In 1986, Tim Collins held a meeting with all band members.  The plan was to pressure Steven into a drug rehab program.  The years of heroin addiction had taken a hard grasp of Aerosmith’s lead singer, but he finally agreed to get clean, and soon after that meeting, Steven Tyler entered a rehab center where he successfully completed the program.  The rest of the band members individually checked themselves into rehab clinics during the mid to late 80’s where they too  successfully completed their programs.

Years later, while giving an interview in his hotel suite, Steven Tyler recalled the days of heavy drug addiction.

“Of course I did way too many drugs”, says Tyler. “I spent a lost week in a hotel room with Roger Taylor from Queen, and he wasn’t the only guy. The highs were incredible but the lows made you feel like someone was sucking the blood from your jugular with a straw. I sunk to my knees and lost everything, but I’m part Italian and my good old-fashioned guilt came up and I had to check in to rehab.

When I was doing heroin it gave me a gravelly voice and I just couldn’t hit the notes, but I’m clean now of course. I take great pride in not chickening out of the big notes.”

Steven Tyler was finally free from the clutches of drug addiction.  This new found freedom would set the stage for what would become a rejuvenation of Aerosmith, and their acceptance by mainstream, non hard rock fans.

Aerosmith’s next studio album in 1987 would be a rebirth into super- stardom for the band.  “Permanent Vacation” was released in the fall of 1987, and it would be a major success for Aerosmith.

Permanent Vacation was Aerosmith’s best selling album in over ten years.  It quickly went platinum, and produced such hits as “Dude, Looks Like A Lady”, Rag Doll and Angel”.

The album’s success sprouted a new found fame for Aerosmith, only this time around, the band was sober to really enjoy the fruits of their labor.

aerosmith-rocks-album

After the highly successful Toys in the Attic album of 1975, came Rocks.  Rocks was a highly awaited album because of the success of Toys in the Attic.  In 1976, Aerosmith was on top of the world as were their fans. Many Aerosmith fans waited outside the record store before it opened on the day that the Rocks album was set to be released.  In some cities, lineups of Aerosmith fans had formed outside the record stores which only heightened the buzz surrounding the Rock Band.    Most of those people today, will tell you that they were not disappointed with the Rocks Album, and some would even swear that Aerosmith’s Rocks Album was their best creation to date.

The album consists of nine songs 1. Back In The Saddle    2. Last Child    3. Rats In The Cellar 4. Combination  5. Sick As A Dog     6. Nobody’s Fault 7. Get The Lead Out 8. Lick And A Promise and 9. Home Tonight.  Last Child and Back in the Saddle were immediate FM hits.  Home Tonight was a ballad that also made the charts.

The Rocks album was very influential to many musicians from popular bands who came along after Aerosmith.Members of Guns and Roses, Motley Crue and Metallica have cited this album as leaving a major musical impression on them, and influencing their musical styles.

With the overwhelming success of Rocks came more and more concert tours.  Each time, the stadiums were getting bigger to accommodate the rapidly growing numbers of Aerosmith fans.  The concerts were loud and always filled with non stop energy, leaving concert goers tired and breathless once the concert had ended.

Aerosmith’s next album came out in 1977.  Draw the Line was also highly anticipated, but was not as successful as Aerosmith’s previous two albums.  At this point, drug addiction was starting to catch up to the hard rock band, and it showed in the music that Aerosmith was putting out. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry came to be known as the Toxic Twins during this time because of their drug use on and off the stage.

The band continued to tour and also continued to indulge themselves in the life of a Rock and Roll superstar.  During the same time they were touring, Aerosmith had acted in the movie version of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Aerosmith’s cover of  The Beatles ‘Come Together’ song which was released on the movie’s soundtrack album would be their  last top 40 hit for nearly a decade.