America's answer to the Rolling Stones, this Boston quintet epitomized the sleaze of the '70s, but then had a remarkably sober comeback in the '80s that eclipsed their down-and-dirty heyday.
Aerosmith was one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the Rolling Stones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty, riff-oriented boogie that was loose and swinging, and as hard as a diamond. The band fell prey to drug and alcohol abuse during the early '80s but returned to the top of the charts during the late '80s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine














