2009 Aerosmith/ZZ Top /"A to Z Tour" Preview
This summer marks a historic tour for Aerosmith. The band will be teaming up with ZZ Top, who are celebrating their 40th year together, for the majority of their shows. The Aerosmith/ZZ Top Tour, or A to Z Tour, is being put on by Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, a music video game wherein the players simulate playing Aerosmith’s songs. The tour will hit over 40 cities in the U.S. and Canada in just over three months.
This tour was originally intended to promote Aerosmith’s 15th studio album, scheduled for release before the beginning of the tour. The album was intended to include material recorded by the band since 2006. However, numerous setbacks, including surgeries for singer Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry, delayed recording of this album. The album is now going to be pieced together from live recordings and produced by Brendan O’Brien.
AEROSMITH FACTS:
Members: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer
Genre: Rock Music
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Awards: Four Grammy Awards, Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, MTV Icon Award, 10 MTV Video Music Awards, five American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, plus many more
Albums: Aerosmith, Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic, Rocks, Draw the Line, Just Push Play, Honkin on Bobo
Hits: "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Cryin," "Crazy," "Pink," "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing"
Aerosmith is one of the legendary bands of rock music. From their earliest hits with “Toys in the Attic” to their collaboration with Run DMC on "Walk This Way" to their mainstream hit albums like “Pump,” Aerosmith is part of the fabric of rock and roll.
The band was founded in Boston in 1970, and the current members of Aerosmith have all been in the band since 1971. In 1972 they signed with Columbia Records, and released their first album the next year. By the end of the decade, the group had achieved superstar status worldwide. However, strife between band members as well as problems with drug addiction led to the departure of members Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.
Both members returned to the band in 1984, but the internal problems had left their mark. Additionally, band members had not yet confronted their problems with drug abuse and addiction. In 1986, singer Steven Tyler went into a drug rehab program, and other band members followed suit in the next two years. In 1987, trying to stay sober in a drug-filled environment, Aerosmith released Permanent Vacation, which became the band’s best-selling album since Toys in the Attic.
Even more successful was the band’s next album, Pump, released in 1989, for which the group received their first Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song “Janie’s Got a Gun.”
The 1993 release of Get a Grip marked Aerosmith’s first album to debut in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart. This album also won the band two more Grammy awards.
In 1998 Aerosmith released their only No. 1 single thus far, the song “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” that is featured in the movie Armageddon. The song was nominated for an Academy Award, proving that even at the end of their third decade playing together as a band, Aerosmith had not gone stale.
Aerrosmith released a blues album in 2004, Honkin’ on Bobo. In 2006 they came out with a compilation album. This is the last album to be released by the band, and fans are waiting with baited breath for the release of their next album.
Aerosmith's cool vibe and unique style is derived from lead singer Steven Tyler. Tyler's energy on stage is unrivaled by anyone this side of Mick Jagger. An Aerosmith concert is way more than just great music, it is a stage performance by Tyler that leaves you amazed at his talent. Backed by his legendary guitar partner, Joe Perry, Tyler leads Aerosmith to places that most bands can only dream.
Aerosmith has received some of the highest honors in music, including induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. The band has also won numerous Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. Aerosmith's hit songs like "Walk This Way", "Janie's Got a Gun" and "Cryin" are some of the most recognizable songs in music. When presented with the opportunity to attend an Aerosmith concert; don't walk, run to go to see Aerosmith.