When it comes to forming their dream lineups, most rock fans could be as eager as your average football fan who likes having their way with forming a fantasy league and dream teams. After all, rock has numerous heroes all around, from six-stringed warriors to courageous frontpeople who entertain millions.
However, along with rock fans, most rockers also have their own dream lineups as well, and from time to time, they’re generous enough to share them. Jimmy Page, for instance, knew exactly who he wanted to team up with while naming the players of his dream rock team, whereas ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons had so many names that seemed like a portion of Rock Hall.
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is also one of those icons who had a list ready to go when it came to naming the fellow rocker he wanted to work with the most, other than his Aerosmith buddies, of course. So, the frontman was chatting with High Times in 1993, addressing anything from his early career to spending most of his fortune on drugs, when the topic drifted to the names he wished to team up with.
Tyler had quite the picks since each name he listed is or was an icon who had left their mark on the scene; however, while he named his favorite rockers, the Aerosmith icon also got a bit upset as he disclosed why he believed none of these rockers would ever work with him.
So, the musicians Steven wanted to work with consisted of the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards with Steven noting how much he wanted to write a track with the guitar hero. He then continued the list by naming Little Richard and Paul McCartney as the two other icons he wanted to team up with, though he didn’t believe he’d ever get to work with them.
Little Richard, obviously, can’t work with him because he passed away a few decades ago, but when it came to Keith and Paul, Steven still wasn’t optimistic. He discussed how his drug issues had become problematic, so Richards and McCartney didn’t think well of him.
Tyler was aware of his own problematic behavior as well, saying that he would prefer to binge on drugs all night and party rather than create a song with Richards or McCartney in a few hours. However, he discussed he’d been better for a while since he got clean and could focus on creative activities. Let’s note that this interview was done three decades ago, and it was recently reported that he relapsed.
The rockers who Steven wished to work with consisted of:
“It’s always been one of my wishes, even when I was using, to write a song with Keith Richards. Or to write a song with Little Richard. Or Paul McCartney, for that matter. But these people didn’t think I was cool enough. I’ll never meet them. I mean, what does it take? It can all be done in a f*cking afternoon in four hours.
So I was too busy back then spending six hundred dollars on a quarter ounce of coke, and I would go away with somebody, and we’d snort blow all night, and the next day I wouldn’t even remember what their name was. Now, I meet with people that I look up to, and it’s all possible.”
Long, long years after that interview took place and Steven said he’d never work with his favorite rockers, the frontman got the chance to perform with McCartney. As his dream came true, the rocker couldn’t help but cry on stage while making eye contact with Nancy Pelosi. Wonder how that happened? Well, read all about it here.
