“The Bad Boys from Boston” are calling it a day. With an epic 50-plus-year career behind them, Aerosmith is heading out on the road one more time for Peace Out: The Farewell Tour. Their 40-date outing with the Black Crowes begins September 2, 2023 in Philadelphia and wraps up on January 26, 2024 in Montreal. The tour also includes a stop at Spectrum Center in Charlotte on October 17th. This installment of the Throwback Threesome looks back at the raucous roller coaster ride of “America’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band.”

A Band is Born

The Aerosmith story began when guitarist Steve Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton were playing in a Boston-area group called the Jam Band. Perry and Hamilton met singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano. They formed Aerosmith in 1970. A year later, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and thus was born the classic Aerosmith lineup. Joey Kramer, who no longer plays on tour, came up with the band’s name while still in high school.

The 1970s were good to Aerosmith, though not without a heavy dose of drug-induced drama. Despite hugely successful tours and a string of rock gems such as “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On,” and “Walk This Way,” the band was on a path of self-destruction. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry weren’t called the “Toxic Twins” for nothing. The substance abuse and internal conflict eventually led to the departures of Perry in 1979 and Brad Whitford in 1981.

Reborn to Rock

Guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay played with Aerosmith in the early ’80s, but the group struggled to reach its previous heights. Joe Perry and Brad Whitford returned to the fold in 1984 and fortunes began to change. The comeback started when Aerosmith collaborated with hip hop pioneers Run–DMC on a remake of “Walk This Way” in 1986. That was followed by the 1987 release of the band’s multi-platinum album, Permanent Vacation. To paraphrase one of their own songs, Aerosmith was back in the saddle again.

Aerosmith continued to be a dominant presence on radio and MTV from the late-’80s and well into the 21st Century with hits, including “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Angel,” “Love in an Elevator,” “Janie’s Got a Gun,” “Livin’ on the Edge,” “Crazy,” and “Jaded.” Along the way, Hollywood came calling, too. The band appeared in the movies Wayne’s World 2 (1993) and Be Cool (2005). Aerosmith also recorded songs for numerous soundtracks, including the massive “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from the 1998 film Armageddon.

Throwback Threesome: Aerosmith

• Sweet Emotion (1975)

  The lead single from Aerosmith’s third album, Toys in the Attic, “Sweet Emotion” sparked Aerosmith’s run of success in the latter half of the 1970s. The video below comes from the band’s performance at the inaugural “Texxas Jam” music festival at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on July 1, 1978.

• Love In An Elevator (1989)

  According to Society of Rock, lead singer Steven Tyler says this song was based on an incident when he was making out with a woman in an elevator, the doors opened, and stayed open far too long. Released as the first single from Pump in 1989, the lusty “Love in an Elevator” reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and all the way to number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The video is quintessential Aerosmith.

• I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (1998)

  Written by Dianne Warren as the theme song for the 1998 science fiction disaster film Armageddon, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” became Aerosmith’s biggest hit, topping the charts in the U.S. and around the world. Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv Tyler, co-starred in the movie with Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ben Affleck.

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