Big Ten Inch Record by Aerosmith

Album: Toys In The Attic (1975)

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Songfacts®:

The first vinyl records, released around 1900, were 10-inch, 78 RPM records. This song is specifically about the Blues recordings found on those records that influenced the band, but also about the sexual connotation that the singer has a 10-inch penis, which is made clear in the line, "Suck on my big 10-inch." >>>
Suggestion credit:
Bertrand - Paris, France
"Big Ten Inch Record" was composed by Fred Weismantel and became a big hit on the R&B charts during 1952 for tenor-sax player Bull Moose Jackson.

By all accounts Jackson got his nickname because of his facial resemblance to the animal; his given name was Benjamin Joseph. Born in Cleveland Ohio on 22nd April 1919, Jackson's first instrument was violin and his career started as a crooner of pop standards.
This song has been covered a number of times. Of note is the version by Dana Gillespie in 1982 on her Ace album Blue Job. Her reading of the lyrics squeezes out every delicious double-entendre of the original. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Gary - Thetford, England, for above 2
It was Aerosmith's drug dealer Zunk Buker who introduced them to this song. He heard the Bull Moose Jackson version on the Dr. Demento radio show and sent the band a copy of the song. Steven Tyler was struggling to come up with lyrics for the Toys In The Attic tracks, so adding a cover to the set took some pressure off of him.
Aerosmith used a horn section on this song, which included a bass saxophone played by Stan Bronstein. They also brought in Scott Cushnie to play the piano. Cushnie got the gig because he used to play in a band with Aerosmith's producer Jack Douglas.
The band planned a more contemporary version of this song when they set out to record it, but that plan changed when they got in the studio. "We were basically just doing it as a two-guitar, rock and roll approach," guitarist Brad Whitford said in his Songfacts interview. "We were up in the studio recording it, and we were listening very heavily to the original version of the song, which was very similar to what we ended up with when we ended up bringing the horn section in. We decided, 'Let's actually make it sound a little more period. Let's have the horns on it and make it sound more like the original version that we heard.'

So that was quite a transformation, going from this straight-ahead guitar thing to almost a big band sound. And it really worked."
When Steven Tyler released a country album in 2015, he cited this song as an example of the genre's influence on him. He says he was listening to a lot of Dan Hicks around this time.

Comments: 25

Adc from Tennessee Learned the bass line to this today. It’s a blast to play. The hard part is keeping a straight face and keeping your concentration every time you hear the 10 inch innuendo.
Dixie from NormusI showed this to my friends and wow that got a great reaction
Malcolm Macdownhall from Illinois Sorry everybody, always sounded like she 's STUCK on his big ten inch to me. Verbally works better for both intentions.
Seventhmist from 7th HeavenIf you give her 10 inches, she'll take a mile.
Paulo from Yonkers, NyYeah, it's "'Cept for"; though perhaps cleverly made to sound ambiguous.
James from Sacramento, CaIf you listen very carefully to the controversial line, you can obviously hear Steven Tyler sing the word "for" and not "on". This essentially kills all perception of the line actually saying "suck on my" since the line "suck for my" makes no sense at all in any context. Granted, the word 'cept and suck sound amazingly alike, especially in song, but you should really listen to the surrounding words to determine the actual lyrics. There is no mistaking that Tyler says the word "for" in the line. Don't believe me? Listen for yourself. The evidence is irrefutable.
Peter from Boston, MaWith regard to all these comments. Aerosmith and Steven Tyler and company are talented musicians. However, Big Ten Inch Record, is a cover of the same soby Bull Moose Jackson first sung in the 1940's and the lyric is CEPT for my big... and it does not refer to a knife lol.
Richard from Leckrone, PaActually Steven Tyler did say in an interview that the line is "cept on my big ten inch" but then quoted "but no one believes me"
Annie from Lombard, IlIt's "'cept for my big 10 inch". it said so in the school chorus songbook
Esskayess from Dallas, TxBill and Monica must have played this one a lot.
Carlos from New York, NyIf you listen closely, Tyler DOES say SUCK on my big ten inch, NOT 'CEPT for my big ten inch, which is what you commonly see in the lyrics posted on the internet. The cleaner lyrics were originally used in Aerosmith lyric books sold in music stores going all the way to the 70s (for obvious reasons). But that doesn't mean those are the lyrics in the recorded version. Go back and listen. There's no question about it.
Homer from Springfield, KyThanks, Coen, for clearing that up. Great blues song along with Walkin' the Dog. Two perfect Blues covers right there.
Craig Lee from Valdosta, GaFantastic classic blues cover! Both clever and fun. By the way, the album "Toys in the Attic" is a must have for Aerosmith fans. Far better that anything they've released in two decades.
Liz from North Idaho, Idthis sort of reminds me of that country song "Don't touch my willie". Same idea. "don't touch my willie" refers to him telling the girl not to touch his Willie Nelson albums.
Michelle from Bristol , PaThe line is NOT "suck on my big ten inch record" It is CEPT for my big ten inch record. Some people need to get there words correct before making statements
Coen from Apeldoorn, NetherlandsI never heard the Aeorsmith version. I only know the 1952 song, and it is quite clear that this is a joke, a humourous sexual innuendo.
In all the verses, the singer seems to refer to the size of his penis, but when the chorus starts, it turns out he was talking about a record.
If you get the joke, the song makes sense. If you don't get the joke, it does not make sense. Why refer to the size of the record, and not to the music on the record? It only makes sense if you get the innuendo.
I was surprised that this kind of fun was allowed in 1952. Apperantly, 1952 was not so conservative as we often think it was.
Harry from Nyc, NyStevn Tyler heard the original on The Dr Demento Show
Pat from Albuquerque, NmBertrand: Strictly speaking, most older 78s (aka big 10 inch) records are made with shellac. Vinyl came along later.
Lalah from Wasilla, AkMy husband didn't believe that this song existed let alone got air-play. So I dedicated it to him on a local radio station's "Drive at Five". Sure made the commute better.
Mr Mcgoo from Anywhere, United StatesAre you people that dumb? Obvious it has a sexual meaning, but the lyrics do say "whip out your big ten inch RECORD!
Ozzi from Brookhaven, PaThis is an awesome blues tune from Aerosmith. What I love about Aerosmith that a lot of other Classic Rock bands don't have is the horns they have in their songs. They have the horns in a lot of awesome songs for example 'the Other Side' and this tune. At the end of each verse he ends with 'big ten-inch' and then the first word in the next verse is 'record' so he saves himself everytime.
J from Jackson, GaMy friend says that the line "suck on my big ten inch" is reffering to him. (yeah right)
Martin from Tucson, AzThe Big Ten Inch in which Tyler is referring to is actually a ten-inch knife that was customed made for him by a knife smith in New Hampshire. However, of course, with the obvious double entendres of the ten-inch record itself and the phallic nature of the line, who could resist that line of thinking.
Larry from Knoxville, TnThe line "Suck on my big ten inch" has a double meaning. If that is even the correct line
Joshua from Twin Cities, MnI'm afraid Bertrand misheard that line. The correct lyric is "...[She] don't go for nothin'/'Cept for my big ten-inch/Record..." Now, given the way Steven Tyler delivers this line, the mishearing is understandable, except that it doesn't make sense in context (why would anyone want to suck on a phonograph record?)

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