Mick Jagger is a difficult figure to pin down. Jagger is one of the most beloved figures in music and a friend to many celebrities. He has also had some harsh words for other artists throughout his career. From the top of the music food chain, The Rolling Stones frontman isn’t afraid to throw verbal jabs – and one band was deeply harmed.
As a musician, it would be difficult to recover if Mick Jagger criticized your work. The frontman is regarded as one of the best in the world. He maintained his position as a leader from nearly the beginning of the band and continues to this day. The Stones continue to tour and release music. But his grip shows no sign of loosening as fans still scramble to see him grace the stage.
Jagger appears to have softened in his autumnal years, now willing to collaborate with modern artists such as Lady Gaga and Florence Welch, as well as their 1960s peers such as Paul McCartney, he was a difficult act to please a few decades ago. In the 1970s, especially, he was more than willing to express his feelings about other bands.
For example, he once stated that the Sex Pistols should “retire next year“. He described The Strangers as “fucking nauseating” and Iggy Pop’s music as “ropey“. But one band received a particularly harsh review in 1977.
“Oh God, Aerosmith!” When asked about the group, Jagger moaned. Aerosmith was rapidly gaining popularity at the time. They were regarded as one of the biggest acts after the release of their 1975 album Toys In The Attic. It featured hits such as ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘Sweet Emotion’. Steven Tyler was one of the world’s leading frontmen, but he failed to impress Jagger.
“They’re just rubbish – absolute bullshit,” Jagger declared, not holding back his criticism. He gave Tyler a brief moment of grace, but not for his musical ability. He said, “The singer is quite a nice guy, mind you and he is almost too bloody sweet.” He’s very nice to me, anyway.”
Even that minor compliment was a veiled dig, delivered with a sarcastic smirk. “Yeah, you know what I mean,” he added, implying that Tyler’s kindness was not a good thing in his books. “He’s such a little sweetheart, really – what can you do with him?”
Jagger knew exactly what he wanted to do with him. “Punch him in the mouth?” he added, acting out what seemed to be his dream fantasy, “What are you doing, fuckin’ impersonating me?” – Slam!”
Jagger’s implication that Tyler was merely a copycat persisted. Aerosmith became annoyed after years of comments and jokes about their rivalry. In 2013, Tyler said, “We’ve always just played our music and haven’t given a shit. Still, the ‘Cheap imitation of the Rolling Stones’ criticism was constant. And it hurt for the first couple of years.”
He went on to say, “I was constantly copying Mick Jagger and Janis Joplin. Mick was the cheapest and easiest shot. ‘Well, he resembles him, so let us write about that.'”
Band member Joe Perry attempted to dismiss the criticism. He claimed that anyone who agreed with it simply wasn’t listening. He said, “You could tell they weren’t listening because we weren’t sounding like the Stones.”
But that didn’t last long as Tyler kept the conversation going. He added, “We did our best to try, though.”
