“I want to do that”: The song that got Steven Tyler into Aerosmith
It’s funny how tiny actions can lead to the formation of the biggest bands in rock ‘n’ roll. George Harrison playing Bill Justis’ ‘Raunchy’ on the top deck of a Liverpool bus led to him joining The Beatles; Keith Richards spotting Mick Jagger holding a stack of blues records at Dartford station led to them forming The Rolling Stones. So, when it came to Aerosmith, that moment also came from a similarly unlikely source.
After all, when you think of Fleetwood Mac, unless you’re a die-hard Peter Green obsessive, the first thing you think of is their late 1970s imperial phase. I’m willing to listen to counter-arguments, but they’d have to be some seriously engaging takes on the history of blues guitar. After all, why wouldn’t they be? It’s not just that their 1975 self-titled album and 1977’s Rumours are two of the most beloved albums in the history of rock; they’re also two of the most successful ones.
The truth is, though, the band had ten years of mileage on the clock when they made those records. It might not have always been the same lineup, but the band wasn’t just about success in their original Peter Green-led bluesmen lineup, but influential, too, so much so that a budding guitar hero across the pond was listening to their music with great interest.
Fast forward nearly half a century to 2020, drummer and the “Fleetwood” part of the band, Mick Fleetwood, was putting together a concert. One that was initially built around celebrating the early years of his band. However, as the concert drew nearer, it became clear that it was really a celebration of their guitar icon Peter Green, whose health was starting to fail him. Up front, for a number of songs, though, was a man who wouldn’t let this show be anything other than a damn good time.
How did Fleetwood Mac inspire Aerosmith?
On the surface, Steven Tyler appears to be a strange addition to the party. After all, Mac were as classy a rock band as you could possibly get. Their music was tasteful, and with the best will in the world, tasteful and classy are not words you associate with Aerosmith. They’re a balls-out, guns blazing rock ‘n’ roll group who paved the way for 1980s hair metal; honestly, they’ve got more in common with Guns N’ Roses than Jeff Beck.
With his signature scarf-coated microphone stand, tumbling long hair with a dyed blonde streak and hip swivelling dance moves, the Aerosmith frontman does stand out a little. It’s not that the suited, guitar-wielding likes of Pete Townshend, David Gilmour and Billy Gibbons are treating the whole thing like a funeral, and he definitely deserves a spot on the bill more than the bizarre addition of Noel Gallagher, but there is still something strange about it.
To put minds to rest, in an interview with Rock Cellar Magazine promoting the show’s DVD release, Fleetwood gave some insight into why Tyler had more of a place on that bill than most. Not only is Tyler a long-time friend of Fleetwood’s, but Aerosmith, as a whole, wasn’t just inspired by Fleetwood Mac, but specifically by a track from Peter Green‘s 1969 solo album, Then Play On.
Fleetwood said, “The history of Aerosmith is hugely locked into those songs… Steven had told me, ‘I wouldn’t have joined Aerosmith if I hadn’t heard Joe (Perry) playing ‘Rattlesnake Shake’ in the garage and thought, ‘I want to do that.’”
So, next time you throw on ‘Don’t Stop’ or ‘Go Your Own Way’, have a think about how they were inspiring some of the biggest bands in rock history ten years before either of those songs ever existed.
