Think the jars of Xanax and surprise paternity revelations is all there is to know about
Steven Tyler?
Dream on.
According to Biography, Steven Tyler's dad was a music teacher and an alumni at the prestigious Juilliard School.
As illustrated in Tyler's book, "Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?: A Rock and Roll
Memoir," he was quite familiar with the sounds of music as a child and was intrigued enough
to explore music as he got exposed to more and more albums.
His father had a massive piano in the house, and he would play for three hours every single
day, inspiring the young Tyler.
As he once explained to Oprah Winfrey:
"The gift my father gave me playing Bach and Beethoven on the piano — see that piano?
I grew up under it.
From six months to eight months on the couch, til I could crawl."
His father was even talented enough to play at Carnegie Hall, and when Tyler asked his
dad what it took to make it there as a performer, his dad's advice was simple and straightforward:
"Practice, my son, practice."
Tyler wrote that the piano was of great significance to his father, and as far as the future rock
legend was concerned, the piano was a way for him to come up with a world of his own
as he watched his father play music day in and day out.
"When you take life's emotions and the s— you go through in life, and- and you lay it
over a Bach or a Brahm's sonata, it takes on a different meaning."
Steven Tyler came across his bandmates, Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton, in 1969 when the duo
were performing at a show in Sunapee, New Hampshire.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tyler immediately hit it off with Perry, and the
pair went on to form Aerosmith the year after they met.
They ended up gaining the attention of musicians in Boston.
What made them really stand out was a show at Max's Kansas City that basically gave them
their first record deal and paved the way forward for their path ahead as a band.
"I just wanna get out there and rock and roll and I love being with the band, and I love
looking at pretty women in the front row.
That's really what it's all about."
Tyler has always maintained a special relationship with Perry.
Touching on it in his memoir, Tyler wrote of his bandmate:
"My whole life I'd been searching for my mutant twin — I wanted a brother [...] Joe was
that missing link."
Steven Tyler's struggle with drugs has been well-documented over the years.
According to his own account in "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?," he had been
getting high since he was 16 years old and wrote that his mom often wondered why he felt
the need to turn to drugs when he already got such a thrill from his success.
From his perspective, it made sense to be high even while performing.
As he wrote in his book,
"I was good onstage so why not be high, too?
I was already addicted to adrenaline, so why not get higher?"
Additionally, around the time Tyler and his mates were about to work on their second album,
they had far too many responsibilities, and for them, drugs made it easier to get through
their duties without feeling overwhelmed.
Eventually, according to Loudwire, Tyler's drug dependency got so bad that his bandmates
made a collective decision to make him go to rehab. Tyler later said:
"There was a moment in '88 where management and the band pulled an intervention on me.
They thought, 'Get the lead singer sober, and all our problems would be over.'"
While initially upset, he was eventually grateful for their help.
Despite achieving major success, Aerosmith as a band went through some major lows.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the musicians went through a period of decline in the 1980s,
despite being wildly successful in the '70s with hits like "Sweet Emotion" and "Back in
the Saddle."
There were several reasons for the band to experience a slowdown, including drug abuse
and fighting within the group.
In fact, guitarist Joe Perry left Aerosmith in 1979 and started focusing on his solo music
journey with the Joe Perry Project.
At this point, Aerosmith found themselves fighting hard to stay relevant, only landing
gigs at smaller venues and struggling with the inconsistency of their shows.
On January 20, 1980, Steven Tyler pretended to pass out at a show because he was too drunk
to keep up with it.
Fortunately, despite these setbacks, Aerosmith managed to bounce back a few years later.
According to a piece by CNN, Steven Tyler fell in a hotel bathroom in Paraguay in 2011,
which led to speculations that Tyler was back to fighting his drug addiction.
Tyler, who was 63 at the time, said that he actually had food poisoning and ended up battling
a bout of nausea in the shower and passed out.
His tour manager acted quickly and got in touch with the American Embassy to get Tyler
access to prompt medical aid.
Tyler ended up undergoing a bit of plastic surgery and also got stitches.
Speaking about how folks assumed that he was back on drugs, he said:
"I get that people think that.
It still bothers me a little, but it's something that I have to deal with for the rest of my life."
And two years before that incident, in 2009, Tyler got seriously hurt when he fell off
a stage while he was performing.
According to The Hollywood Report, his accident was serious enough for him to require several
stitches as he nursed a broken shoulder.
Steven Tyler's health issues have been fairly serious.
For example, Biography reported that in 2006, the singer had to receive throat surgery that
could have potentially brought his career to a halt.
Luckily, the operation went smoothly, and the singer was able to bounce back.
The musician also publicly spoke about his struggle with hepatitis C that same year.
He spoke to Access Hollywood about it, saying that although he was asymptomatic, he had
to undergo chemotherapy sessions for around 11 months, and that his illness took a massive
toll on him and his marriage.
In 2008, Tyler was hospitalized at a rehabilitation clinic in California in a bid to help heal
foot pain that he'd been experiencing.
Tyler wrote at length about the torture he went through while trying to cope with pain
after surgery in "Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?", writing:
"I couldn't get enough narcotics to dull the pain in my feet.
I had whole jars full of Xanax."
Even years after Tyler underwent surgery, he continued facing problems.
A 2012 article by NBC News suggested that Tyler had suffered a foot deformity on account
of his power-packed performances over the years in poorly fitting shoes.
In fact, his situation was so bad that he continued experiencing pain years after receiving surgery.
Steven Tyler's relationships haven't been straightforward in the least.
As outlined by Biography, he has four kids.
The eldest is actress Liv Tyler, who was conceived during his relationship with model Bebe Buell.
He also had two failed marriages, one with model Cyrinda Foxe and then with Teresa Barrick.
During those two relationships, Tyler conceived his other three children: Mia, Chelsea, and Taj.
In 2011, Steven was engaged to model Erin Brady, but the pair split in 2013.
These days, Steven is said to be dating Aimee Preston, who Yahoo! reported has served as
a personal assistant to other celebrities in the past.
Additionally, his daughter, Liv, didn't know who her father was until she was 8 years old.
"You know, my mother was very young when she had me and there was a little bit of confusion
about where I came from."
As per Liv, she simply figured it out on her own when she realized how much she looked
like her father and his daughter, Mia, from another relationship.
Steven stayed in touch with Liv through the years, and Liv notes that her father isn't
a typical grandfather — but is great at doing things like amusing his grandkids by
making animal noises.
"Ba ba!
Ba Ba!
BAA!"
Steven Tyler is not a fan of Donald Trump, and he hasn't exactly been quiet about it.
In 2018, he was pretty miffed when he discovered that Trump used Aerosmith's song "Livin' on
the Edge" for his campaign, and even sent him a cease and desist letter, according to CNN.
He later said in a statement:
"I do not let anyone use my songs without my permission.
My music is for causes not political campaigns or rallies.
Protecting copyright and songwriters is what I've been fighting for even before this current
administration took office."
He further noted that Trump had previously used his band's music on other occasions,
which led to the incorrect impression that Aerosmith endorsed Trump in some way.
The feud wasn't exactly new, as Tyler had apparently been annoyed with Trump using his
music even back in 2015.
Steven Tyler waxed poetic about India in his memoir and mentioned how fascinated he has
always been by the country.
In fact, he named his son, Taj, after one of the most iconic monuments in the country,
the Taj Mahal.
He wrote about how it was a huge deal for Aerosmith to play in India in 2007, and he
also wrote the song, "Taste of India," as a tribute to the country.
He added that playing in India was a bit of an eye opener as the band witnessed festival
promoters who didn't hesitate to charge concert goers extra money for water, alcohol, and
food at the venue.
As reported by The Cut, Liv Tyler revealed that her father is quite a fan of skin care
— and his routine isn't at all simple.
Liv explained that she's learned about skincare from her grandmother, as well as her father, saying:
"My dad is so into skin care; when I go visit him, I usually spend half the time in the
bathroom with him, just going over products.
He's got his whole bathroom filled."
Steven Tyler is in his 70s, and Liv said that he has amazing skin because he makes a conscious
effort to look after it, something that's obvious from his selfies.
Steven Tyler is aware that he has a controversial public image, writing in his book:
"It's hard to tell who I am by the trail left by my musical career.
I am the Demon of Screamin', the dude that looks like a lady, the rag doll that married
Lucy in the Sky.
But I'm also something more than the rock n' roll junky wh—- who got his foot inside the door."
As far as being a controversial figure is concerned, Tyler is no stranger to scandals.
According to Deadline, Tyler was embroiled in a controversy in 2012 after he served as
a judge on "American Idol" and got called out by singer Nicki Minaj for coming across as racist.
Basically, it all started when Tyler spoke about Minaj and other judges on the show and
insinuated that if an unknown Bob Dylan auditioned for the show, that they would have passed on him.
He was later called out by Minaj, who took offense at his comments.
Tyler apologized to Minaj on the CTV show 'Etalk' and defended himself.
"I am the last thing on this planet as far as being a racist."
Steven Tyler tried to pursue his solo career but didn't quite succeed when compared to
his work with Aerosmith.
Still, you can tell he put his heart and soul into it.
Tyler unveiled his first solo album, called "We're All Somebody From Somewhere," in 2016.
His album featured 15 songs and had heavy influences from his country roots.
He explained to Rolling Stone:
"I believe y'all are gonna listen to this stuff and you're gonna agree with me that
it fell from a star."
He added that he tried to keep the album as genuine as he could.
He backed his album with a 19-city tour called 'Steven Tyler ... Out on a Limb.'
Speaking about the tour, he said:
"I just have this crazy passion and love of life, and I'm always speaking out of turn
and out of this and out of that.
[People will say], 'You're out of your mind.'
Well, good.
I'd rather be out of my mind than that place you're in, I would say to these people."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).