1993 Classic Rock Album Became Iconic Band's First No. 1 33 Years Ago
On this day 33 years ago, one of the biggest rock bands in history finally achieved an exciting milestone in their career as their latest album became the first to reach No. 1. The band in question was Aerosmith.
Despite first forming in 1970, it took the band, which currently consists of members Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Joe Perry, and Brad Whitford, over two decades to finally top the charts in America, and they did it with the record Get A Grip. Although the album was released on April 20, 1993, it wasn't until the next month, on May 8, that it reached the top position on the Billboard chart. It ended up being one of the group's best-selling albums ever.
The album wasn't just a chart-topper in the U.S. either, as it also hit No. 1 in Finland and Switzerland. In other countries that included Canada, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, the U.K., and more, Get A Grip got into the Top 3 on the album charts.
Get A Grip had quite a few official singles in the U.S. and U.K., including "Livin' on the Edge," "Eat the Rich," "Cryin'," "Amazing," "Crazy," and "Shut Up and Dance." The new music from Aerosmith made a huge impact on music lovers everywhere, and they ended up earning two Grammy Awards for songs on the album in two different years.
"Livin' on the Edge" won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1993, while "Crazy" won the same award in 1994.
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At the time of the album's release, the band made it clear that they felt like it wasn't even their best work. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Hamilton declared, "We didn't, and still don't, feel like we've done the Aerosmith album that we know we can do."
"We're really proud of what we've done up till now, but every time you get to the end of recording an album, you know you can do it better so you get really hungry for the next time," he went on.
After Get A Grip, Aerosmith went on to release the albums Nine Lives, Just Push Play, Honkin' on Bobo, and Music from Another Dimension!
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 5:27 AM.