AEROSMITH Guitarist BRAD WHITFORD Talks History Of The Band’s Original Tour Van - "This Was Kind Of Our Stamp"
March 18, 2019, 5 years ago
In a 2018 episode of the History Channel show American Pickers, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz purchased Aerosmith’s original tour van for $25,000, reports Kevin Slane of The Boston Globe.
In an episode set to air tonight, March 18th, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford checks out the van’s preservation progress, and tells the tale behind the vehicle’s eye-catching art.
Whitford, age 67, reveals that he was 19 years old when he started riding around in the van, and explained the origin of the painting of the man on the van’s side.
“That is the guy that owned this truck, Mark Lehman. Pretty good likeness of him. He was bald at a young age. There’s a line in ‘Mama Kin’, actually. Steven (Tyler) sings, ‘Bald as an egg at 18,’ and he’s singing about this guy.”
“We didn’t have a logo or anything; this was kind of our stamp,” said Whitford. “The roots of Aerosmith: that little painting on the side of the van. We were established. Something was taking root in the streets of Boston.”
Learn more at this location.
Check out Aerosmith performing "Mama Kin" live at Donington Park in 2014:
