Aerosmith: America’s best-selling hard rock band!
Formed in Boston during the early ’70s, Aerosmith’s self-titled debut album came out in 1973. The only single, Dream On, sold 4 million copies (twice as many as the album) and remains their most streamed tune on Spotify, even 50 years later.
Their follow-up album, Get Your Wings, sold better with 3 million copies but had no charting singles.
In 1975, they released Toys In The Attic, which is considered by many diehard fans as their best work. The title track, their first big radio hit, Sweet Emotion, and the original version of Walk This Way are all great tunes.
Though not massive chart successes, they still sold well with 3 million copies of Sweet Emotion, 2 million of Walk This Way, and 9 million copies of the album, all figures are for U.S. sales only.
Clearly, after three albums, Aerosmith became a well-established band. However, their next bunch of albums didn’t do as well, had fewer hits, and sold much worse. This includes Rocks (1976), Draw The Line (1977), and Night In The Ruts (1979).
Joe Perry (guitar and songwriter) left halfway through Night In The Ruts. Determined to carry on, they released Rock in a Hard Place in 1982, but now the other guitarist, Brad Whitford, left.
The sales for Rock in a Hard Place were not good, with only 1/2 million copies sold. In 1985, Joe and Brad returned to record Done With Mirrors, but unfortunately, it wasn’t well received, much like their previous release.
From Dream On to Don’t Want to Miss a Thing: The Rise of Aerosmith’s Commercial Success
However, things took an unexpected turn when producer Rick Rubin suggested that Run-D.M.C. collaborate with Aerosmith to record Walk This Way again. The success was insane, giving the band a new lease on life, and their next album was a hit.
The 1987 album Permanent Vacation brought with it the hit tune Dude (Looks Like a Lady). The album sold 5 million copies, and everyone was happy again.
Two years later, they released Pump, featuring Love in an Elevator and Janie’s Got a Gun, both classic Aerosmith tracks. The album sold 7 million copies.
In 1993, they released Get a Grip, which I personally really enjoyed, perhaps because I was 16 when I bought it. Songs like Livin’ on the Edge, Eat the Rich, Cryin’, Amazing, and Crazy felt great at the time. However, hardcore Aerosmith fans who still listened to Toys in the Attic might have found it overproduced.
The 1997 album Nine Lives wasn’t quite as strong, but the single Pink did well, had a great music video, and won numerous awards.
The following year, for the film Armageddon, they recorded I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, written by Diane Warren, who had originally intended it for someone like Celine Dion. Perhaps it had something to do with Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv, starring in the film—maybe not. Either way, it became Aerosmith’s biggest chart success and best-selling tune.
The albums released after Nine Lives didn’t perform as well, likely because they had no major hits. However, by now, Aerosmith has so many big tunes that they can tour the world many times over, hardly struggling to put together a setlist.
With 150 million albums sold worldwide, Aerosmith remains America’s best-selling hard rock band of all time.
Aerosmith Tunes | Related Pages
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D A/C# | Bm7 |
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Aerosmith on the web
