Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, exploding cars and snotty shirts; here is the hidden past of ‘The Bad Boys From Boston’: Aerosmith.
1. Front man Steven Tyler, or Steven Victor Tallarico to his folks, spent his formative musical years curled up under his father’s grand piano listening to his old man tinkling the ivories. The classical music he was exposed to would pave the way for an unlikely path to rock ‘n’ roll infamy.
2. After starring in a church choir in the Bronx, the lippy lothario went on to form his first band, Thee Strangeurs, who would go on to tour with The Beach Boys and The Yardbirds, before the first incarnation of Aerosmith debuted in a Massachusetts high school in 1970.
3. Axe man Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton met Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Ray Tabano (later replaced by Brad Whitford), to form Aerosmith and, in stark contrast to the years of debauchery and excess that would follow, actually paid to play their first ever gig.
4. The fug of addiction that was to envelop the band had the most innocent of beginnings: they would congregate to smoke a joint and listen to Iggy And The Stooges for hours on end. One afternoon post-Iggy, Kramer suggested the name ‘Aerosmith’ inspired by a Harry Nilsson record.
5. Something of a quote machine, Steven Tyler has always put those lips to entertaining use, a craft he mastered in his earliest interviews. “We just wanted to be the biggest thing that ever walked the planet, the greatest rock band that ever was. We just wanted everything, we wanted it all.”
– – –
6. Hedonism and rock went hand-in-hand with Aerosmith, but not according to newspaper comments in 1976. In an article about unsavoury rock lyrics, ‘Walk This Way’ was used as an example of wholesome lyrics. Tyler said: “I couldn’t believe it. Obviously, they didn’t get the meaning of ‘you aint’ seen nothin’ till you’re down on a muffin’.”
7. Now legendary as the first fusion of rap and rock, Aerosmith’s collaboration with Run DMC came close to never seeing daylight. Recording sessions stalled when Tyler realised he’d left the lyrics in a taxi, which left him screaming new lines and scrawling them straight onto the studio wall.
8. Aerosmith and Mickey Mouse may seem unlikely bedfellows, but not for staff of the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s MGM studios. ‘Walk This Way’ was played constantly as part of the band’s video introduction to the ride, which may or may not have brainwashed innocent students in summer jobs.
9. Alongside the pitfalls of life as rockers, Aerosmith have had to overcome freak injuries and exploding cars. Just weeks apart, some onstage acrobatics landed Tyler with severe knee trouble whilst a routine gas station visit left Kramer’s car engulfed in flames.
10. Steven Tyler’s charm landed him in trouble with Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine when he ousted the ’Deth from their tour with the words, “We’d like to help you out. Which way did you come in?” All this after Mustaine blew his nose into an Aerosmith shirt on stage. Life’s jus’not fair.
Words by Ben Homewood