Steven Tyler, the 61-year-old lead singer of Aerosmith, might
be a grandfather, but you could never tell from the fan base that follows the Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Famers.
As the band — joined by ZZ Top, also a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — moves its summer tour into D.C., reviewers note that a large number of teenage girls will likely fill the audience.
“It was a bit unsettling to hear teenage girls squealing for Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler,” Jon M. Gilbertson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote in an article published earlier this week after the band rocked the Alpine Valley Music Theatre. “When Tyler wasn’t running a hand or two over a certain part of his anatomy, he was howling, croaking and hissing in the nearly inimitable manner that has helped make Aerosmith a rock staple for over 35 years.”
The continued popularity of both Aerosmith and ZZ Top proves the old saying that everything old is new again, at least for music fans. Aerosmith just announced that for the first time it will play all the songs from the band’s 1975 disc “Toys in the Attic,” as well as many hits from other albums.
As fans know, “Toys” has sold more than 8 millions copies and was chosen by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the greatest albums of all times.
Yet some fans have noted that the last track of the album, “You See Me Crying,” hasn’t been performed in concert. Lead guitarist Joe Perry told Rolling Stone that the song might be included later in the tour once Tyler’s voice becomes more limber, but there’s no guarantee because it is “one of the toughest songs in our catalog.” Tyler underwent throat surgery a few years ago.
The band members also hit other roadblocks in the not-so-distant past when Perry had an artificial knee installed, Tyler had extensive foot surgery and guitarist Brad Whitford underwent surgery that has forced him to miss the first part of this “Guitar Hero” tour. Guitarist Bobby Schneck, whose credits include Green Day and Weezer, is filling in for Whitford.
But don’t let those misfortunes lead you to the conclusion the band is nearing retirement. Far from it, the band members said, noting that they plan to release a new album sometime this year.
“Make no mistake, Aerosmith has no plans to stop rocking,” Tyler said in a news release last year. “There’s a new album to record.” Although some might see the pairing of Aerosmith with ZZ Top as an odd coupling, Perry said it’s a great mix.
“I have always been a huge fan of ZZ Top,” Perry said in a statement. “I toured with them with the Joe Perry Project, and those shows were unforgettable. With ZZ Top on this bill, it will definitely kick us into overdrive.”
ZZ Top founder Billy F. Gibbons, who started the band in 1969 with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard (ironically, the member who has no beard), speaks glowingly of Aerosmith and other ’80s rockers who came up at the same time.
He likens ZZ Top concert set lists to a “shuffle” of the band’s 1980s greatest hits track list, many of which gained popularity thanks to MTV videos such as “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.”
“I like to do that because it always makes it more interesting,” he said, adding that the band plays the songs very much as they were recorded. “Those songs are magic just like they are. … It’s always the same three guys playing the same three chords.”
