Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has broken his silence on his health, addressing fan concerns in a candid conversation shared on Live From My Drum Room! The update comes more than a decade after Kramer underwent a minor medical procedure to remove blockage from inside a coronary artery.
Kramer opened up about his overall well-being, expressing optimism about where he stands today.
“I’m feeling really good. I’m feeling better now than I’ve felt in, like, five or eight or 10 years,” he said. “The last four years for me were a challenge, to say the least. But I’m happy to say I’ve come through ’em with flying colors. I discovered the bull that really lives inside. That’s what powered me through. And I’m good, man. This is probably the best Joey of my life.”
He also took a moment to acknowledge the outpouring of support from fans, making clear how much their concern means to him.
“I appreciate people asking and being concerned. That means a lot to me, because — well, our fans mean a lot to me, because without them, we would not be,” he said.
Kramer then went into detail about the physical toll that decades of drumming have taken on his body, as well as the personal hardships he has faced in recent years.
“Well, playing the drums for 50-some years, man, and being on the road kind of really trashed my upper body, playing with that kind of intensity,” he explained. “And, yeah, I’ve had some pretty consistent back problems for the last three or four years. I had some surgery done about four months ago. It’s just starting to really begin to heal up now, ’cause it takes that long. And, of course, I lost my wife and I had my heart surgery and a bunch of other stuff, too. I don’t wanna get into it.”
Despite the difficulties, Kramer emphasized that the experience has ultimately made him stronger.
“But I’ve taken it out the other side, and it’s all made me stronger, along with the fans, because I feel the support and I feel how they are when they listen to something like this,” he continued. “And it means the world to me. I’m proud of what we’ve done, and I wouldn’t trade it or regret it for a minute. And we just go on from here.”
Kramer’s latest update arrives against a backdrop of years marked by both personal loss and physical setbacks that have kept him away from the spotlight for extended stretches.
His wife, Linda Kramer, passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer. The two had been married for over two decades. Her death represented one of the most profound personal losses of Kramer’s life, compounding the health struggles he was already navigating at the time.
Kramer’s cardiac history stretches back to 2009, when he underwent a procedure to clear a blocked coronary artery. That episode foreshadowed the more complex medical challenges he would face in the years that followed, including the heart surgery he referenced in his recent remarks.
His relationship with Aerosmith has also been complicated in recent years. In 2020, Kramer was effectively sidelined from the band after a dispute over his readiness to perform. The situation drew significant attention and left his standing within the group uncertain for a period. He was ultimately welcomed back, though the episode underscored the personal and professional pressures he was managing simultaneously.
Aerosmith itself has faced its own turbulence. The band cancelled its farewell Peace Out tour in 2023 after frontman Steven Tyler suffered a vocal cord injury. For Kramer, who had endured so much to return to form, the news was another reminder of the unpredictable nature of life on the road at this stage of a legendary career.
