Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler Bio

Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays keyboards, harmonica, and percussion. Tyler earned the nickname “The Demon of Screamin’” for his powerful high screams, wide vocal range, and flamboyant on-stage persona. In addition to his work with Aerosmith, Tyler has released a solo album, written a best-selling memoir, and served as a television judge on American Idol.

Tyler co-wrote and sang many of Aerosmith’s signature songs, including “Dream On”, “Walk This Way”, and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, helping the band achieve multi-platinum success from the 1970s onward. After battling substance addiction through the early 1980s, Tyler completed rehabilitation in 1986 and led Aerosmith through one of rock’s most celebrated comebacks. He has been included in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

Early Life and Background

Steven Victor Tallarico was born on March 26, 1948, at the Stuyvesant Polyclinic in Manhattan, New York, and moved to the Bronx when he was three years old. The family later relocated to Northeast Yonkers in 1957. He is the son of Susan Ray (née Blancha), a secretary, and Victor A. Tallarico, a classical musician and pianist who taught music at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. Tyler’s father was of Italian and German descent, while his mother was of Polish, English, and African-American ancestry.

Tyler grew up in a music-friendly household thanks to his father’s classical training. He attended Roosevelt High School on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers but was expelled just before graduation due to marijuana use. He later graduated from the Quintano School for Young Professionals in Manhattan. At age 17, Tyler spent time in Greenwich Village, where a Rolling Stones concert left a lasting impression and pushed him further toward a life in music.

During his teenage years, Tyler played in several bands and also sang backing vocals on the Left Banke’s second album, The Left Banke Too. In 1964, he formed a band called the Strangeurs, later renamed Chain Reaction, in Yonkers, New York. These formative experiences sharpened his stage presence and prepared him for the larger musical career that would follow.

Path to Singer

Tyler’s path to the music industry began in the mid-1960s with local bands in New York. By 1969, he attended a rock show in Sunapee, New Hampshire, where he saw Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton performing with the Jam Band. Captivated by their raw power, Tyler soon joined forces with Perry and Hamilton, and the group recruited drummer Joey Kramer, an old acquaintance from New York. Driven by a collective ambition to launch careers as full-time musicians, the band relocated to the Boston area.

By 1970, the musicians had moved into a home together at 1325 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, where they wrote, rehearsed, and built their sound. After early lineup changes and a memorable name-selection session, the band settled on “Aerosmith” and began playing local shows. Their first gig took place in November 1970 at Nipmuc Regional High School in Mendon, Massachusetts. In 1971, childhood friend Ray Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, a Berklee School of Music graduate and former member of Earth Inc., completing the classic Aerosmith lineup.

Steven Tyler Career

Early Career (1964–1972)

Tyler’s earliest professional steps came through bands like the Strangeurs and Chain Reaction, which he formed while still a teenager in Yonkers. During this period he also contributed backing vocals to the baroque pop group the Left Banke. These early projects gave Tyler years of stage experience and helped him develop the singing and songwriting instincts that would later define his career.

After moving to Boston and forming Aerosmith in 1970, Tyler and his bandmates rehearsed relentlessly and built a loyal local following. The band signed with Columbia Records in mid-1972 for a reported $125,000 and soon entered the studio to record their self-titled debut. That deal set the stage for Aerosmith’s breakthrough into the national rock scene.

Breakthrough (1973–1979)

Aerosmith’s self-titled debut album arrived in January 1973, eventually selling two million copies and earning double-platinum certification. The track “Dream On” reached number 59 on the charts and would later become a rock standard. Their 1974 follow-up, Get Your Wings, produced by Jack Douglas, launched a string of multi-platinum albums and yielded rock radio staples such as “Same Old Song and Dance” and “Train Kept A-Rollin’”.

The band’s third album, Toys in the Attic (1975), marked a turning point. “Sweet Emotion” became their first Top 40 hit, and a re-release of “Dream On” climbed to number 6. “Walk This Way” followed into the Top 10 in early 1977. The 1976 album Rocks went platinum swiftly and delivered two Top 40 hits, “Last Child” and “Back in the Saddle”. Draw the Line arrived in 1977, with its title track and “Kings and Queens” becoming fan favorites, firmly establishing Aerosmith as one of the leading hard rock acts of the decade.

As the 1970s closed, however, the pressures of touring, recording, and heavy drug use began to fracture the band’s momentum. Night in the Ruts (1979) underperformed commercially, and Tyler’s addictions were increasingly interfering with his performances.

Notable Works and Milestones

Beyond “Dream On” and “Walk This Way”, Tyler’s catalog with Aerosmith includes the ballads “Amazing” and “Crazy”, the powerhouse rocker “Livin’ on the Edge”, and the chart-topping 1998 single “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. His memoir, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? (2011), reached number two on The New York Times Best Seller List for Hardcover Non-fiction, marking a major milestone outside of music.

Steven Tyler Award Nominations

Over the course of his career, Steven Tyler has received recognition from major industry organizations. The 1998 ballad “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, co-written with Diane Warren, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999. Tyler and Aerosmith have also earned multiple Grammy nominations across categories such as Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song, reflecting their sustained influence on the rock genre.

Steven Tyler Awards Won

Steven Tyler has won four Grammy Awards with Aerosmith, including Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Janie’s Got a Gun” in 1990, “Livin’ on the Edge” in 1994, “Crazy” in 1995, and “Pink” in 1999. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Aerosmith in 2001 and, together with songwriting partner Joe Perry, received the ASCAP Founders Award and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. He is also included in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

Steven Tyler Family

Tyler is the son of classical musician Victor A. Tallarico and secretary Susan Ray (née Blancha). He has one older sister, Lynda. Tyler’s father was of Italian and German descent, while his mother was of Polish, English, and African-American ancestry, a heritage Tyler has explored publicly through genealogy research.

Personal Life

Tyler had a brief relationship with fashion model Bebe Buell in the late 1970s, during which he fathered actress Liv Tyler, born in 1977. In 1978, he married Cyrinda Foxe, with whom he had daughter Mia Tyler, born in 1978; the couple divorced in 1987. On May 28, 1988, Tyler married clothing designer Teresa Barrick, and the couple had daughter Chelsea (born around 1989) and son Taj (born around 1991) before separating in 2005 and finalizing their divorce in January 2006. Tyler began a relationship with Erin Brady in 2006; the two became engaged in December 2011 and called off the engagement in January 2013. He has publicly acknowledged his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, crediting a 1986 intervention by his bandmates, a doctor, and manager Tim Collins for his sobriety.