Back in the Saddle
Timeline

Aerosmith's career as a band began in 1970. Members consisted of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Ray Tabano. Their first performance was at Nipmuc Regional High School in Massachusetts. In 1971, Tabano left and the band replaced him with rythym guitarist Brad Whitford.

The band released their first self-entitled album "Aerosmith" in 1973. The album included the songs "Mama Kin" and "Walkin' the Dog." However, the song that gained the most recognition was "Dream On," heralded by some as "the greatest Aerosmith song of all time."

"You got to lose to know how to win." -Steven Tyler "Dream On"

In 1975, The band released their critically-acclaimed "Toys in the Attic," featuring the songs "Big Ten Inch Record," "Sweet Emotion," and "Walk This Way." "Walk This Way" went on to be Aerosmith's most recognizable song.

Seeing that Aerosmith was going nowhere fast, Brad Whitford decided to leave the band in 1981. Three years later, Perry and Whitford attended an Aerosmith gig in Boston and the band resolved all existing problems. They decided to begin the appropriately-named "Back in the Saddle" tour.

Even though they were back together, critics doubted it would last long. Aerosmith proved them wrong by embarking on MTV and music history. Combining their forces with the rap group Run D.M.C. for their cover of "Walk This Way" in 1986, Aerosmith was part of the first "rock-rap" combination in music.

Aerosmith realized they were not going to last for long unless they kicked their drug habit, so they sobered up and focused instead on their music. They closed out the 80's with two very successful albums. Ther first was "Permanent Vacation" in 1987, featuring the songs "Dude (Looks Like a Lady,") "Ragdoll" and "Magic Touch." The second was "Pump" in 1989, which featured "Love in an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," "What it Takes" and "The Other Side."

The band had gained large numbers of fans by time the 1990s had come around. In 1993, they released their album "Get a Grip", which featured the songs "Cryin'," "Crazy" and "Amazing." These songs' music videos went on to become synonymous with MTV fans as "the ones with Alicia Silverstone." The album also included "Livin' on the Edge," another favorite video on MTV. They did receive some criticism over the cover of the album, which feature a pierced udder on a cow.

"Anyone who is clearly thinking knows we didn't go out and torture some cow. We used a general anasesthetic followed by a few hours in the recovery room. IT'S FAKE!!! The cow doesn't have anything stuck through its udder!" -Tom Hamilton

1994 was a good year for Aerosmith. They had the honor of playing at Woodstock '94, as well as having a starring role in "Revolution X," a video arcade game.

Aerosmith released the album "Nine Lives" in 1997, as the songs "Fallin' in Love (is So Hard on the Knees)," "Hole in My Soul," "Taste of India" and "Pink" are heard on radio stations around the country. They also filmed a memorable commercial for GAP. One year later, Aerosmith recorded "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for the Armageddon movie soundtrack. This song became their first #1 hit!

Aerosmith is a band that has done it all, but apparently continue to accomplish things that even they have never done. They were featured in the MGM ride "The Rockin' Roller Coaster." In 2001, they released "Just Push Play," an album that included the hits "Jaded," "Fly Away From Here" and "Sunshine."

Aerosmith performed at the 2001 SuperBowl Half-Time Show with popular acts of today such as Britney Spears and Mary J. Blidge. That same year, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2002, they were chosen as the 2nd annual "MTV ICON." But they're not done yet. Currently on tour with KISS and Saliva, Aerosmith has proven that rock and roll is here to stay!