2017 Farewell Tour For Aerosmith: Steven Tyler Says, ‘Because It’s Time’
A 2017 farewell tour for Aerosmith is in the works, says band frontman Steven Tyler, “because it’s time.” In an interview with Howard Stern on Tuesday, June 21, 68-year-old Tyler confessed that the Boston-based rock group would be gone permanently.
According to People magazine, radio host Stern made Tyler confirm that a 2017 farewell tour meant the band would be gone for good, and the Aerosmith lead singer answered, “Yeah,” adding that guitarist Joe Perry knows. Tyler put it this way.
“I love this band, I really do, and I want to squash every thought that anybody might have about this. The band’s over. We’re doing a farewell tour, but it’s only because it’s time.”
But creating some confusion about the 2017 project, Tyler’s manager Rebecca Warfield corrected People on the “farewell tour” implication. Insisting her boss did not mean the band is completely over, she elaborated further.
“They are not breaking up. That’s not quite what he said. He is still the ultimate frontman for Aerosmith, the greatest American rock band of all time. Aerosmith will always be his first love and nothing will ever take that away.”
In a May interview with Rolling Stone, Tyler broached the possibility of Aerosmith having a 2017 farewell tour together.
“I’m doing 30 [solo] shows from May until August. And then in 2017 we go out with Aerosmith. We’re probably doing a farewell tour. Look, there’s two bands that still have the original members, us and the Stones. I’m grateful for that. Whether we do a farewell tour or go into the studio and do another record, I’m just excited about it.”
Born Steven Victor Tallarico, Steven Tyler is an American rock star best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica and occasional piano and percussion. His high screams and wide vocal range earning him the moniker “Demon of Screamin'” and his on-stage acrobatics are expected to be reprised during his 2017 farewell tour. So is the Tyler-look of bright, colorful outfits to go with the trademark scarves tied to his microphone stand during high-energy performances.
Sometimes known as “the Bad Boys from Boston” and “America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band,” Tyler’s Aerosmith is well entrenched in American lore. The blues-based hard rock songs are expected to make up the repertoire of the 2017 farewell tour being talked about.
Throughout the 1970s, the band toured widely, enjoying a dozen Hot 100 singles, and by the end of the decade, they ranked among the most popular hard rock bands in the world, and remnants of their die-hard fans, referred to as the “Blue Army” are expected to turn up in the 2017 farewell tour.
Drug addiction and disagreements put the band in disarray, which led to the departures of Perry in 1979 and Whitford in 1981. Though the prodigal members were replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, Aerosmith hit a low between 1980 and 1984, with their album Rock in a Hard Place, certified gold but not up to par with their previous successes. The 2017 tour is hoped to showcase most of the original members from their halcyon years.
Tyler has been making the rounds as he promotes his country LP We’re All Somebody From Somewhere, and recently appeared on television’s Today to perform the album’s title track and third single. Tyler also unveiled his cover of Big Brother and the Holding Company‘s “Piece of My Heart,” to be featured in the much ballyhooed 2017 farewell tour.
According to New York Daily News, it is no surprise that Tyler and company would hang up their instruments, considering they’ve played over 2,000 concerts in the past 45 years. While they have not performed live since their Moscow gig last September, the legendary rockers have launched six tours in the past seven years. It appears they’ve earned the right to stage their 2017 farewell tour.
[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]
