“Thank you guys for inspiring so many artists to pick up a guitar and learn rock and roll instead of football or calculus,” Walker said.
About a week After Aerosmith announced their retirement from music due to Steven Tyler's irreparable vocal injury, Butch Walker honored the band by posting an acoustic version of their powerful 1987 song “Angel” on Instagram.
“I have fond memories of growing up as a long-haired rock and roll kid in the rural South, listening to Games in the attic, Rocks“And all the records that followed, when they cleaned themselves up, formed their band, and re-formed in the 80s, they were a juggernaut and they were not going to be outdone by the younger rock and roll bands that were literally formed because of Aerosmith. So they put out a new record that blew the long hair off our heads called permanent leave “This one destroyed me. It had everything. Rhythm. Hooks. Bravado. Sex. Humor. Heaviness. And the great lyricism that everyone had to have in their arsenal that decade.”
He went on to recall seeing them play “Angel” with his girlfriend at the Omni Arena in Atlanta when he was a teenager. “Sometimes the memories stick with you after all these years and all this craziness,” he wrote. “Stephen’s vocals on that song are without a doubt some of the best performances he’s ever had in his life. Most guys in their 20s can’t sing with the power, range, and passion (oh… sweet) that the 40-something did at the time. Thank you guys for inspiring so many artists to pick up a guitar and learn rock and roll instead of football or calculus. They said we’d never get anywhere doing this rock and roll shit. Well, they were wrong.”
The reaction to the cover was so positive that he recorded a proper studio version of the song alongside country singer Ashley Monroe, which he released on Wednesday — the anniversary of his father's death from cancer (Walker chronicled his grief on his 2015 LP). afraid of ghosts“I am personally sending this message to my dad,” Walker wrote on Instagram. “He told the family before he passed that he would always be our angel, and would always watch over us.”
Walker is also known today for his role as a producer who has worked with everyone from Taylor Swift and Katy Perry to Pink, Fall Out Boy, Weezer and Green Day. But he recently returned to his roots as the frontman of the rock band Marvelous 3. They're currently on tour to celebrate their 25th anniversary. LP album Hey!Which included their hit song “Freak of the Week”. Last week they released their end-of-summer song “Psalm of the Summer”.
Walker is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of his album, Messagesthe record that established him as a solo artist after the disbandment of Marvelous 3. He will perform four shows in celebration of Messagestwo in Nashville and two in Los Angeles, later this month.
