Aerosmith
This is a direct excerpt from UNCLE JOE'S RECORD GUIDE - HARD ROCK, Copyright (c) 1995 by J. Benson Unlimited. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Formed in Summer 1970, Aerosmith went through a two-and-a-half year gestation period before they were offered their first record contract. Against the odds, their debut album yielded the Boston-based band a hit single; their second release made them cult favorites; and their third turned them into superstars - the biggest American hard rock band ever. The young group achieved so much success early in their recording career that both business and personal problems inevitably followed.
Aerosmith's influence on other musicians ranked them among the most important first generation hard rock bands. Although drug and alcohol abuse and intra-group friction almost destroyed the band in the late Seventies, Aerosmith did not die. Instead, over time the group members cleaned up, regrouped and ultimately scored one of the biggest comebacks of any rock group or artist.
Aerosmith's success tells the story of the remarkable achievements of a great rock & roll band that sold over 64 million records, and reveals the personal triumphs of musicians over the worst demons rock & roll could produce. Neil Peart (of Rush) once observed that "The problem [with rock & roll bands] is rarely a failure of talent, but a failure of character." Ultimately, Aerosmith was dually blessed with the talent and personal character to succeed against the odds!
Aerosmith Birth Dates
Jimmy Crespo, Jr. - July 5, 1955
Rick Dufay - February 19,1952
Tom Hamilton - December 31, 1951
Joey Kramer - June 21, 1950
Joe Perry - September 10, 1950
Ray Tabano - December 23, 1946
Steven Tyler - March 26, 1948
Brad Whitford - February 23, 1952
Aerosmith
Toys In The Attic (18-20)
3rd LP, released 4/1/75. After their first two albums received limited commercial success, Aerosmith finally made their big breakthrough with this great hard rocker. In February 1975 they recorded this album at the Record Plant in New York under the working title Love At First Bite. Their second effort with producer Jack Douglas (who later worked with John Lennon and Cheap Trick), this material marked a significant improvement in the Boston-based group's songwriting and performance. For the first time, 26-year-old lead singer Steven Tyler shared most of the compositional chores with various other band members, including 24-year-old bassist Tom Hamilton, and guitarists Joe Perry (24) and Brad Whitford (23). Only 24-year-old drummer, Joey Kramer, received no writing credit.
Released within weeks of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album, Queen's A Day At The Races and Bad Company's Straight Shooter, Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic topped at #11 on the American charts and eventually sold over six million copies. The ensuing tour marked the first time the band performed as a headline act and proved to be their most successful to date. Toys In The Attic was undeniably one of the best hard rock albums of the mid-Seventies.
** Special Note: On the strength of Aerosmith's reputation earned with fans during the Toys In The Attic tour, their first single, "Dream On," was re-released in January 1976. It soon charted at #6 and sold over a million copies. On the heels of that success, "Walk This Way" was re-released a year-and-a-half after this album - long after their next album, Rocks, had come and gone. Soon, Aerosmith's second belated re-release charted at #10 and sold over a million copies!
- The title track, "Toys In The Attic" was co-written by vocalist Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. It was also used as the B-side of "You See Me Crying."
- "Uncle Salty" was co-written by Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton, who played rhythm guitar on the song.
- Steven wrote "Adam's Apple."
- "Walk This Way," a Tyler/Perry composition, was recorded in February 1975. The band recorded a jam based on the basic riff when Tyler was out of the studio. Upon his return, Steven immediately wrote the lyrics, with the title and refrain inspired by the movie Young Frankenstein. The single bombed the first time it was released, but it reached #10 on the charts when it was re-released in December 1976 - long after Aerosmith's next album Rocks had been out. In 1986 Steven and Joe made a cameo appearance on Run DMC's video of their cover of "Walk This Way." That appearance sparked Aerosmith's ultra-successful comeback of the mid-Eighties.
- "Big Ten Inch Record," credited to Fredrick Weismantel, was originally recorded in 1952 by Bull Moose Jackson.
- "Sweet Emotion," written by Steven Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton, became one of Aerosmith's most popular songs. The bass line, one of the most memorable hard rock riffs ever, first came to Hamilton during the Get Your Wings sessions. The song finally took form when he was playing with the riff during one of the Toys In The Attic sessions. Tyler's final lyrics were supposedly his reflection on guitarist Joe Perry's wife. "Sweet Emotion" charted at #36 twice - first in July 1975, and again when it was remixed and re-released in January 1991.
- "No More No More," another Tyler/Perry composition, featured some great piano work by Scott Cushnie (who accompanied the band on their next tour). Steven supposedly based his lyrics on the band's developing/de-evolving lifestyle.
- "Round And Round" was co-written by Tyler and guitarist Brad Whitford, who came up with the original riff. This was used as the B-side to "Walk This Way."
- "You See Me Crying" was credited to Tyler, Perry and Tyler's old bandmate Don Solomon. The song came together during the February 1975 sessions for this album, and was released as a single in November 1975. It never charted.
