Thomas William Hamilton, popularly known as Tom Hamilton, was born December 31, 1951, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hamilton’s parents were George Hamilton and Betty Hamilton, a member of the Air Force and a housewife respectively. Hamilton is the third of four children.

Music was a part of Hamilton’s life since the young age of twelve when his brother taught him how to play the guitar. A local band, however, was in need of a bassist, so Hamilton began pursuing this instrument when he was fourteen.

The band was simply known as The Jam Band, and it included guitarist Joe Perry. In the end the band disintegrated, but Hamilton and Perry remained close. In order to pursue their musical careers, they both moved to Boston where they quickly met the as of yet unknown musician Steven Tyler. The three joined together, eventually adding Ray Tabano (later replaced by Brad Whitford) and Joey Kramer. Aerosmith was officially on its way to becoming one of the most popular and enduring bands to ever form.

From the beginning, Hamilton was an integral part of that success. In addition to providing what has been acknowledged as some of the best bass playing around, he also wrote some of their most popular songs, including "Kings and Queens," "Janie’s Got a Gun," and "Jaded."

In August of 2006, Hamilton made the wrenching announcement that he was diagnosed with throat cancer. After intensive and diligent chemotherapy, Hamilton made the more triumphant announcement that as of December 2006, his PET scans revealed him to be cancer-free.

Hamilton also holds the dubious honor of being the last member of Aerosmith to entirely give up drugs. He admits to still smoking marijuana even during the recording of their 1987 album Permanent Vacation.

While people are used to seeing him jamming on stage, not many people realize he actually had many opportunities to explore another career path—acting. He was even admitted to two separate acting schools, although he ultimately passed on each opportunity to pursue music.

Hamilton is often known as the prankster among the band and is often the talkative one during their many public interviews.

With Aerosmith, Hamilton has appeared as the musical guest on the popular sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live on four separate occasions, beside guest hosts Tom Hanks, Jeff Goldblum, Mike Myers, and Julia Stiles.

Despite decades living the rock and roll lifestyle, Hamilton has stayed married to the same women, Terry Cohen, since January 1975. They have two children together.

YUDDY