The History of and Story Behind the Aerosmith Logo

Like many bands, Aerosmith has a logo. For fans of the American rock band, the logo is instantly recognizable. It tells them that an album features their favorite band’s music or that an item is the band’s merchandise.

The design of a logo is essential, as it represents the band and the image they want to depict. Aerosmith’s logo has undergone many changes between the band’s formation and the current day. Here are the history of and the story behind the Aerosmith Logo.

An Overview of Aerosmith

The rock band Aerosmith was formed in Boston in 1970, with Steve Tyler at the helm as the lead singer. Tyler also plays the mouth organ in many of their songs. Other band members include Joe Perry on guitar and vocals, Tom Hamilton on bass, Brad Whitford on guitar, and Joey Kramer on drums. Originally, Ray Tabano was a member of the ban, but Whitford replaced him. Tyler and Perry are responsible for writing most of the band’s music.

Aerosmith, who are sometimes described as ‘The Bad Boys from Boston,’ is predominantly a blues-based hard rock band, although their music also has rhythm and blues, heavy metal, and pop-rock influences. They are the best-selling American hard rock band of all-time, and they have sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

Perry and Tyler were both inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. Some of Aerosmith’s singles that reached the top 20 include ‘Cryin”, ‘Crazy,’ ‘Janie’s Got a Gun,’ ‘Dude (Looks Like a Lady,’ ‘Angel,’ ‘Love in an Elevator,’ and ‘Rag Doll.’ Other great hits include ‘Livin’ on the Edge’ and ‘What It Takes.’

However, they did not have a number one hit until they released ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,’ which was on the soundtrack for the 1998 blockbuster film ‘Armageddon.’

The Original Aerosmith Logo

Aerosmith’s original logo when they formed differed significantly from any other logos that followed, including the logo they use today. Initially, the logo for the band was a simplistic design. The emblem stretched horizontally and featured a line of white, stylized wings. In each of the wings was a letter spelling out ‘AEROSMITH,’ using a simple sans-serif typeface.

The Various Aerosmith Logos of the 1970s

Aerosmith used their next logo from 1974 to 1975, and it first appeared on the band’s album ‘Get Your Wings.’ A gold logo design is set against a black background. An oval encompasses a furry letter ‘A,’ and bat wings protrude from the oval sides. The word ‘AEROSMITH’ appears in a curved design below the oval, with a five-pointed star at each end. According to My Rock Mixtapes, the logo design was the work of Ray Tabano, a member of the band’s original line up.

Aerosmith’s logo changed for the second time in 1975. It veered away from both the previous design styles for an entirely new logo concept. It features a custom typeface in orange for the band’s name, which is set against a silver badge in V-shape, with the appearance of an aviation pin.

They used this logo until 1979. The band changed their logo design once again in 1979 but stuck to focusing on the band’s name without using images. This time, a fairly basic typeface was used for the white lettering. The word ‘AEROSMITH’ is set against various shades of black, white, and gray in a marble effect. The band was aiming for a minimalist concept when they introduced this logo, and they used it until 1982.

Aerosmith’s Current Logo

The current logo has been in use since 1982, and it incorporates design elements of the logos that were introduced in 1974 and 1975, says 1000 Logos. It is the logo that the band has used for the longest period and the one that most people recognize and associate with the band.

In some ways, the logo is simple, as it is a monochrome design in black and white. However, it is also one of Aerosmith’s most complex logo designs due to the different elements of the design. The choice of colors is not just to create a striking design, as the black represents power and energy, while white represents confidence, wisdom, and harmony.

The typeface of the current logo is the same custom typeface as that used in the 1975 logo but in black rather than orange. It cuts through the lower half of an oval that is like the oval in the 1974 logo. However, the inside of the oval does not feature a furry letter ‘A.’

Instead, there is a design intended to replicate the inside of a steering wheel with an ‘A’ design, with a white five-pointed star to the design’s center. From the oval, there are white wings outlined in black extending from either side. These are inspired by the bat wings that feature on the 1974 logo from the ‘Get Your Wings’ album.

The Logo Today

However, in the 1974 logo, the wings are like those of a bat. The wings in the 1982 logo differ significantly and are more like those of a bird. The top of the wings curve upwards from the oval like a bird’s shoulders and then sweep out to a point.

Moving downwards, each of the feathers comes to a point, and it slightly shorter than the one above. Shorter feathers are pointing downwards from the bottom of the oval and encasing the beginning and end of the band’s name, like the tail feathers of a bird.

Aerosmith’s Symbol

Aerosmith also uses a symbol based on its current logo design. It shares the same outline, design, and typeface. However, the symbol does not have the same details as the logo. The wings are solid black in the symbol, while the text, steering wheel, and star are in white with a thin, black outline.

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