Kramer was born and raised into a Jewish family. Kramer was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Doris and Mickey Kramer, a businessman. 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. Shortly before joining Aerosmith, Kramer was attending Berklee College of Music and worked with Chubby & the Turnpikes (later to be known as Tavares) alongside Bernie Worrell. He made a guest appearance in the 22nd season of The Simpsons, in the episode “The Ned-Liest Catch”, as a former partner of Bart’s teacher Mrs. Krabappel, as told in the third-season episode Flaming Moe’s, which featured the whole of Aerosmith, the first-ever band to guest star on the show. In 2015, NECA released a “Simpsons-ized” action figure of Kramer, as well as the other members of Aerosmith, as part of the fourth series in the company’s Simpsons 25th Anniversary collectible figure line.

In June 2011, Kramer did a fan Q&A and revealed his open-mindedness to outside writers, stating he does not care about it as long as it’s all five members of Aerosmith playing the material written.

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.