BIRTHDAY FIT FOR A ROCK ICON
Most people can count on a slice of soso cake and an offkey rendition of “Happy Birthday” when they grow a year older. But when you’re music legend Steven Tyler and you turn 70, you get a ridiculous number of well wishes from your celebrity friends instead.
“I actually cannot believe you’re 70. I think you’re 50,” soccer icon David Beckham told Tyler, whose birthday was Monday.
“You look unbelievable,” he added. “We all want to look like you when we’re 70.”
Another Brit, drummer Ringo Starr, literally raised a glass, which was actually a mug that read “I’m going to be a rockstar,” to toast Tyler as he wished him “peace and love.” And on the American front, pop princess Britney Spears took to Twitter gushing about how he’s “a true rock star (sic) and inspiration.”
A couple of shoutouts came from friends the singer made during his “American Idol” tenure. Television personality Ryan Seacrest posted a photo of them from Tyler’s time as a judge on the show. Randy Jackson also had a birthday message, sharing a video from a rooftop in Los Angeles and admitting that “It’s not your crib in Maui, but it’s still really nice… ST, you don’t get older, you just get better.”
Of course, there were the inevitable jokes laced with Aerosmith references. Late night’s Jimmy Kimmel posted a photo of the famed rocker on Twitter, writing, “You still look like a lady after all these years.” Meanwhile, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted to Tyler, “I hope you don’t miss a thing.”
The list of serious celebs who shared birthday wishes with the septuagenarian reads like “War and Peace,” but some others included: Tony Award-winner Kristin Chenoweth, who told Tyler, “Whatever you’re drinking, I’ll have five” while sporting a fake beard; country music star and fellow March 26 baby Kenny Chesney, who showed off a wall-mounted guitar that Tyler had signed for him in Las Vegas; rocker Tommy Lee and band ZZ Top; Julian Lennon, singer-songwriter and son of the late John Lennon; musical duo Brooks and Dunn, who joked about how good he looks for his age while pointing to a poster of Mexican performer Gloria Trevi; shock jock Howard Stern; country queen Reba McEntire; actress Sharon Stone, who is also apparently his “wingman”; and Alice Cooper, who jammed out an electric guitar version of “Happy Birthday.”