Rock fans celebrated the onstage return of Steven Tyler recently when the Aerosmith frontman sang a handful of songs at his annual Grammy viewing party. The musical portion was put together by former Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum and featured a star-studded lineup including Billy Idol, Joan Jett, Mick Fleetwood, Nuno Bettencourt and Tyler’s Aerosmith bandmate, bassist Tom Hamilton, among others.
Sorum spoke with WBAB and set the record straight as to what Tyler is and isn’t capable of right now following last year’s announcement that the band was retiring from the touring stage.
“Some fans were a little bit, like, ‘Well, he can sing,’” Sorum explained. “Well, let me just explain what’s happening with Steven Tyler, ’cause he’s a really good friend. And we were on the phone 10 times a day. It was great. And he trusts me. And I’m so honored. And he’s such an iconic guy and I feel like as a guy that’s been in a band his whole life, he wanted that feeling of having a collaborator on this and a bandmate, and he chose me. I was, like, ‘Okay.’ For two months, we talked every day… But anyway, he went out and sang. And it was a really big moment for him because he hurt himself bad. Now, is he gonna tour again? No, he’s not. Because, and I explained this to people, Steven cannot put himself under the rigors of doing a full worldwide tour because there’s a lot of pressure. And if you’re not a singer, you wouldn’t understand what he goes through, but he’s 77 years old and he’s a perfectionist. And if he doesn’t sing correctly, it bothers him. And he’s not gonna put it on tape, like 80 percent of the people that are out there taking your money. He will not be on tape, and he won’t change the keys of the song. That’s just who he is. He’s, like, ‘I’m an artist. I’m a singer. This is my band. I’ve been doing this for 50 years. And if I can’t do it perfect, I can’t do it.’ And I respect that. And I talked to him about it multiple times. I said, ‘So, just sing four or five songs tops.’ He says, ‘I can do that.’ And that was just one time. Maybe down the line, he’ll do it again and possibly do the same amount of songs.”
Sorum continued: “I wanted to explain that to the fans that are commenting, ‘Oh, he’s singing. And I can’t go. And a lot of people were let down (when Aerosmith canceled their tour), and I’ve gotta tell you, the guy that was let down the most was Steven Tyler. ‘Cause he loves his fans. And believe me, I know him well enough to know that he was not happy about it. And so to have him on stage was, I cried. It was just beautiful. And I hope that he can do more, because it’s in his blood.”
