Steven Tyler's memoir: Even 'wilder' than Keith Richards'?
In a new book, the Aerosmith singer recounts his hard-partying life in rock. Here, 7 takeaways

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Aerosmith frontman (and American Idol judge) Steven Tyler has a memoir out next week, and some are saying its account of rock-star excess is "even wilder and louder" than Keith Richards' Life. Here, seven takeaways from the book, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?:
1. Tyler wanted to name Aerosmith "The Hookers"
Aerosmith was almost called The Hookers, but drummer Joey Kramer had a better idea: Aerosmith. "The name evoked space — aerodynamics, supersonic thrust, Mach II, the sound barrier," writes Tyler.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. It was wild on the road, real wild
"To snort or not to snort," Tyler writes. "That wasn't even a question." He goes on to says that he can't recall how many times he was arrested.
3. He cleaned up, but then relapsed
Tyler says he stopped using drugs in the mid-1980s but relapsed in 2009 after the death of his mother. "During Thanksgiving I drank, did some blow again, and then Christmas was coming up so I had a guy bring me an eight ball of coke and a bunch of pills," he says. He later headed to the Betty Ford clinic, one of the eight rehab facilities he has visited over the years.
4. And the band nearly fired him
After a relapsed Tyler fell off a stage at a South Dakota concert in 2009, his bandmates didn't talk with him for 27 weeks, and nearly replaced him with another singer. "I got chastised for falling off the stage high," he says.
5. Some in the band are still using
While Aerosmith has claimed that they all sobered up in the 90s, Tyler says that they're not that squeaky clean. He writes that at least one member of the band was still using drugs when they went on tour last year. "It was a bit ironic and a thorn in my side, but not worth getting angry over after spending three months in rehab, that I came back to a band where someone was still using," he says. "I don't give a f—. I live for this band, but the world needs to know."
6. He didn't tell the band he was going on American Idol
When Tyler decided last summer to be a judge on Idol, he neglected to tell the rest of Aerosmith, even though they were touring together at the time. Guitarist Joe Perry found out in the press, and burst into Tyler's dressing room to confront him. He was pretty pissed, but now it's "all water under the bridge."
7. Tyler is still "creepy"
There's a lot of "groupie-talk" in the book, and given that both Tyler and his co-writer, David Dalton, are over the hill, it's a bit "creepy," says Geoff Edgers in The Boston Globe. "There are times, particularly the top of page 142, when Noise makes you feel as if you've just watched season three of To Catch a Predator."
Sources: AP, Entertainment Weekly, Boston Globe
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Beer pumps 'desecrate church'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
'Green bonfire'
Today's Newspapers A round-up of the headlines from the UK front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 21 September 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published