Aerosmith announced their retirement from touring due to a vocal injury the singer Steven Tyler suffered last year. Immediately countless fans around the world and also Rock stars lamented that it was the end of the road for the band.
The former Montrose and Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar, who once was considered to replace Tyler in Aerosmith, paid tribute to the band during one of his shows.
Sammy Hagar pays tribute to Aerosmith
(Transcribed by Consequence) “We had some crazy news today. We got here this afternoon sometime and we’re all sitting around backstage and a friend of ours that works for Aerosmith came and said, ‘Yeah, Aerosmith called retirement today. They quit. They stopped.’ God bless ’em. It’s a horrible thing. It’s a horrible thing. What a great fucking loss.”
“I gotta tell ya, one of the times in 1973 (actually 1974), Montrose was playing Cobo (Detroit), and we were opening for Aerosmith, and we didn’t know who they were, and they sold out Cobo, and I’m going, ‘Who the fuck are these guys?’ So, we did our show, we did an encore, and we played ‘Helter Skelter’ for our encore. And Aerosmith comes on and they opened with ‘Helter Skelter.’ Steven and I have been friends ever since.”
He continued:
“Long story short, we love those guys. We all grew up with those guys. You grew up with them, we grew up with them, Mike and I. They’ve been our competitors to Van Halen for fucking 10 years. You know what I’m saying? ‘Fuck those guys.’ No, no, no, but we really do like them. It’s just that we’re mad at them. But anyway, what a shame.”
“It’s a sad thing, but honest to God, my hat goes off to one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time, Mister Steven Tyler, for saying, ‘I can’t sing anymore. I quit.’ Fuck yes. Listen, that’s honorable. That’s fucking honorable. The day I can’t sing anymore, I will fucking do the same thing. And that’s what a lot of other motherf**kers should have done a long time ago,” Sammy Hagar said.