Steven Tyler Reveals Hopes for 2016 Country Solo Album Release

Aerosmith rocker-turned-country artist Steven Tyler is hoping that 2016 will hold a new album. The 67-year-old tells ABC News Radio that he's hoping to release his solo country debut by "February or so" of 2016.

While he's already released his debut country single, "Love is Your Name," and calls his new solo project the love of his life, Tyler isn't rushing the process in the least.

"I don't even know who I'm producing it with," he reports. "It's gonna be what it is. There's a couple of songs I've written, and they're, like, rock, and I said, 'Oh, geez.' And I'm not gonna put a banjo on it just to make it country ... I don't know what it's gonna be, but my heart leans [toward] the country feeling and the vibe."

To some, it may be surprising that Tyler made the switch into country, but when he explains why, it makes a lot of sense.

"I think country music is the new rock 'n' roll," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer maintains. "I mean, you can listen to the lyrics, you can really get into it, just as you could get into "Stairway to Heaven."

"Country's not just about porches, dogs and kicking my boots up," Tyler adds. "It's a whole lot more, but it's about being real. You know, the world's gone so far away from that. I hope it comes back."

Tyler is signed with Dot Records, a division of Big Machine Label Group. When the signing was announced, he said that his rocker vibe certainly won't be erased on the new record. Instead, he explains, “It’s going to be in the middle of what Robert Plant has done with T Bone [Burnett] and Buddy Miller — that kind of scene. But I think with Dot being involved, and Scott, who has that ear for radio, it can be really big, but still be really cool.”

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