at the
Park Theater, but the 2020 dates were cut short due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the Las Vegas shows, in mid-July 2019, the band performed at a festival in Minnesota, and in August 2019, they played a total of nine shows spread across three MGM venues in Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. In 2019, a European tour was announced, due to take place through the summer of 2020 following the completion of their Las Vegas dates. However, the shows were canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as was a 50th Anniversary show at Boston's Fenway Park, originally planned for September 2020. The European dates were initially rescheduled for the summer of 2021 but were later moved again to summer 2022 due to the ongoing pandemic. In January 2019, Joe Perry stated that he and Steven Tyler were due to start recording new material together for a new Aerosmith album. The next month, on February 14, 2019, Aerosmith was scheduled to receive a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, but the ceremony and installation were postponed due to inclement weather with a new date to be determined later. In April 2019, drummer Joey Kramer suffered minor injuries to his shoulder following an unspecified accident, and was forced to stand down from several concerts of the band's Las Vegas residency. His drum technician John Douglas substituted for him. In November of that same year, Kramer told several news sites that he was not allowed to rejoin the band despite his recovery, to which the band responded that his playing was "not up to Aerosmith standards". The disagreement culminated in a series of lawsuits in January 2020, after which Kramer was expected to be barred from performing with the band at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Kramer rejoined Aerosmith in February 2020 for their Las Vegas residency. In an August 2020 interview with former
The Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, on his radio show
Steve Gorman Rocks,
Brad Whitford was asked what the future of Aerosmith looked like. His response was "I don't really know what they want to do. And, I don't really care because, um, truthfully, I'm not interested anymore", citing ongoing dysfunction within the band. He expressed similar concerns in an interview with
Joe Bonamassa on his "Live From Nerdville" podcast in June 2021. Whitford shared his thoughts about how the
COVID-19 outbreak would affect touring plans for Aerosmith, and musicians in general, while acknowledging his and his bandmate's current ages. Stating, "I mean, I have my doubts about Aerosmith ever performing again at this stage because age is becoming a real factor. It is what it is." On August 23, 2021, Aerosmith signed a distribution deal with
Universal Music Group, covering the band's entire catalog — both Geffen (Universal's subsidiary) and Columbia titles. In March 2022, following the cancellation of the rescheduled European tour, Aerosmith announced that the Deuces Are Wild residency would both continue and expand, beginning in June and running through December, along with the rescheduled Fenway Park show in September. Kramer was also confirmed to be sitting out all concerts, with the band claiming that he would be focusing "his full attention on his family during these uncertain times." Aerosmith announced on May 24, 2022, that the June and July dates of the Deuces Are Wild residency would be canceled as a result of Tyler checking himself into a rehab facility after he suffered a
relapse following his pain management of a foot surgery. Following Tyler's 30+ day rehab treatment, the band went on to perform at Boston's Fenway Park for their 50th anniversary show and then resumed their Las Vegas residency, scheduled September through December 2022.
"Peace Out: The Farewell Tour", retirement from touring and future of the band (2023–present) , who collaborated with Aerosmith for their 2025 EP
One More Time In May 2023, the band announced a
farewell tour called "
Peace Out: The Farewell Tour" that would begin in September. The tour would send the band to 40 North American locations through January 2024, and would include
The Black Crowes as the opening act. The tour would not include original drummer
Joey Kramer. Shortly after the tour began, however, it was announced that it was being delayed until the following year due to Tyler badly injuring his vocal cords during a performance on September 9. The tour was rescheduled to begin in September 2024 and proceed through February 2025. On August 2, 2024, the tour was canceled and the band announced their immediate retirement from touring, due to Tyler being unable to recover from his vocal cord injury. Perry has stated that he does not rule out new music from Aerosmith. In an August 29, 2024 interview with
AARP: The Magazine, Tom Hamilton said "the band is still alive", and when asked about the future of the band, he said, "On the hope scale, I'm somewhere between 7 and 9. We won't be doing any tours from now on, but I'll always have hope that other types of opportunities will come along. This isn't the first time black clouds have been on our horizon — and somehow the sun managed to come out. Time and hope are all we have at the moment." Hamilton was asked about new music and his response was, "So far there hasn't been any talk about a new Aerosmith album." In January 2025, Hamilton discussed the possibility of recording with Tyler "in the future". On January 23, 2025, Aerosmith announced a reunion show with Tyler as a celebration for the
67th Annual Grammy Awards and a benefit concert for fire firefighters during the
Southern California wildfires. In August 2025, Perry told
WZLX that he and the rest of the band have "actually talking quite a bit" about the possibility of Aerosmith returning to the stage. He said, "I would say, at some point...we will all be together on the same stage...If I was a betting man, which I am, I would say, at some point something's gonna happen. But we'll see." In an interview with
WBUR that same month, Perry said that he "would bet that there's an Aerosmith show left" but expressed doubt that the band would ever tour again, stating, "I've been spending a lot of time with Steven and he just doesn't want to tour and he can't tour. It's tough. I'm not sure I would want to go out and book another 40-city tour." Aerosmith and
Yungblud released a collaborative EP,
One More Time, on November 21, 2025 on
Capitol Records, making it the band's first release outside of Columbia in more than three decades. It marked as Aerosmith's first number 1 in the UK. ==Legacy==