[4] In the early 1970s, Kramer was a member of The Institution,[5] a seminal New Jersey garage band founded by Philip Rubin, J. Howard Duff,[6] Richie Lester, and Marv Coopersmith.

On November 25, 1970, the early Bruce Springsteen band, Steel Mill, opened for The Institution at Newark State College.

[7] Kramer wrote 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.

Shortly before joining Aerosmith, Kramer moved to Boston, where he attended Berklee College of Music[8] and worked with Chubby & the Turnpikes (later renamed Tavares) alongside Bernie Worrell.

In 2015, he announced a business partnership with Les Otten,[10] the former vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox, to open two Joey Kramer's Rockin' & Roastin' Café and Restaurant locations which since closed.