August has been big in Aerosmith news—on August 2 this year, the legendary rock band announced they’d be retiring from live performances. Last year, Steven Tyler suffered a vocal chord injury that he hasn’t been able to fully recover from. The band canceled their plans for a renewed Peace Out Tour, and retired from live performances altogether.
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However, August 5 marks the band’s first record label signing in 1972. Clive Davis—the record executive who also signed Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, and many others—saw Aerosmith play at Max’s Kansas City, a small venue in New York City. He offered them a $125,000 record deal with Columbia Records, and exactly five months later, in January 1973, their self-titled debut album is released.
Eight days later, Aerosmith releases their first single, “Mama Kin.” This was a favorite of Steven Tyler’s, and he even got “MA KIN” tattooed on his bicep inside a heart. The band paid out of pocket to get a spot at Max’s Kansas City, knowing Davis would be in attendance. Additionally, “Mama Kin” was on their setlist that night, so it had a hand in getting them signed. All according to plan.
37 Years Later, On August 5, Steven Tyler Falls Off Stage in South Dakota
On August 5, 2009, Aerosmith was playing a set at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota when they ran into some technical problems. 37 years to the day when Aerosmith signed their first record deal, Steven Tyler was entertaining the crowd while the issues were sorted out, dancing across the stage, when he took a tumble right off the edge.
He was airlifted to the hospital, where it was revealed he suffered head, neck, and shoulder injuries, according to a 2009 report from Rolling Stone. The band had to cancel the remainder of the concert, and Tyler received medical attention for a broken shoulder and 20 stiches for a cut on his head.
“I was doing the Tyler shuffle and then I zigged when I should have zagged,” Tyler said in a statement at the time. He continued, “and I slipped, and as I live on the edge … I fell off the edge!”
However, things only got worse from there, as the incident almost triggered the band to split up. Multiple stops on that 2009 tour had to be canceled or postponed due to injuries all throughout the band. Additionally, there were rumors that Tyler was trying to leave, or at least find other projects.
Guitarist Joe Perry said that the band was “positively looking for a new singer to work with” in November 2009. Still, while he claimed Tyler had refused his offers of writing new material, Aerosmith was playing “hotter than ever,” adding, “You can’t take 40 years of experience and throw it in the bin!”
Aerosmith Makes Up and Continues On
In December 2009, Steven Tyler admitted himself to rehab. In a statement, he denounced the rumors that he was trying to leave Aerosmith. “I am taking responsibility for the management of my pain and am eager to be back on the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford,” he told Rolling Stone at the time.
He continued, “I wish to set the record straight and say that I have read reports of a rumored two-year hiatus and want to be clear that this is completely false, and I will enthusiastically be writing, recording and performing with Aerosmith as soon as things are handled.”
Tyler has been open about his struggles with addiction to the point where he was “hurting my children, hurting my life, hurting my family, hurting my band,” he said in 2018.
In 2010, Aerosmith came together again to go back out on tour, and in 2012 released Music From Another Dimension! That has been their latest studio album, and while Joe Perry recently said there’s “definitely a possibility” for new Aerosmith records, fans might have to be satisfied with listening to the old stuff for a while.
Featured Image by Ian Dickson/Shutterstock
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