Steven Tyler’s life in the 1970s reads like a wild ride through rock and roll excess. In a decade where cocaine was practically part of the culture, Tyler’s exploits stood out. According to the Social History of the United States, cocaine use skyrocketed during this time, even surpassing heroin for the first time. It was the drug of the rich and famous, and no one embodied that image better than Tyler.
The Aerosmith frontman didn’t just dabble in the drug—he fully embraced its glamorous and dangerous allure. Cocaine’s popularity grew sevenfold in the 1970s, becoming a symbol of wealth and celebrity, something Tyler had in spades.
One of the most shocking details of Tyler’s legendary excess is the amount he spent on cocaine. This shady piece of rock history shows the darker side of fame in the 1970s, with Tyler at the center of it all.
Steven Tyler’s Cocaine Confessions
In a 2013 interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes, the Aerosmith frontman admitted he had likely spent 5 or 6 million dollars on cocaine. “But it doesn’t matter,” he said, adding, “You could also say I’ve snorted half of Peru. It’s what we did.” When he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden” in 2018, Tyler revised the figure to “about $2 million” but repeated the same wild claim.
In the 1970s, cocaine wasn’t viewed as seriously as it is today. Tyler wrote in his autobiography, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, that doctors considered it “habituating”, but not addictive. He noted that people didn’t realize how dangerous it would eventually become.
Tyler described how cocaine, once the life of the party, turned into something much darker. He called it “the source of devious and secretive behavior” and “the mother of all lies”, showing just how much his view of the drug had changed over the years.
The Early Days of Tyler’s Drug Use
Tyler began using drugs in his teens, captivated by how they made him feel. “They made me feel like a rock star before I was one,” he told Oprah in 2012. For Tyler, drugs were part of the image he thought rock stars had to embrace. “Fake it till you make it,” he said.
Cocaine soon became the centerpiece of his addiction, intertwining with other substances. “We would do cocaine to go up, quaaludes to come down,” Tyler explained in a 2019 interview with GQ. This dangerous cycle of using one drug to counteract another was a common pattern.
Tyler’s mix of drugs distorted his sense of reality. “We would drink and then snort some coke until we thought we were straight,” he recalled. But, as he pointed out, “You’re just drunk and coked out.” His words highlight the deceptive nature of addiction and its false sense of control.
The Hidden World Behind Aerosmith’s Stage
During Aerosmith’s tours, the band had a hidden “drug” area onstage, out of sight from the crowd. Only the band had access, where substances like cocaine and heroin were laid out. Tyler and others would sneak off during performances to indulge. “Drugs were just part of being in rock ‘n’ roll then,” Tyler wrote in Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?.
Tyler recalled the carefree attitude toward drugs at the time. “Nobody knew the downside of years and years of cocaine abuse,” he admitted. Drugs were everywhere, and even the cops didn’t seem to mind. In one wild memory, Tyler and friends wrote their names in cocaine before snorting the lines.
The dangers of excessive drug use were magnified by the touring lifestyle. “It absolutely works for a while,” Tyler told GQ. “But then things go wrong.” Addiction took hold, affecting everything, even his music. Fortunately, Tyler had a support system to help him through.
The Frontman’s Journey to Sobriety
At 76, Steven Tyler has taken many steps to address his substance abuse. His first rehab stint was in 1988, urged by his bandmates and management. Though he was angry at them for years, he later admitted, “[T]oday because of that moment … I am grateful and owe a thanks to them for my sobriety.”
Tyler has entered rehab three more times, with the most recent in May 2022 after a relapse on pain medication. By late June, he was reportedly doing “extremely well,” according to a representative for Aerosmith who spoke to People. His journey to sobriety has been long and challenging.
In August 2024, Aerosmith announced their retirement from live performances due to Tyler’s vocal issues. The band revealed that Tyler had suffered damaged vocal cords and a fractured larynx. “Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible,” they wrote on X.