America's answer to the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith combined Steven Tyler's elastic vocals and scarved microphone stand theatrics with Joe Perry's bluesy swagger. Their 1970s peak produced a string of records that balanced hard rock crunch with funk, blues, and pop hooks.
Drug problems derailed them in the early eighties, but their late-eighties comeback, powered by a collaboration with Run-DMC on 'Walk This Way' that helped birth rap-rock, made them bigger than they'd ever been.
Key Albums
The breakthrough. 'Walk This Way' and 'Sweet Emotion' announced a major band.
Darker, heavier, and rawer. The album that made Slash pick up a guitar.
The blockbuster comeback album that sold 20 million copies worldwide.
Why They Matter
Aerosmith bridged the gap between blues-rock authenticity and pop-rock spectacle, and their collaboration with Run-DMC was a pivotal moment in breaking down genre barriers between rock and hip-hop.