Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest h ...

band

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues-ba ...

, which was inducted to the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

in 2001.

Life and career

Kramer was born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Yor ...

, New York City, the son of Doris and Mickey Kramer, a businessman. In the early 1970s, Kramer was a member of The Institution, a seminal

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

founded by

Philip Rubin Philip E. Rubin (born May 22, 1949) is an American cognitive scientist, technologist, and science administrator known for raising the visibility of behavioral and cognitive science, neuroscience, and ethical issues related to science, techn ...

, J. Howard Duff, Richie Lester, and Marv Coopersmith. On Nov. 25, 1970, the early Bruce Springsteen band,

Steel Mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finishe ...

, opened for The Institution at Newark State College. Kramer is credited with originating the name

. In his memoir, Kramer revealed that he idly conceived the name Aerosmith while listening to

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

's album '' Aerial Ballet'' in 1968, two years before the band was formed. Kramer insists that there is no connection between the name "Aerosmith" and

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

' novel '' Arrowsmith''. Shortly before joining Aerosmith, Kramer moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...

and was attending

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cour ...

and worked with Chubby & the Turnpikes (later to be known as

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil * Tavares, Paraíba * Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul * Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo * Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Tavares River Jamaica * Tavares ...

) alongside

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

. Kramer's memoir, ''Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top'', was released on June 30, 2009. Kramer made a guest appearance in the 22nd season (2010–11) of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', in the episode " The Ned-Liest Catch", as a former partner of Bart's teacher Mrs. Krabappel, as told in the third-season episode "

Flaming Moe's "Flaming Moe's" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 1991. In the episode, Homer tells Moe Szyslak about the ...

", which featured the whole of Aerosmith, the first-ever band to guest star on the show. In 2015, NECA released a "Simpsons-ized" action figure of Kramer, as well as the other members of Aerosmith, as part of the fourth series in the company's Simpsons 25th Anniversary collectible figure line. In June 2011, Kramer did a fan Q&A and revealed his open-mindedness to outside writers, stating he does not care about it as long as it is all five members of Aerosmith playing the material written. In 2013, Kramer announced a partnership with Comfort Foods, Inc. to roast, package and distribute his whole bean, organic coffee line: Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee. In 2015, he announced a business partnership with

Les Otten Leslie B. "Les" Otten (born 1949) is the former CEO of the American Skiing Company. Since resigning as its chief executive officer in 2001, Otten has been involved in numerous other businesses and industries, including the Major League Basebal ...

, the former vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox, to open two Joey Kramer's Rockin’ & Roastin’ Café and Restaurant locations in Newry, Maine, at the foot of the Sunday River Ski Resort; and

North Attleborough, Massachusetts North Attleborough, alternatively spelled North Attleboro, is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,834 at the 2020 United States Census. The villages of Attleboro Falls and North Attleborough Center are ...

. The Newry location closed in 2016. The North Attleborough location closed in 2017. Kramer's second wife, Linda, died on June 22, 2022, at age 55.

Aerosmith songs written

The following Aerosmith songs have a writing credit given to Kramer: # "Pandora's Box" from ''

Get Your Wings ''Get Your Wings'' is the second studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 1, 1974. The album was their first to be produced by Jack Douglas, who also was responsible for the band's next three albums. Three singles were rel ...

'' # " Kings and Queens" from '' Draw the Line'' # "The Hand That Feeds" from ''Draw the Line'' # "The Hop" from '' Done With Mirrors'' # "The Movie" from '' Permanent Vacation'' # "Krawhitham" from ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physi ...

'' # "Beautiful" from ''

Music from Another Dimension! ''Music from Another Dimension!'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 6, 2012, by Columbia Records. Their first studio album since 2004's '' Honkin' on Bobo'', as well as the first to feature all-ne ...

'' # " Lover Alot" from ''Music from Another Dimension!'' # " Can't Stop Lovin' You" from ''Music from Another Dimension!'' # "Closer" from ''Music from Another Dimension!''

Equipment

Kramer currently endorses

Pearl drums , simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments. History Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa -who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, Tokyo ...

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

cymbals and sticks (including his own signature model), plus

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder R ...

heads. He has also used many other brands of drums including Ludwig with whom he was closely associated with for much of his career up until switching to Pearl. In the past he has also used sets by Fibes, Tama and DW. Drums Pearl Crystal Beat series drums: * 24"x18" bass drum * 13"x10" mounted tom * 16"x16" floor tom * 18"x16" floor tom * 14"x6.5" UltraCast snare Cymbals: Avedis Zildjian: * 15" A Custom rezo hi-hats * 19" A Custom projection crash * 20" A crash/ride * 21" A mega bell bell ride * 14" A Custom mastersound hi-hats * 19" K Custom hybrid china Sticks: Zildjian Joey Kramer signature sticks in green dip

References

External links

Joeykramer.com

Rockinandroastin.com

Rockinandroastinrestaurant.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Joey 1950 births Aerosmith members American rock musicians American heavy metal drummers Living people People from the Bronx Musicians from New York City American rock drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Glam metal musicians Blues rock musicians

Life and career

Aerosmith songs written

Equipment

See also

References

External links