Background

Ethnicity: Steven Tyler is of Italian and German descent on his father's side and Polish, English, and Welsh on his mother's.

Steven Tyler was born Steven Victor Tallarico on March 26, 1948, in Manhattan, New York, United States to the family of a classical musician and pianist who taught music at Cardinal Spellman High School Victor Alphonse Tallarico and a secretary Susan Ray Blancha. He has an elder sister named Lynda. The family relocated to Yonkers when he was about nine years old.

Tyler's father was of Italian (from Cotronei, Catanzaro, Calabria) and German (from Berlin and Gerlachsheim) descent, and his maternal grandfather, born Feliks Karol Czarnyszewicz, was a Polish emigrant from Kliczew and Bobrujsk (now, respectively, Klichaw and Babruysk, each of which is in Mahilyow Voblast, Belarus). Tyler's maternal grandmother had English and distant Welsh ancestry; also, on the show Who Do You Think You Are?, his daughter Liv Tyler discovered that Steven's great-great-great-grandfather, Robert J. Elliott, was of half or part African-American ancestry. He was married to Steven's ancestor, Elizabeth "Betsey"/"Betsy" Rollins, in New York.

The son of a music teacher, Tyler started playing drums at a young age, but then focused on singing.

Education

Steven Tyler attended Roosevelt High School. He was expelled from Roosevelt for drug use and later graduated from Jose Quintano's School for Young Professionals in 1967.

In 2003, Tyler received an honorary degree from Berklee College of Music, and, in 2005, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Career

Steven Tyler wrote music and played drums with some bands before he met Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton at a concert for Perry and Hamilton’s band Jam Band. They agreed to form a group together, and Tyler insisted on taking vocals. He also invited friends Joey Kramer and Ray Tabano to form the band's line-up. The band based itself in Boston. Brad Whitford quickly replaced Tabano. The band, Aerosmith, toured the clubs of Boston developing a following. In 1972, they signed a record deal with Columbia Records. They released their first album, Aerosmith, in 1973. The album featured the Tyler penned track Dream On. The album made it to twenty-one on the American Billboard charts and had sold two million copies. The single Dream On would be reissued, and in 1976 it reached number six on the Billboard charts. Aerosmith’s second album, Get Your Wings, failed to gain chart success, and none of its singles performed well either. The band’s real breakthrough came with the 1975 release of Toys in the Attic.

The album has sold eight million units and peaked at number eleven in the charts in America. It also featured the singles, Sweet Emotion and Walk the Way. Sweet Emotion, a rereleased Dream On and Walk this Way produced three hit singles in quick succession for the band and greatly boosted their popularity. By this stage, the band was indulging in copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, but this did not slow their productivity, and in 1976 they released a fourth studio album, Rocks. Rocks peaked at number three in America and are rated as the band’s best work by many fans as it features a rawer and heavier sound than their other works. Off the back of their success, Aerosmith was able to headline their stadium tour. The cracks in the band began to form in 1977 during the recording of their fifth album Draw the Line.

Tyler and the others had become full-blown drug addicts. Despite this, the album went platinum in America within a month and also had success in Canada and Japan. The constant touring and drug abuse eventually led to arguments, and Joe Perry left Aerosmith in 1979. The first album release without Perry was a huge disappointment, only managing to achieve gold certification. Tyler’s health also began to abandon him due to his addiction, and while touring to promote the Night in the Ruts album, he collapsed on stage.

Tyler then was involved in a motorcycle crash and hospitalized for months. A most excellent hits album was released to bridge the gap, and it sold eleven million copies. The band then released another disappointing album, Rock in Hard Places, in 1981. Joe Perry reunited with the band for a performance in Massachusetts, but Tyler and Perry indulged in drugs before the show, and Tyler again collapsed on stage. The band reunited properly in 1984. The band went on the ‘Back in the Saddle Tour’ to celebrate the original line-up reforming, but despite being a success, it continued to be dogged by drug-fuelled controversies. Done With Mirrors was released in 1985, but it was again a disappointment. Aerosmith was in danger of becoming a touring band until in 1986 Tyler, and Perry appeared in collaboration with Run DMC on Walk this Way.

The rock/hip-hop crossover received huge amounts of airtime and relaunched Aerosmith’s popularity. Another key turning point came with Tyler agreeing to go into rehabilitation for his drug problem. The whole band agreed to get clean, and the 1987 album Permanent Vacation sold five million albums. It also featured the hit singles, Rag Doll and Dude (Looks Like a Lady). The now-sober Aerosmith went on tour with Guns N Roses to support their album. This was controversial as Guns N Roses were going through their well-publicized drug binge and Tyler and Perry had previously bought drugs from members of the band. Despite this, the band stayed on the straight and narrow and released Pump in 1989. Pump was even more successful than its predecessor and sold seven million copies.

It also contained several major hits, Janie’s Got a Gun, Love In an Elevator and What it Takes. The band promoted the album with a yearlong tour and an appearance on Saturday Night Live. The band appeared in a Wayne’s World sketch which was named by many as the best moment in the history of Saturday Night Live. The band also appeared in the animated show The Simpsons in 1991, performing at the shows local bar in exchange for all you can eat pickled eggs. 1993 saw Aerosmith release another huge commercial hit, Get a Grip. The album sold twenty million records but was panned by critics for its pop music vibe and overemphasis on power ballads. The band was also criticised for bringing outside songwriters during the production of the album. The band would then feature on the MTV animated show Beavis and Butt-head’s compilation album.

The band released Nine Lives in 1997. It was deeply unsuccessful in comparison to their other releases and saw the end of their collaboration with manager Tim Collins. Tyler also injured his leg while on tour promoting the album. Despite the misfortune surrounding it, the album did feature the single hit Pink. The band reached number one in the USA in 1998, with the theme song to the film Armageddon, Don’t Want to Miss a Thing. The band was made the feature of Disney World’s ‘Rock n Roller Coaster’ in 1999. The band played the halftime show of the 2001 Super Bowl. The same year they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tyler again injured himself when he fell off-stage in 2009. Following the fall he checked into rehab. Tyler became a judge on American Idol in 2011. Tyler continues to tour with Aerosmith.

After more than four decades in the business, Tyler released his first solo studio effort, We're All Somebody From Somewhere, in July 2016. The album showcased the singer delving into a country sound, even delivering a new take on the Aerosmith hit "Janie's Got a Gun."

In 2018, Tyler discussed the ups and downs of his career with Harvey Levin on the Fox News show OBJECTified. "I have an addictive personality, so I found certain drugs I loved and didn't stop to the point of hurting my children, hurting my life, shirting my family, hurting my band," said the rock star. "There was a point where I didn't have a band and I didn't care."

In August 2018, Tyler and Aerosmith confirmed that the band had signed up for a Las Vegas residency. Their Deuces Are Wild show is scheduled to include 18 performances from early April into July 2019 at MGM's Park Theater.

Achievements

• 

  Steven Tyler is considered one of rock’s greatest showman. 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. Aerosmith’s album ‘Get a Grip’ sold over 20 million copies worldwide. The songs in the album won two Grammy Awards and the album was voted Album of the year in 1993 by ‘Metal Edge’. Though he is best known as Aerosmith’s front man, Steven Tyler is a man of many talents. Combining his love for music and his natural artistic ability, Steven Tyler has created a style of his own. Tyler received an honorary degree from Berklee College of Music, and in 2005, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith 2003

• music

  • Aerosmith 1973
  • Get Your Wings 1974
  • Toys in the Attic 1975
  • Rocks 1976
  • Draw The Line 1977
  • Night In The Ruts 1979
  • Rock In A Hard Place 1982
  • Done with Mirrors 1985
  • Permanent Vacation 1987
  • Pump 1989
  • Get a Grip 1993
  • Nine Lives 1997
  • Just Push Play 2001
  • Honkin' On Bobo 2004
  • Music From Another Dimension! 2012
  • We're All Somebody From Somewhere 2016
  • Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir 2011

Religion

Tyler was raised Catholic and his mother was a teacher at a Catholic school. He seems to be more on the side of New Age, post-modern spirituality with a little Greek mythology thrown into the mix. First of all, Tyler considers himself a realist. He admits to practicing the sex rituals of famous British occultist Aleister Crowley.

Politics

Steven Tyler is a registered Republican, but doesn't want to give "false impression" he endorses Trump. In 2018 Tyler ordered Donald Trump to stop playing Aerosmith songs at his political rallies. Aerosmith’s Livin’ on the Edge was played at a Trump rally in Charleston, West Virginia, on Tuesday. In a cease-and-desist letter, Tyler’s lawyers argued: “Mr Trump is creating the false impression that our client has given his consent for the use of his music, and even that he endorses the presidency of Mr Trump.” Tyler later said the act of sending Donald Trump a cease-and-desist letter wasn’t political, and instead was about protecting his rights as a creator.

Views

Tyler lobbied for the “Steven Tyler Act,” that gives celebrities the right to sue paparazzi and collect general, special and punitive damages for taking unwanted photographs. Its sponsor is J. Kalani English of Maui, the evidently star-struck state senator who let Tyler’s lawyer help write it. Its purpose “is to encourage celebrities to visit and reside in our state by creating a civil cause of action for the constructive invasion of privacy.” Mick Fleetwood, Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, Margaret Cho, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, and the Osbournes also have lobbied for it. So has Neil Diamond.

Tyler donated a half-million dollars from his charity, Janie’s Fund, to help renovate the Memphis-area home operated by Youth Villages, a national foundation that helps children cope with emotional, behavioral and mental problems. The center gets its name from Aerosmith’s 1989 song “Janie’s Got a Gun,” which is about a young girl who turns to drugs after being abused by her father. Tyler said he was inspired to open the home after he spent time in a treatment center, and saw first hand the effects that abuse, whether physical or emotional, can have on young victims, according to the Memphis Commerical Appeal.

Personality

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler had a heavy drug and alcohol addiction, and the band's popularity waned. In 1984, Tyler heard one of Aerosmith's older songs on the radio and didn't recognize it due to a poor memory from years of drug use. He told fellow Aerosmith player Joe Perry that they should perform a cover version for that song, which Perry replied, "It's us, fuckhead." He completed drug rehabilitation in 1986 and has subsequently maintained sobriety for over 20 years, aside from a painkiller addiction in the late 2000s, for which he successfully received treatment in 2009.

Physical Characteristics: Steven Tyler is color-blind. In 1981, he split open his heel when his motorcycle crashed into a tree. He underwent throat surgery in 2006 that could have ended his singing career; fortunately, the procedure was a success, but Aerosmith had to cancel half of its North American tour for that year. Also in 2006, Tyler announced that he had been treated for Hepatitis C, a liver disease.

In 2008, Tyler checked into Las Encinas Hospital rehabilitation clinic in Pasadena, California, to recover from multiple leg surgeries to repair damage to his feet. Then in 2009, during an Aerosmith performance, Tyler fell off a stage in South Dakota, breaking his shoulder. The band was forced to cancel yet another tour.

Interests

• motorcycles

• Philosophers & Thinkers

  Aleister Crowley, Camille Paglia

• Politicians

  Jamie Kalani English

• Writers

  Tim Burton

• Artists

  Rick Caballo

• Sport & Clubs

  baseball

• Music & Bands

  Rolling Stones

Connections

Tyler is the father of four children. In 1976, he had a relationship with model Bebe Buell; they have a daughter, actress Liv Tyler. He was married to model Cyrinda Foxe from 1978 to 1988; they have a daughter, model Mia Tyler. He married Teresa Barrick in 1988, with whom he has two children, Chelsea and Taj Monroe. The couple divorced in 2006. Tyler then announced his engagement to model Erin Brady in 2011, before they called it quits in early 2013.

Father:

Victor Alphonse Tallarico

Mother:

Susan Ray Blancha

ex-girlfriend:

Bebe Buell

Daughter:

Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler believed until she was 8 years old that Todd Rundgren was her father. Rundgren and Liv's mother were in a relationship when Liv was born and conceived.

Considers Todd Rundgren, whom she believed to be her father until she was 8 years old, as her "spiritual dad."

Her two "dads" Steven Tyler and Todd Rundgren met for the first time at her wedding to Royston Langdon.

ex-wife:

Cyrinda Foxe

Daughter:

Mia Tyler

Mia Abagale Tallarico

ex-wife:

Teresa Barrick

Daughter:

Chelsea Tyler Foster

Chelsea Anna Tallarico

Son:

Taj Monroe Tallarico

Sister:

Lynda Hasz Tallarico

ex-fiancée:

Erin Brady

colleague:

Joe Perry

colleague:

Tom Hamilton

colleague:

Brad Whitford

colleague:

Joey Kramer

colleague:

Alice Cooper

colleague:

Bob Marley

colleague:

Robert Rodriguez

colleague:

Carlos Santana

colleague:

Smokey Robinson

colleague:

Eminem (Marshall Mathers III)

colleague:

Alecia Moore

References

• Steven Tyler | Official Website
• Aerosmith | Official Website
• Steven Tyler: The Biography
  2010
• PEOPLE Aerosmith
  2020
• Rolling Stone Magazine #220
  1976
• Aerosmith: A Band Like No Other
  2019