Often Aerosmith’s frontman and lead vocalist Steven Tyler is compared with another great vocalist Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones. Steven looks a lot like Mick Jagger furthermore, they both act in a similar way on stage. Not to mention that both of these legends are the s*x symbol in their own right. Fans even went on to compare Aerosmith with the Rolling Stones, saying that Aerosmith is the American version of the Rolling Stones.
Back in 2013, Tyler was asked if he likes being compared with Mick Jagger and he then replied that he hated being compared with Jagger. He said, “In the beginning, I hated it. Then, when I grew up to realize, ‘Yeah, of course, I look like him, he is the best.”
The Rolling Stones was formed way before Aerosmith and they did inspire Aerosmith one way or another. Tyler himself is a great admirer of the Rolling Stones and he even revealed some of his favorite tracks from the band in an interview with Rolling Stone back in 2011. Below you can find Steven Tyler’s favorite Rolling Stones tracks.
Steven Tyler’s favorite Rolling Stones songs
When asked about his favorite songs by the Rolling Stones Tyler named nine of their songs. First, he named I’m A King Bee from the Rolling Stones’ self-titled debut album. He said that even though he played the song with his band, the Rolling Stones were much more versatile and better. The next song he mentioned is Brown Sugar (1971), talking about the song he said that it might be the best rock and roll song.
Another one of his favorites is Rip This Joint. Maybe this one is pretty close to Tyler because when he was in rehab this was the song that could get him buzzed. He said, “When I went to my first rehab, at a place called Hazelden, I brought Exile on Main Street on cassette. I remember waking up the first morning there and realizing I hadn’t been sober once for the past 12 or 15 years, from LSD to heroin and cocaine and acid. The only way I could get a buzz at that point was to listen to Rip This Joint.”
Get Off of My Cloud is a popular track that was released in 1965 and it topped the music charts in several countries including the UK, USA, Germany, and more. This is also a track Steven Tyler holds very dear. It seems that Tyler is not only a fan of Jagger, but he seems to admire Keith Richards more because he said that Keith’s songs really hit him, including the 1967 song Something Happened to Me Yesterday.
Next up we have Hot Stuff from the Black and Blue album which was released in 1976. Tyler says that this song has a great groove. Memory Motel is another song from the same album and Tyler really loves this track he said that Mick is a great rock and roll singer.
This next song is Tyler’s favorite as well as his inspiration, talking about the Rolling Stones’ 1965 track The Spider And The Fly he said, “This was the kind of song that inspired me to start writing my own lyrics.” Lastly, Steven mentioned She Said Yeah as one of his favorites.
There are many reasons why the Rolling Stones are considered the greatest, and there are millions who love them; certainly, Steven is one of them, but why does he really like them? Let’s find out.
The reason why Steven Tyler likes the Rolling Stone
Well, first of all, there is no reason for him to hate the band unless he did not like people calling him Jagger’s lookalike or comparing them however, that is not the case. As mentioned, even though he hated people comparing him with Jagger, he now is fine with comparison. He stated, “Whatever, I mean if they think I look like him, so be it. I’m his bastard son or whatever. I will carry on his image, God bless me. I think Mick was the baddest boy in the block. It was Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Anita Pallenberg, Keith Richards.”
He continued, “The best, they lived it, they were it and we emulated that. I emulated them, probably Joe Perry more. Jimmy Page or so forth but I truly got my high heels from Keith and the Beatles and music harmony from the Everly Brothers, how to put it together by the Beatles but to act like Janis Joplin. I needed to act like that, I needed someone to emulate, pretend fake it till you make it.”
Furthermore, the Rolling Stones are one of those bands who really inspired Tyler. He says that one thing he learned from them is having style matters more than hitting the notes. He said, “I learned from the Stones and from Janis Joplin that it’s not about hitting the notes, it’s about having style.” Moreover, as mentioned above, the Rolling Stones’ song The Spider And The Fly inspired him to start writing his own lyrics.
We can also assume how much the Rolling Stones mean to Tyler, who idolizes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. He said about Richards, “anything Keith sang on always killed me.” Furthermore, he also talked about Jagger and said that Mick is “one of the best f**king singers in rock & roll.”
And although Mick Jagger has not shared his thoughts on Tyler, back in 2012 Jagger impersonated Tyler when he appeared in Saturday Night Live as a host. However, Tyler later reported that Mick did not get him right. Talking with Hollywood Life he said, “Ohhh, [Mick] got it so wrong, he could have done the, ‘Yeah yeah yeah!”
Moreover, we can say that Jagger loves Tyler, when Tyler was asked if he’s met Mick Jagger, he said that they have hung out. He also said, “I’m not sure if he [Mick Jagger] loves me that much as I love him, but we’ve hung out.” Well, he sure does like the Rolling Stones and loves Mick Jagger who’s Tyler’s hero.
