Aerosmith: Bad Boys of Boston Who Nearly Died Before Their Comeback

By the late 1970s, Aerosmith looked unstoppable. They were America’s answer to the Rolling Stones. Dirty. Dangerous. Loud. Every arena they entered turned into a giant cloud of beer, smoke and screaming fans. Steven Tyler strutted across stages like a possessed rock preacher while guitarist Joe Perry unleashed riffs that sounded like speeding motorcycles crashing into amplifiers.

The hits were endless. “Dream On. ” “Sweet Emotion. ” “Walk This Way. ” “Back in the Saddle. ” Every album sold millions. Every tour got crazier. The band became legendary for backstage destruction, drug binges, and total insanity on the road.

But behind the scenes, the wheels were flying off fast.

Cocaine and heroin flooded the band’s world. Fans and reporters started calling them the “Toxic Twins” because Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were constantly wasted. Stories spread about band members passing out backstage, missing rehearsals, and barely surviving concerts.

Then came the explosion nobody could stop.

During a 1979 World Series of Rock festival in Cleveland, an argument between the wives of Tyler and Perry reportedly turned into a full backstage disaster. Tempers exploded. Screaming started. Fists nearly flew. Soon after, Joe Perry quit the band entirely.

Fans were stunned. Without Perry, Aerosmith looked broken. Record sales collapsed. Concert attendance dropped. Critics declared them finished.

Then things got even worse.

Steven Tyler was so deep into addiction that friends feared he might die. Millions of dollars vanished into drugs. The band drifted through the early ’80s looking like ghosts of their former selves.

Then came one of the greatest comebacks in music history.

In 1984, the classic lineup reunited. Rehab followed. Then came a surprise collaboration with rap group Run-D.M.C. on “Walk This Way. ” Suddenly Aerosmith became relevant all over again.

By the late ’80s and early ’90s, they were bigger than ever. MTV embraced them. Younger fans discovered them. Hit songs exploded across radio again.

Somehow the band that nearly destroyed itself with drugs, ego and chaos became one of the longest-running rock acts in history.

And through it all, Aerosmith never lost what made them dangerous in the first place.