aerosmith

1964
- Steven Tyler forms his first "serious" band, Thee Strangeurs, in Sunapee NH. Tyler would later change the band's name to Chain Reaction, writing songs with their keyboard player, Don Solomon (with whom he co-wrote "Woman of the World"). The band also covers Beatles, Stones, Animals and Yardbirds

12/23/2001 Barry Shapiro left a message in the guestbook here at Rock This Way, correcting some wrong info previously posted here:
Though Tyler was originally A drummer, he did NOT play drums for either the Strangeurs or the Chain Reaction, unlike reported elsewhere. How did he know this? Barry was the drummer for both "Thee Strangeurs" and the "Chain Reaction" from 1965 through 1967 when the group disbanded shortly after he left the group. Their recording of 'WHEN I NEEDED YOU' is the original recording and it is on the box set "PANDORA'S BOX".... Shapiro is playing the drums on that recording. Though the group changed personnel over the three years, the core (Steve, Don Solomon (keyboards), Peter Stahl (lead guitar and/or bass) and himself (drums)) maintained.

Once Barry Shapiro joined the group in 1965 their first performance was opening for the BYRDS at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.

1966
- At the age of 18, Steven Tyler enters the studio for the first time with his band Chain Reaction. They record two singles:

"The Sun / When I Needed You" (Date) and
"You Should Have Been Here Yesterday / Ever Lovin' Man" (Verve)

- Meanwhile, Perry and Hamilton form a combo, "Pipe Dream" in Sunapee, NH which by 1969 had become the blues-based, free-form "Jam Band"

1967-68
- March - Chain Reaction opens 4 shows for the Yardbirds One Yardbirds set, at New York's Anderson Theater, is recorded and released as the controversial "Live Yardbirds"

- October - NYC - Tyler, still with Chain Reaction, guests in the studio on backup vocals with The Left Banke, who had a hit with "Walk Away Rene"

"He was hungry and a good singer, so I put him on there"

- Tom Finn - Bass Player, The Left Banke

1969
- Chain Reaction play occasional high profile gigs, opening for The Beach Boys (Iona College,) and the last lineup of Yardbirds with Jimmy Page (Staples High School in Connecticut)

- Chain Reaction and the Jam Band both play gigs at Sunapee, NH's "The Barn". Tyler witnesses the Jam Band playing Fleetwood Mac's "Rattlesnake Shake"

- "They did this song so well that I knew if I could get together with these guys, we could pull the same feeling off with some songs I wrote, so I got together with them...I loved Joe's style". He always played out of tune and real sloppy and I just loved it."

- Steven Tyler interview Circus Magazine 6/75

- Aerosmith's most vital and (often) most overlooked element was synthesized in this union. The Jam Band's wild, unadulterated improv-ability was successfully merged with Chain Reaction's tight, disciplined control to produce the furious but steady blast we know as Aerosmith

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1970
- Aerosmith is well received at their first public appearance, playing at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, MA in the late fall

- The newly named Aerosmith play gigs outside of Boston University's Student Union building recognizing that getting close to their fans is the key to success. Sharing an apartment at 1325 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, the band defines itself in the best possible conditions for a young rock n' roll band to do so

"There were six of us in the group, some of us were living in the kitchen, eating brown rice and Cambell's soup. Those days, you know, when a quart of beer was heaven. It was hard times and it was really good. During lunch we would set up all our equipment outside of BU, in the main square and just started wailing. That's basically how we got billed. We never got much publicity in the magazines and newspapers."

- Steven Tyler interview Circus Magazine 6/75

1971
- Guitarist Ray Tabano leaves the band to return years later as a member of the crew, then Director of Marketing during which time he launched the first Aerosmith fan club and worked on developing their merchandise

- Tabano is replaced by Brad Whitford who cut his eye-teeth in rock n' roll at age 16, playing with Teapot Dome, Earth, Inc. and Cymbals of Resistance

- At this point the band is earning about $300 a night and dodging eviction notices and stealing food from supermarkets to survive. Still an unsigned local band, they compete for local press with others like J. Geils and The Modern Lovers

- The band's formative years are not without that most needed element in any successful rock band's history - sheer luck. They had worked damn hard and the payoff was on it's way

- John O'Toole lets Aerosmith practice free of charge in the Fenway Theater. He takes a liking to the band and brings in his friend Frank Connoly, the first person of some commercial significance to have more than a passing hunch about the bands potential -

"Frank was the first guy who knew, he was the one who said we were on to something"

- Brad Whitford

1972
- Steven Tallarico changes his name to Steven Tyler

- Summer - Aerosmith lands a $125,000 deal with Columbia, following a show an New York's Max's Kansas City, when Clive Davis saw them play. The song "No Suprize" chronicals this event

- The band enters Intermedia Sound studios to record Aerosmith their classic self titled debut LP, produced by Adrian Barber. The album was recorded and mixed in just 2 weeks

1973
- January - The first album, Aerosmith, is released on Columbia Records.

- The band begins touring in support of the first album, opening for the likes of Mott the Hoople, The Kinks, Hawkwind and Mahavishnu Orchestra

- The first LP sells faster than any other album in Boston at the time and gets an outstanding review from Creem Magazine, while going largely unnoticed by other mainstream media

- June - "Dream On" / "Somebody" released as a single. "Dream On" gets #1 song of the year at 2 popular Boston radio stations (WVBF - Framingham, and WBCN - Boston)

1974
- March - The band finish recording Get Your Wings at the Record Plant in New York and release the first single, - Same Old Song And Dance / "Pandora's Box" is released

- Circus Magazine gives Get Your Wings the first mention as one of the year's "Ace Albums"

- Circus Magazine runs an article on Aerosmith

- April - Letter to the Editors of Circus Magazine -

"Let's have more on a fantastic group called Aerosmith. They are very well-known in Boston and New York. Their hit single "Dream On" is the number one song of the year on two popular FM stations. They were also recently on tour with Mott the Hoople, and they put on an incredible show! Lead singer Steven Tyler really knows how to please the audience, and I hope in coming issues I'll hear more about them.

-Ann Marie Foley, Waltham, MA

- September - "Train Kept a Rollin' / "Spaced" (a leftover from their days performing as Chain Reaction) is released as a single