Fronted by Mick Jagger  lookalike Steve Tyler and   known for its aggressive  blues-based style, Aerosmith  was the top American hard-rock band of the mid-Seventies, despite endless attacks from critics who considered them a poor man’s Rolling Stones.
       But the members’ growing drug problems and  internal dissension contributed to a commercial decline that began with 1977’s Draw the Line. Two crucial lineup changes and a few poorly received  albums preceded a 1984 reunion of the original lineup and the multiplatinum Permanent Vacation, which signaled one of the most spectacular comebacks in rock history. Though now vociferous  adherents of the sober lifestyle and pushing past forty, Aerosmith forfeited none of their bad-boy image, and their live shows were among the best of  their long career. Even critics liked them better the second time around.

        The group was formed in 1970 by Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, and Tyler, who was then a drummer. The group was completed with drummer Joey Kramer  and Brad Whitford; Tyler became lead singer. For  the next two years all five members shared a small apartment in Boston and played almost nightly throughout the area, occasionally venturing to New York. Clive Davis saw them perform at Max’s Kansas City in New York and signed them to Columbia. A minor hit and future FM-radio staple from their debut, "Dream On," strengthened their regional following.

        Meanwhile, Aerosmith began to tour widely. By 1976 "Dream On" recharted, rising to #6 and spawning  innumerable power-ballad imitations. And by the  time of "Walk This Way" (#10,1977), the band had become headliners. Its phenomenal success was  short-lived, however. A series of sold-out tours and platinum albums (including Aerosmith, Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic) peaked in 1976.

        By 1977 the group’s constant touring and the band members’ heavy drug use (Perry and Tyler were nicknamed "the Toxic Twins" for their heroin habits) had begun to take their toll. After months of rest,  Aerosmith recorded Draw the Line and appeared as the villains in Robert Stigwood’s movie Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; their version of Lennon  and McCartney’s "Come Together" from the soundtrack was a minor hit. But Aerosmith was
unraveling: In 1979 Perry quit, admitting to long-standing personality and musical conflicts with Tyler, his songwriting partner. Jim Crespo took his  place. The next year Whitford departed to form the Whitford St. Holmes Band with ex-Ted Nugent sidekick Derek St. Holmes and was replaced by Rick Dufay. Neither Perry’s nor Whitford’s outside  records did particularly well.

       Rock in a Hard Place, Aerosmith’s first new  recording in almost three years and the first without Perry, peaked at #32, as the band was eclipsed by a new breed of young hard-rockers. In early 1984 the five original members met backstage at an  Aerosmith concert and decided to re-form. Done with Mirrors, their first "comeback" LP, sold moderately. The group’s reascendance began in earnest when Perry and Tyler appeared with rap duo Run-D.M.C. in a video for the latter’s version of the 1977  Aerosmith warhorse "Walk This Way" (#4,1986). That fall, just as "Walk This Way" was peaking on  the chart, Permanent Vacation (#11, 1987) was released, with three hit singles and their accompanying videos -- "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" (#14, 1987), "Angel" (#3, 1988), and "Rag Doll" (#17, 1988) -- introducing Aerosmith to a new generation.

     Aerosmith further consolidated its success with the quadruple-platinum Pump (#5, 1989), which boasted  "Love in an Elevator" (#5, 1989), "Janie’s Got a Gun" (#4, 1989) -- the song about incest won 1990’s Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group -- "What It Takes" (#9, 1990), and "The Other  Side" (#22, 1990).

         In 1991 the group signed a record deal with Sony worth a reported $30 million for four albums and including provisions for 22 percent royalties. Three years later, in summer 1994, the group landed a seven-figure deal from G. P. Putnam’s Sons for its group autobiography. With the hit singles "Living on the Edge" (#18, 1993), "Cryin" (#12, 1993), and  "Crazy" (#7, 1993), Get a Grip hit #1, followed by 1994’s double-platinum #6 greatest-hits package, Big Ones, continuing Aerosmith’s run at the top.  Box of Fire, a 12-CD compilation of Aerosmith’s Columbia output, went gold in early 1995.