Steven Tyler admitted that he spent a huge amount on drugs. He even tried to calculate more accurate figures, talking first about twenty, and then about six million dollars.
It is difficult to judge how this pernicious passion influenced the work of Aerosmith as a whole, but it is known that in part it contributed to the birth of the famous composition Walk This Way. The fact is that the band members made the first sketches of the track when they were bored waiting for the dealer.
History of Walk This Way
First, let’s listen to what Tyler, who co-wrote the song with Joe Perry, had to say about the birth of the song:
We were all waiting for a dose of dope. Joe Perry was on stage and I ran over to him and started improvising. Who knew something big would come out of that jam with Joe…
NME
The song started at a soundcheck at HRC in Honolulu. It was a really rhythmic thing. Our drummer Joey Kramer played with a funk band and was always pushing James Brown. He suggested funk. And Joe grabbed it and came up with a loss from Walk This Way. This rhythm seems to be made for rap. At first, I was infuriated that they were not based on words, but on rhythm. I first performed “skat” [бессмысленный набор слов] and only later entered the text.
NME
So the story of the song began with Joe Perry’s guitar riff during a spontaneous jam. He later said that he composed the break under the influence of The Meters, and Tyler considered it an imitation of The Yardbirds blues.
Over the next few days, the musicians worked on a new track, which still had neither lyrics nor a title. For this reason, they already wanted to postpone the composition for the future, but then Stephen was inspired. There are two versions of the origin of the phrase Walk This Way. According to one, Tyler heard it in the film Young Frankenstein. According to another, she arose after watching The Three Stooges vaudeville.
When Tyler showed up at the studio to please his partners with the news about the finished text, it turned out that he left it in a bag that he forgot in the taxi. This was followed by a squabble with colleagues who decided that he was fooling them. In the end, he went out into the corridor and right on the wall wrote a new version of the lyrics about a seductive girl from the cheerleading team, with whom a young schoolboy loses his innocence. (By the way, the original text could not be found.)
Meaning of Walk This Way
Let’s try to figure out what the song Walk This Way is about. In the Aerosmith biography named after the song, Tyler explains the meaning of some of the lyrics.
So, the key phrase is an explanation of a more experienced girl what to do during sex, and “backstroke lover” describes a guy who practices self-pleasure.
Walk This Way release
The track was originally released as the second single from Toys in the Attic in the late summer of 1975 to little success. After the release of the album Rocks, the group became more popular, and it was decided to give the song another chance.
It was re-released as a single in November 1976, which peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
Walk This Way with Run–DMC
In the mid-eighties, Stever Tyler and Joe Perry performed Walk This Way with Run-DMC.
Their joint version of the song gave rise to the development of the direction, which was later called rap rock.
According to Steven Tyler, the idea of recording a song did not immediately appeal to the then world-famous rappers:
Those Run-DMC assholes – at first, none of them wanted to take on the song. They didn’t like her. But she hooked them with her rhythm.
NME
Producer Rick Rubin managed to convince them, who understood that in this way they would be able to reach out to a white audience indifferent to hip-hop. I have to admit, he didn’t fail. A new version of “Walk This Way” was released as a single in July 1986 and did better on the charts than the original (#4 on the Billboard Hot 100).
Walk This Way launched a new wave of public interest in the group Aerosmith and provided her with an army of fans of the younger generation.
Which version of Walk This Way is your favorite?
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Achievements
Walk This Way is included in numerous ratings of the best tracks. First, we list those that include the original version:
- The 500 Greatest Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame);
- 100 Greatest Rock Songs (VH1);
- “100 Greatest Guitar Tracks” (Q);
- “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time” (Rolling Stone)
- “The 100 Greatest Songs of Hard Rock” (VH1).
The Run–DMC cover is on the “100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs” (VH1) list. And Rolling Stone’s acclaimed 500 Greatest Songs of All Time showcases both.
Walk This Way – Aerosmith
In 1986, a funny video was filmed for Walk This Way, in which members of two groups rehearse in adjacent studios, interfering with each other. It all ends with the fact that they break the wall separating them and start playing together. The video received heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels in different countries.
Let’s watch Walk This Way – Aerosmith and RUN DMC online music video.
Interesting Facts
- Both versions of the song are included in the computer game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.
Walk This Way Lyrics
Backstroke lover always hidin’ ‘neath the cover
‘Till I talked to my daddy he say
He said, You ain’t seen nothing
‘Till you’re down on a muffin
Then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways
I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder
All the times I can reminisce
Ah the best thing lovin’
With her sister and her cousin
Started with a little kiss, like this
See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school
With your feet flyin’ up in the air
Singin’ hey diddle-diddle with the kitty in the middle
You be swingin’ like you just didn’t care
So I took a big chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Was it me she was foolin’?
‘Cause she knew what she was doin’
Taught me how to walk this way
She told me to
Walk this way, talk this way
Walk this way, talk this way
Walk this way, talk this way
Walk this way, talk this way
Ah, just give me a kiss
School girl sadie with the classy kinda sassy
Little skirt climbing way up her knees
There was three young ladies in the school gym locker
When I noticed they were looking at me
I was a high school loser
Never made it with a lady
Till the boys told me something I missed
Then my next door neighbor
With a daughter had a favor
Took me just a little kiss, like this
Walk This Way Lyrics
I did not know women, and there was nothing to brag about,
Until I spoke to my father who said
“You won’t understand the taste of a cupcake,
Until you try
And then you will definitely look at everything differently. ”
I met a cheerleader, she was such a bitch
As far as I remember her
And all the best in love
With her sister and cousin
Started with an innocent kiss – like this
I saw you hanging out with the boys from school
Lifting your legs up
And fucking with anyone
Like you don’t care
I took a moment at the school disco
With a girl ready to play
Did she try to trick me
‘Cause she knew what she was doing
And taught me how to act like this
She told me
Come on like this, talk like this
Come on like this, talk like this
Come on like this, talk like this
Come on like this, talk like this
Ah, just kiss me
A lively schoolgirl in a stylish skirt,
Climbing way above the knees
There were three girls in the locker room by the gym
When I noticed that they were looking at me
I was a school loser
And never been with a girl
Until the boys tell me what I’m missing
Then my neighbor
My daughter and I took pity on me
And they kissed like this…
Song quote
Walk This Way turned out unexpectedly. Listen to the words – they are really vulgar. If you listen carefully, you will understand that I am quite clever at disguising them.
Stephen Tyler, SongFacts.com
