Aerosmith: Top 50 Songs

Aerosmith Top 50 Songs

The rock band Aerosmith formed in Boston in 1970 with singer Steven Tyler, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer. With hits like “Dream On,” “Walk This Way,” and “Sweet Emotion” they became one of America’s biggest rock bands. After six albums together, the original lineup started to fracture because of in-fighting and drug abuse. They released the tepid Rock in a Hard Place in 1982 without Perry or Whitford and it looked like they might be done as a band. However, they jumped from Columbia Records to Geffen and found new life. The originial lineup reunited for 1985’s Done with Mirrors. The muted reception suggested the band might be done, but then rap group Run-D.M.C. remade the band’s “Walk This Way” into a top-five pop hit and reignited interest in Aerosmith. The band’s next four studio albums were multi-platinum affairs which kept the classic rock faithful content while finding new fans with younger crowds. The band’s 1980 Greatest Hits compilation has sold 14 million copies worldwide. For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. DMDB Top 1%: 1. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (1998) 2. Walk This Way (with Run-D.M.C., 1986) 3. Dream On (1973) DMDB Top 2%: 4. Sweet Emotion (1975) 5. Walk This Way (1975) DMDB Top 5%: 6. Janie’s Got a Gun (1989) 7. Dude Looks Like a Lady (1987) 8. Love in an Elevator (1989) 9. What It Takes (1989) 10. Cryin’ (1993) 11. Back in the Saddle (1976) DMDB Top 10%: 12. Livin’ on the Edge (1993) 13. Angel (1987) 14. Come Together (1978) 15. Rag Doll (1987) 16. Jaded (2000) 17. Last Child (1976) 18. The Other Side (1989) 19. Crazy (1993) 20. Amazing (1993) DMDB Top 20%: 21. Falling in Love Is Hard on the Knees (1997) 22. Pink (1997) 23. Same Old Song and Dance (1974) 24. Blind Man (1994) 25. Hole in My Soul (1997) 26. Mama Kin (1973) 27. Remember Walking in the Sand (1979) 28. Draw the Line (1977) 29. Big Ten Inch Record (1975) 30. Train Kept A-Rollin’ (1974) 31. Toys in the Attic (1975) 32. Chip Away the Stone (1979) 33. Eat the Rich (1993) 34. Deuces Are Wild (1993) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 35. Kings and Queens (1977) 36. Home Tonight (1976) 37. Hangman Jury (1987) 38. Fly Away from Here (2001) 39. Let the Music Do the Talking (1985) 40. Walk on Water (1994) 41. Just Push Play (2001) 42. Fever (1993) 43. Girls of Summer (2002) 44. Baby Please Don’t Go (2004) 45. Helter Skelter (1975) 46. Shut Up and Dance (1993) 47. Sunshine (2001) 48. Love Me Two Times (1990) 49. Taste of India (1997) 50. Devil’s Got a New Disguise (2006) Resources and Related Links: DMDB profile page for Aerosmith DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Aerosmith Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 8/10/2023.

“There Was a Little Boy” released as album cut on Toy Matinee

There Was a Little Boy Toy Matinee

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Aerosmith “Janie’s Got a Gun” charted

Janie’s Got a Gun Aerosmith

Writer(s): Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton (see lyrics here) Released: November 8, 1989 First Charted: September 23, 1989 Peak: 4 US, 3 CB, 6 GR, 8 RR, 2 AR, 76 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 70.7 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The rock band Aerosmith formed in Boston in 1970. They released six studio albums in the 1970s, all of which have gone platinum. 1976’s Rocks was their highest charting album, reaching #3, while Toys in the Attic was their biggest seller generating nine million in sales in the U.S. They have some of the most celebrated album rock classics of all time in “Dream On,” “Sweet Emotion,” and “Walk This Way.” However, they hit hard times in the 1980s. Drug problems and internal conflicts led to the departures of guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. Both returned to the fold, but in 1985 it looked like the band would never come close to their glory days again. However, their fortunes changed when rap group Run-D.M.C. covered “Walk This Way,” taking it all the way to the top 10. The song featured Perry and singer Steven Tyler. Suddenly people cared about Aerosmith again. Their 1987 Permanent Vacation album sold five million copies on the strength of three top-20 singles. The follow-up album, Pump, was even more successful. On the strength of three top tens and a fourth top-40 hit, the album sold seven million copies and reached #5 on the Billboard album chart. The second of those top-10 hits was “Janie’s Got a Gun.” In an usual departure for the band, this wasn’t some feel-good party tune. Tyler saw a Time magazine article about handgun deaths in the United States and heard a woman talking about how often children are attacked by their parents. WK He put the ideas together to create a story of a young woman who shoots her father because he sexually abuses her. The video was shot by David Fincher, who later directed Se7en, and depicts the murder and subsequent crime scene investigation. SF The song earned them their first Grammy – for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/27/2022.

Aerosmith’s Pump released

First posted 4/2/2008; updated ?.

Pump Aerosmith

Buy Here:

Released: September 12, 1989 Peak: 5 US, 3 UK, 2 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.1 UK, 11.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Young Lust (Tyler, Perry, Jim Vallance) [4:18] F.I.N.E. (Tyler, Perry, Desmond Child) [4:09] (11/25/89, 14 AR) Going Down/Love in an Elevator (Tyler, Perry) [5:39] (9/2/89, 5 US, 1 AR, 13 UK, 13 CN, 33 AU, gold single) Monkey on My Back (Tyler, Perry) [3:57] (4/14/90, 17 AR) Water Song/Janie’s Got a Gun (Tyler, Tom Hamilton) [5:38] (9/23/89, 4 US, 2 AR, 76 UK, 2 CN, 1 AU) Dulcimer Stomp/The Other Side (Tyler, Vallance, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) [4:56] (6/16/90, 22 US, 1 AR, 46 UK, 22 CN, 73 AU) My Girl (Tyler, Perry) [3:10] Don’t Get Made, Get Even (Tyler, Perry) [4:48] Hoodoo/ Voodoo Medicine Man (Tyler, Brad Whitford) [4:39] What It Takes (Tyler, Perry, Child) [5:11] (1/13/90, 9 US, 1 AR, 15 CN, 46 CN) Total Running Time: 47:22 The Players: Steven Tyler (vocals, keyboards, harmonica, percussion) Joe Perry (guitar) Brad Whitford (rhythm guitar) Tom Hamilton (bass) Joey Kramer (drums, percussion)

Rating: 4.346 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings) Quotable: “Rank[s] with Rocks and Toys in the Attic.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards:

About the Album: 1987’s Permanent Vacation heralded in the second wave of Aerosmith, the return of the original lineup in one of rock history’s greatest comeback stories. While that album “seemed a little overwhelmed by its pop concessions, Pump revels in them without ever losing sight of Aerosmith’s dirty hard rock core.” STE For Pump, the band set out to explore “a rawness that had been glossed over for a commercial sound in Permanent Vacation.” WK As guitarist Joe Perry said, “We wanted to strip off a little fat we felt on our last one.” WK The result? Q magazine called it “the year’s best metal album,” WK noting that “it took a bunch of hoary, addled old stagers like Aerosmith” to “hoist the heavy metal crown from the likes of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi.” WK Rolling Stone called Aerosmith “the reigning kind of the double entendre” WK but said Pump “has more going for it than locker-room laughs, such as the vintage high-speed crunch (circa Toys in the Attic) of Young Lust…[and] the sassy slap ‘n’ tickle of My Girl.” WK Part of the success of Vacation was due to producer Bruce Fairbairn, who returns for Pump. At his suggestion, the band brought in outside songwriting help from Desmond Child (Loverboy, Bon Jovi) and Jim Vallance (Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi) for the previous album. Both songwriters show up again here – Child on What It Takes and F.I.N.E. and Vallance on “Young Lust” and The Other Side. Two of those songs were top 40 hits. “What It Takes,” which “has more emotion and grit than any of their other power ballads,” STE hit #9 on the U.S. pop charts while “The Other Side” reached #22. Both songs also topped the album rock tracks chart. “The Other Side” gave Aerosmith some legal troubles when the famed Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland threatened to sue the band because of similarities between the melodies of “The Other Side” and “Standing in the Shadows of Love.” Aerosmith ended up adding them to the songwriting credits. WK The album’s two biggest songs, however, were penned solely by the band. Lead single Love in an Elevator, like “The Other Side,” rock[s] relentlessly, no matter how many horns and synths fight with the guitars.” STE The song was a top-five pop hit and, surprisingly, Aerosmith’s first trip to the pinnacle of the album rock chart. “Janie’s Got a Gun tackles more complex territory than most previous songs” STE with its no-holds-barred glimpse into incest and murder. It was also a top-five pop hit. It also gave Aerosmith its first Grammy – for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. They went on to win the award three more times. Notes: An alternate version of the album included a hidden instrumental track after “What It Takes” while the Japanese version added the song “Ain’t It Enough.”

Resources and Related Links: Aerosmith’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia