Steven Tyler's Real Name: Steven Victor Tallarico

Quick answer: Steven Tyler's documented birth name is Steven Victor Tallarico. Encyclopaedia Britannica and Encyclopedia.com both give that form and the date March 26, 1948. Britannica places the birth in New York City and says he grew up in Yonkers, New York; Encyclopedia.com places the birth in Yonkers (Encyclopaedia Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Steven Tyler. Encyclopedia.com names his parents as Victor and Susan (Blancha) Tallarico; Britannica says his father was a classical musician who taught music at a high school in the Bronx. Tyler learned drums first and later vocals. Britannica says that in 1964, at Roosevelt High School, he played in and later sang for Chain Reaction (originally the Strangeurs), which opened for acts such as the Byrds and the Beach Boys. After leaving Roosevelt, he attended and later graduated from Jose Quintano's School for Young Professionals.

Career highlights

By the late 1960s he had moved to Boston and helped form Aerosmith with guitarist Joe Perry, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and, after an early change, guitarist Brad Whitford. The band's first show was in 1970; a Columbia Records contract followed in 1972 and a debut album in 1973. Britannica dates the group's mainstream breakthrough to Toys in the Attic (1975) and Rocks (1976), with hits including "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," and the earlier "Dream On." Later albums cited by Britannica include Permanent Vacation (1987), Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993), Nine Lives (1997), and the blues tribute Honkin' on Bobo (2004). Encyclopedia.com notes that the band also recorded "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for the film Armageddon (1998). The band won Grammy Awards for songs including "Janie's Got a Gun," "Livin' on the Edge," "Crazy," and "Pink." Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001; Tyler and Perry entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. Tyler served as a judge on American Idol from 2011 to 2012 and released the solo country single "Love Is Your Name" in 2015. The group's Peace Out farewell tour, begun in 2023, was postponed to 2024 after Tyler fractured his larynx, Britannica records. Encyclopedia.com lists his daughter Liv Tyler.

Name notes for searchers

Steven Victor Tallarico is the documented birth name; the professional name is Steven Tyler. Searchers looking for Aerosmith's lead singer, or for the voice on "Dream On" and "Walk This Way," are usually aiming at the same person.