A longtime resident of Massachusetts, Joseph Michael Kramer was born in Bronx, NY on June 21,1950.

For more than 30 years Joey Kramer has combined emotional feel with technical virtuosity to convey the musical ideas of his band mates in Aerosmith while evolving into one of rock's greatest drummers. His meticulous timing and solid grooves have contributed as much to the sound of Aerosmith albums.

By the age of 14 he was cutting his musical teeth as part of a Ventures-type instrumentals band named The Medallions. However, it wasn't until Joey started drumming with an 11-piece rhythm and blues outfit during his late teens that he discovered the music that would serve as his main source of inspiration.

In 1970 he reconnected with a friend, Steven Tyler, who had joined forces with Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton and were in need of a drummer. Kramer jumped in and Aerosmith took off. Brad Whitford joined the group in 1971.

For two years the group played throughout New England and got their break on August 5, 1972 at Max's Kansas City Club in New York City. That night the famed record executive Clive Davis was in attendance and was so impressed with Aerosmith that he signed them to Columbia Records on the spot.

His memoir, Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top, was released on June 30, 2009 Kramer is credited with originating the name Aerosmith. In his memoir, Kramer revealed that he idly conceived the name Aerosmith while listening to Harry Nilsson'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' novel Arrowsmith.

In 2013 Kramer announced his new partnership with Comfort Foods, Inc. who now will roast, package and distribute his whole bean, organic coffee line: Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee.

In 2015, he announced a business partnership with Les Otten, the former vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox, to open two Joey Kramer's Rockin’ & Roastin’ Café and Restaurant. The first restaurant is located in Newry, Maine at the foot of the Sunday River Ski Resort, the second restaurant located in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.