Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler biography

Steven Tyler (born Steven Victor Tallarico; March 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'" due to his high screams and his wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics. During his high-energy performances, he usually dresses in bright, colorful outfits with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand. In the 1970s, Tyler rose to prominence as the frontman of Aerosmith, which released such milestone hard rock albums as Toys in the Attic and Rocks. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler had a heavy drug and alcohol addiction, and the band's popularity waned.

He completed drug rehabilitation in 1986 and subsequently maintained sobriety for years, but had a relapse with prescription painkillers in the late 2000s, for which he successfully received treatment in 2009. After Aerosmith launched a remarkable comeback in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the albums Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip, Tyler became a household name and has remained a relevant rock icon. As a result, he has since embarked on several solo endeavors including guest appearances on other artists' music, film and TV roles (including as a judge on American Idol), authoring a bestselling book, and solo work (including a Top 40 hit single in 2011). However, he has continued to record music and perform with Aerosmith, after more than 41 years in the band. He is included among Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers. He was also ranked 3rd on Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. In 2001 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Aerosmith, and he was the presenter when AC/DC was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early life

Steven Victor Tallarico was born, March 26, 1948 in Yonkers, New York, the son of Susan (née Blancha, died July 4th, 2008), a secretary, and Victor A. Tallarico (died September 10, 2011), a classical musician and pianist. His father was of Italian and German descent and his mother was of Cherokee and Ukrainian ancestry. Her father from the Russian partition of former Poland changed his surname from "Czarnyszewicz" (from the Polish czarny 'black') to "Blancha" (from the French blanche or Catalan/Spanish blanca 'white').

Tyler has stated that he grew up "under his mother's piano", and that from what his father played, he got "that emotional thing" that he has with music. When he was sixteen, he formed his first band, called The Strangeurs, later changed to Chain Reaction, where he was the drummer, and later the lead singer. Tyler had also been part of a few local bands, like William Proud and The Left Banke. He was expelled from Roosevelt High School due to his drug use. He graduated from the Leonard Quintano for Young Professionals School in 1967. He attended Woodstock with Joe Perry and Joey Kramer, his future Aerosmith bandmates.

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