3 Aerosmith Hits That Forever Changed Rock History

Aerosmith recently completed a two-night run at the Hollywood Bowl. The shows featured guest appearances by Guns N’ Roses, The Black Crowes, and many others that the Boston band helped influence. It had been three years since Peace Out: The Farewell Tour, which ended early due to Steven Tyler’s vocal cord injury.

To celebrate the band’s comeback shows, I’ve compiled a list of three Aerosmith hits that forever changed rock history.

“Walk This Way”

When America’s Glimmer Twins, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, penned “Walk This Way” in the mid-70s, they not only crafted one of rock’s most recognizable tracks, but they changed the trajectory of pop music. While hip-hop was brewing in the Bronx, Aerosmith recorded what became a precursor to rap rock. Fast-forward a decade, and Rick Rubin introduces Run-DMC to Toys In The Attic, thus completing what Tyler and Perry unwittingly started. The iconic collaboration between hip-hop legends and a classic rock band set a new path for music that crossed over existing genres.

“Dream On”

In the long history of rock power ballads, Led Zeppelin’s ubiquitous “Stairway To Heaven” sits alone atop a tall and mystical mountain. And behind “Free Bird”, “Dream On” may be the touchstone ballad that all future rock ballads are constructed from. For the wistful tune, Tyler drew inspiration from the classical music he heard as a child. The song appears on Aerosmith’s self-titled debut and features an ambitious slow-build arrangement that climaxes with Tyler’s cat-like screams.

“Sweet Emotion”

You may have heard bands talk about the difference between rock and rock-and-roll. The rock part is obvious: heavy guitars, pounding drums, etc. But the roll bit comes from the rhythm-and-blues roots of rock music. This is where things like swing and groove become crucial. Echoing bands like The Yardbirds and The Rolling Stones before them, Aerosmith developed its signature style by prioritizing the “roll.” And there’s no better example of this than “Sweet Emotion”. If you’re a high school stoner in a muscle car, then this is what you crank in the parking lot.

Talk about things that nobody cares,
Wearing out things that nobody wears.
You’re calling my name, but I got to make clear,
I can’t say, baby, where I’ll be in a year.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation