Closer

Album: Music from Another Dimension! (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • It was Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer who initiated this rock ballad. He had an idea that he wanted to explore and undertook a 90-minute session with longtime band collaborator Marti Frederiksen. The pair then listened back to what they had played and picked out some verses and a chorus from the jam. "He's one of the few guys who has the patience to hear out my ideas, because I'm not musical that way. I wanted to do something at that particular tempo, so Marti and I started jamming together," Kramer told Rolling Stone of songwriting with the producer-composer. "You always come out with something at the end of the day. Always. There's never a blank day."

    Brad Whitford then added some guitar flourishes, and Steven Tyler provided lyrics about fading love. Kramer said to Rolling Stone of the experience: "The biggest excitement for me, not being a songwriter, was having life breathed into it by the band – with Steven writing the lyrics, having him sing it, having Brad play guitar on it."
  • Kramer's first Aerosmith songwriting credit was for the band's 1974 track, "Pandora's Box" and he is credited on a few their other '70s and '80s tracks. He is listed as a writer on four Music From Another Dimension! tracks, but this is the one he feels the most responsible for creating.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"They're Playing My Song

The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

00s Music Quiz 1

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.