When singer Steven Tyler heard Perry playing that riff he "ran out and sat behind the drums and jammed." Tyler scatted "nonsensical words initially to feel where the lyrics should go before adding them later." When the group was halfway through recording Toys in the Attic in early 1975 at Record Plant in New York City, they found themselves stuck for material.
By the end of the sound check, I had the basics of a song. After playing the first riff in the key of C, I shifted to E before returning to C for the verse and chorus. But I didn't want the song to have a typical, boring 1, 4, 5 chord progression. Loving "their riffy New Orleans funk, especially ' Cissy Strut' and 'People Say'", he asked the drummer "to lay down something flat with a groove on the drums." The guitar riff to what would become "Walk This Way" just "came off hands." Needing a bridge, he: During the sound check, Perry was "fooling around with riffs and thinking about the Meters" guitarist Jeff Beck had turned him on to that group. The song originated in December 1974 during a sound check when Aerosmith was opening for the Guess Who in Honolulu, Hawaii. The song continues with rapid-fire lyrics by Steven Tyler. The song proceeds with the main riff made famous by Perry and Brad Whitford on guitar with Tom Hamilton on an early 1960s Fender Jazz bass. "Walk This Way" starts with a two-measure drum beat intro by Joey Kramer, followed by the well-known guitar riff by Perry. Problems playing this file? See media help.Īerosmith's third album includes some of their best-known songs, including "Walk This Way", "Sweet Emotion" and the rollicking title track. In the studio he moved into the slot of the sixth member of the band. That breakthrough was facilitated by Jack Douglas. With everyone throwing in ideas, Toys was our breakthrough. In the process, we began to see just what Aerosmith could accomplish. Making this record, we learned to be recording artists and write songs on a deadline. Our first two albums were basically comprised of songs we'd been playing for years live in the clubs. Toys in the Attic was a much more sophisticated record than the other stuff they'd done." In the band memoir Walk This Way, guitarist Joe Perry stated, "When we started to make Toys in the Attic, our confidence was built up from constant touring." In his autobiography, Perry elaborated: It showed in the riffs that Joe and Brad brought back from the road for the next album. They'd been playing Get Your Wings on the road for a year and had become better players - different. Īccording to Douglas, "Aerosmith was a different band when we started the third album. In the liner notes to the 1993 reissue of Greatest Hits, it was said by an unnamed member of the group that they "nailed" the album. For Aerosmith's previous album, Get Your Wings, the band began working with record producer Jack Douglas, who co-produced that album with Ray Colcord.