The most successful and influential American rock band to rise to prominence in the 1970s, Aerosmith applied and stylistically broadened the hard rock format to almost unparalleled artistic success. Incorporating blues, R&B, folk, and funk influences consistently, the group also established the “power ballad” (with the best intentions) as a viable approach and ensured rock’s commercial endurance in the decade amidst disparate musical trends. Spiritual descendants of The Yardbirds, the five men more than acquitted themselves as natural successors and, appropriately, went on to dominate popular music with a distinctive sound often imitated but never matched.
Fleetwood Mac’s “Rattlesnake Shake”
Released on Fleetwood Mac’s seminal Then Play On in autumn 1969, “Rattlesnake Shake“–a Peter Green ode–instantly took its place as ...
Aerosmith’s “Movin’ Out”
The first song that Steven Tyler and Joe Perry wrote together (while sitting on a water bed at the band’s ...
Reviewing Aerosmith’s Tumultuous 1979
AEROSMITH 1979 The Aerosmith that shipped off to tour North America in early 1979 represented, more so than a reinvigorated, ...
Spotlight on Live Albums
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer’s In Concert (1979): Overshadowed by 1974’s Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends…Ladies ...
Selected Media:
- 1977 Interview on Jim Ladd’s “Inner View” segment (46 min)
- Closed-Circuit Footage of Aerosmith Live at The Summit in Houston, 1977 (84 min)
- Professionally-Shot Footage from the Pontiac Silverdome, 1976, as released on Video Scrapbook (31 min)
- Radio Broadcast of Aerosmith’s “One Way Street” Live in Detroit, 1974 (10 min); full show also available