Charlotte Rae

Until their divorce in 1976, she was married to composer John Strauss, with whom she has one son. He liked names that began with "Aero" and decided that "Aerosmith" was his favorite combination. A respected stage actress who appeared in early seasons of Sesame Street and in a number of films, Rae first gained widespread fame in the 1961-1963 sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? as the memorable Silvia Schnauser. According to their biography "Walk this Way", drummer Joey Kramer came up with the name in high school when coming up with cool band names. The second of three daughters, she attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, the same school as Cloris Leachman, the actress who replaced her for the last years of The Facts of Life's run. Aerosmith claims that their name has no relationship to this book. Charlotte Rae, born Charlotte Rae Lubotsky in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1926, is an American actress and singer best known today for her portrayal of Edna Garrett, a character she originated on the 1978-1986 sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and continued in her own spinoff, The Facts of Life, which ran from 1979 through 1988. Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) wrote Arrowsmith.

"Blind Man". 12/24/1994 #49 The Billboard Hot 100. "Janie s Got A Gun". 12/23/1989 #29 The Billboard Hot 100.

Honkin' on Bobo continues to be a success for the resurgeance of blues and roots music across the US and Europe and was followed up by the accompanying live DVD in December 2004. Their long-promised blues album, Honkin' on Bobo was released March 30, 2004 on Columbia. The band entered its next decade with 'Just Push Play' in 2001, which charted well. However, Aerosmith's biggest hit of the '90s, and its only #1 single to date, was the love theme from the film Armageddon, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (conceived by Joe Perry and Diane Warren, although Warren did get songwriting credit).

This was followed by a series of late 1990s albums that sold respectably, but have shown the beginning of a second decline in popularity and critical respect. The reviews were mixed, and Nine Lives fell down the charts quickly. The next album was Nine Lives, and was plagued with personnel problems, including the firing of manager Tim Collins. Aerosmith signed to Columbia Records in the early 1990s, but had to complete two contractual albums for Geffen before recording for the new label.

The true comeback album, however, was Pump, featuring three Top Ten singles in "Janie's Got a Gun", "What It Takes" and "Love in an Elevator". Get a Grip (1993) was just as successful, reestablishing Aerosmith as a serious musical force again. The group's next release was Permanent Vacation (1987), which included "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Rag Doll" and "Angel". By the time the album was released, Tyler and Perry had exited rehab and the group appeared on Run D.M.C.'s massively successful cover of "Walk This Way", blending rock and roll and hip hop, and thereby beginning Aerosmith's comeback. 1985 saw the release of Done With Mirrors, which fared much better than any previous Aerosmith album since the late 1970s.

Tyler collapsed onstage due to drug problems early in tour. A reunion tour was scheduled in 1984 after the return of Perry and Whitford. After replacing the two ex-members first with longtime band friend and songwriter Richie Supa followed by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, Aerosmith released its mammoth-selling Greatest Hits album in 1980, followed by a relative failure, Rock in a Hard Place. Joe Perry also left the band, followed by Brad Whitford.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. While continuing to tour and release a few more albums in the late 1970s, Aerosmith acted in the movie version of Sgt. The next album, Draw the Line, was not as successful as the previous releases. Aerosmith's next album, Rocks, went platinum swiftly and featured two FM hits, "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child".