AEROSMITH's Tyler: Going Solo?
AEROSMITH's Tyler: Going Solo?
He's 56 years old and he's about to be a grandfather, so maybe it seems like a good time for Steven Tyler to go solo.
I've heard rumblings from the Aerosmith camp in recent weeks that Tyler, the group's lead singer, is starting work on his first individual album ever.
This might be good news to some, but evidently not to the other members of the band.
When he heard about it, lead guitarist Joe Perry, who's suffered through thick and thin with Tyler for more than 30 years, apparently wasn't so keen on the idea.
"He went crazy," my source says, and that's a kind way of restating the original wording.
Of course, Tyler needn't feel shy about trying to make an album on his own. Every other rock star from a big group has done the same thing, from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. And let's not forget Ringo Starr.
Tyler, in fact, has done very little collaborating with outside musicians over the years, which is kind of a shame. I heard him sing with Sam Moore and Valerie Simpson at Dan Aykroyd's 50th-birthday party two years ago, and he was sensational.
Aerosmith could use the jolt from a Tyler solo hit anyway. Their most recent long-playing outing, Honkin' on Bobo, billed as a blues record, was a sales disappointment. The group's last hit single, 'Jaded', was in 2001.
On the positive side, Tyler and ex-flame Bebe Buell will become grandparents this winter when daughter Liv has her first child with husband Royston Langdon.
Tyler, by the way, will be on the lookout for songs from the best writers in the business. So if you know a songwriter, now's the time to make your plea.
The man has eclectic taste, as we know. Aerosmith's 1998 hit, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing', was written by schlockmeister Diane Warren, of all people. You never know what's hip until the checks start coming in!
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