Sammy Hagar took time out of his concert on Friday night (August 2nd) to honor Aerosmith, who had just announced their retirement from touring only hours earlier. The Red Rocker praised singer Steven Tyler for knowing when to call it a day, while also declaring that “a lot of other motherf**kers should have did a long time ago,” perhaps a not-so-subtle dig at longtime nemesis David Lee Roth.
As reported, Aerosmith abruptly retired from touring on Friday, citing Tyler’s vocal injury. The band had hoped to embark on their farewell tour this September after postponing it last year, but determined “that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible.”
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Hagar is in the midst of his “Best of All Worlds” tour featuring an all-star backing band of Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham. Toward the end of the set, the singer addressed the crowd, sharing the news of Aerosmith’s retirement.
“We had some crazy news today,” Hagar told the audience. “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.”
He continued, “I gotta tell ya, one of the times in 1973 [actually 1974], [my old band] Montrose was playing Cobo [Arena in Detroit], and we were opening for Aerosmeith, 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 [The Beatles’] ‘Helter Skelter’ for our encore. And Aerosmith comes on and they opened with ‘Helter Skelter.’ Steven and I have been friends ever since.”
