Steven Tyler's debauched memoir
Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler will publish his memoirs worldwide on May 3, promising to share "all the unexpurgated, brain-jangling tales of debauchery, sex & drugs, transcendence & chemical dependence you will ever want to hear."His book, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?," comes out at a time when the 63-year-old singer's job as a judge on TV show "American Idol" is winning him new, younger fans who may not be familiar with his sordid past.
It will be published by News Corp's HarperCollins, the firm said on Tuesday.
Tyler previously wrote about his life in the 1997 memoir "Walk This Way," on which he and his bandmates collaborated with Steven Davis. Tyler worked on his book with David Dalton.
In the last 14 years, Tyler has split with his second wife, been to rehab clinics, undergone throat surgery, disclosed that he has Hepatitis C, and endured a nasty public feud with his bandmates. His first wife also died in that time, he became a grandfather, and Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
His book will be "the unbridled truth, the in-your-face, up-close and prodigious tale of Steven Tyler straight from the horse's lips," he said.
Tyler, who was born Steven Victor Tallarico in Yonkers, New York, in 1948, rose to fame in the early '70s when Aerosmith broke through as America's answer to the Rolling Stones. Indeed the perpetually amped Tyler and laconic guitarist Joe Perry fashioned themselves on Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, respectively, earning the moniker the Toxic Twins.
With hits such as "Dream On," "Walk This Way" and "Back in the Saddle," the band sold out arenas everywhere. But the wheels fell off by the late '70s as drugs took over. Perry and fellow guitarist Brad Whitford quit for a few years, and Aerosmith became another sad rock 'n' roll casualty.
But by the mid-1980s, with a new manager on board who forced them to go to rehab, Aerosmith started an unlikely comeback, helped by popular MTV videos and a resurgence in the popularity of hard rock.
But the last decade has been tough on the band, which has struggled to record a follow-up to its last album of original material, 2001's "Just Push Play." Long-time fans worried that Aerosmith was singing too many ballads, and were dismayed when their hard-living heroes played a Super Bowl half-time show with fresh-faced boy band 'N Sync.
Internal tensions boiled over in 2009 when Tyler fell off the stage during a concert and his frustrated bandmates threatened to hire a new singer to replace him. Tyler hired a separate management team and barely communicated with the other members while he made his own plans for life outside the band.
But the filial bonds appear to have grown back, and the band has slowly been working on a new album, while Tyler shares his spirited opinion on "American Idol," the top-rated show in the United States.