WATCH: Corey Taylor fights back tears accepting ‘Icon’ award at Rock To Recovery 2017
He delivers an emotional speech
Corey Taylor fought back tears as he received the ‘Icon’ award at the second annual Rock To Recovery event and benefit in California on Saturday night (16th September).
According to Rock To Recovery program administrator Sonny Mayo, the Icon award honours public figures that use their power to influence great masses of people in a positive way.
The award is specifically given to someone who has fought addiction and by their actions has brought hope to whole generations – a person who didn’t have to run from the music but faced it to shine brightly and showed the world that life isn’t over when you get sober.
Accepting his award at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood over the weekend, a visibly emotional Corey delivered a powerful acceptance speech where he opened about his struggles with mental health issues and how he's attempted to work through them with therapy and sobriety.
Fighting back tears, the Stone Sour and Slipknot singer told the audience "I don't really know what to say” while trying to gain his composure.
After an audience member shouted “We love you, Corey!”, he responded "I love you too. I love everybody here."
Delivering his emotional speech, Corey continued: "It's been eight years (of sobriety) and you put a lot of s--- in perspective. You have a lot of time to think. You have nowhere to go with it. Your trial and error becomes your way of life. Who you are is a question every day, y’know why. And in this industry, that 'why' is kind of wrapped up in a lot of weird s---.
“So the great thing about this program, this organisation, is it takes away all of that s---. It takes away the stigma of trying to be a better person, trying to be a stronger person, a healthier person. It takes away the feeling of being alone, surrounded by people who are doing the exact same stuff that you do. And it lets you enjoy it again, which is a f---ing hard thing to do when you're force-fed an idea that it's only cool if you're f---ed up. It's not. It's actually better once you get your head together, or try to."
"So if I tell you anything, I had my first drink when I was five years old, did my first drug when I was eleven, and it was just all f—ed up from there. I lost a lot of friends."
Fighting back the tears and with his voice audibly breaking, Corey finished: "One day at a time. And every day is a gift. So, thank you for having this gift with me. God bless you all, thank you very much.”
Rock to Recovery was founded in 2012 by former Korn guitarist Wes Greer in an effort to bring a new and unique type of music expression group into treatment centres –the participants form a band and record music together.
"Music is a language we all know from a young age. Rock to Recovery gives people the outlet to channel the music in their soul, many for the first time, and we help bring it out of them," comments Wes Greer.
"I spent time in rehab, I know what it's like. I wanted a way to give back, and help lift the spirits of those in early recovery. 'Music is the Medicine'. It's works miracles. you should see the people after they’re done rocking out. It's life changing. We all walk out of there high, naturally."
As well picking up the Icon award, Corey performed Stone Sour’s ‘Song #3’ on the night and joined Kings of Chaos for a rendition of Stone Temple Pilots’ ‘Sex Type Thing’. Watch footage of the performances below: