Walk This Way

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"Walk This Way"
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Toys in the Attic
Released	1976
Format	Record
Recorded	January - February 1975 at Record Plant studios in New York
Genre	Hard Rock Heavy Metal
Length	3:40
Label	Columbia Records
Writer(s)	Steven Tyler, Joe Perry
Producer(s)	Jack Douglas
Chart positions
#10 (US Billboard Hot 100)
Aerosmith singles chronology
"Home Tonight" (1976)	"Walk This Way" (1976)	"Back in the Saddle" (1977)

"Walk This Way"
Single by Run-D.M.C. feat. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
from the album Raising Hell
Released	1986
Format	Record
Recorded	1986
Genre	Hard Rock Rapcore
Length	5:11
Label	Arista Records
Writer(s)	Steven Tyler, Joe Perry
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons
Chart positions
#4 (US Billboard Hot 100) #8 (US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks) #6 (US Hot Dance Club Play) #13 (US Hot Dance Singles Sales) #8 (UK Singles Chart)

"Walk This Way" is a song by American hard rock group Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. It was originally released as the second single from their 1975 album Toys in the Attic. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s.

In addition to being one of the songs that helped break Aerosmith into the mainstream in the 1970s, it also helped resurrect their career and revolutionized rock and roll and hip hop music when it was re-made in 1986 with rappers Run-D.M.C. on their album Raising Hell. It became an international hit and won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single in 1987.

The song has been covered by UK girl groups Girls Aloud and Sugababes as the official Comic Relief single in 2007.

Contents 1 Song information 2 Legacy of the 1975 version 3 Success of the 1986 version 4 Music video 5 Later collaborations 6 Awards and accoloades 6.1 Song 6.2 Music video 7 In other media 8 Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud 8.1 Reception 8.2 Music video 8.3 Track listings and formats 8.4 Charts 9 Other cover versions

[edit] Song information

The song starts out with a drum beat, followed up with what is now considered a legendary guitar riff by Joe Perry. The song then goes into the verse, with a steady drum beat by Joey Kramer and bassline by Tom Hamilton forming as the backbeat, with dueling guitars by Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. The lyrics are sung quite fast by Steven Tyler, with heavy emphasis being placed on the rhyming lyrics ("so I took a big chance at the high school dance; "wasn't me she was fooling cause she knew what she was doing"), which may explain why the song worked so well as a rap song when it was re-made 11 years later. The chorus primarily consists of a repetition of "Walk this way, talk this way". In collaborations, the other singer often says "talk this way". Live in concert, Steven Tyler often has the audience, combined with members of the band, sing "talk this way". There is also a lengthy guitar solo at the end of the song, and in concert, Steven Tyler will often harmonize his voice to mimic the sounds of the guitar. In the Run-D.M.C. cover, the turntable is added in to reflect the additional hip hop influence on the song.

While the Run-DMC cover is nearly identical to the original version of the song, the Girls Aloud/Sugababes cover has a few changes tweaked into the song; the additional line "Walk this way, you wanna talk this way" is added, the vocoder is added, and the beat is slightly speeded up to add a further Britney Spears-esque bubblegum pop/dance pop influence to the song.

Both versions of the song, the original Aerosmith version and the second Aerosmith/Run-DMC remake version, appear on various Aerosmith compilations.

[edit] Legacy of the 1975 version

"Walk This Way" was one of two hit singles by the band to hit the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1970s, the other one being a re-release of "Dream On". "Walk This Way", though, helped "Toys in the Attic" to be the bestselling Aerosmith album, and one of the most critically acclaimed. Aerosmith's version of "Walk This Way" often competes with "Sweet Emotion" and "Dream On" for the title of Aerosmith's signature song, being one of the band's most important, influential, and recognizable songs. The band almost never omits it from their concert setlist, still performing their classic version of the song to this day. The song has also long been a staple of rock radio, garnering regular airplay on classic rock, mainstream rock, and Album-oriented rock radio stations.

[edit] Success of the 1986 version

In 1986, the rap group Run-D.M.C. performed a cover of "Walk This Way" with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry guesting on vocals and guitars. The 1986 version of the song is often credited as helping break rap into mainstream popular music as it was the first rap song to hit the Top 5 in The Billboard Hot 100 and demonstrated how elements of rap music can be part of rock and pop songs. This version of "Walk This Way" charted higher on the Hot 100 than the original version. The landmark collaboration catapulted Run-D.M.C. into mainstream stardom and would influence rap music for years to come. The collaboration also introduced both rap music and hard rock/hip hop fusion (later known as rapcore) to a wide audience for the first time. The song also marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, as they had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years, and their 1985 comeback album Done with Mirrors, flopped. After this comeback, however, Aerosmith would follow up with a string of multi-platinum albums and Top 40 hits, starting with the album Permanent Vacation and single "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" in 1987.

[edit] Music video

The 1986 music video for "Walk This Way" symbolically placed Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. in a musical duel in neighboring studios before Tyler literally breaks through the wall that separates them. The video then segues to the bands' joint performance on stage. The highly popular video was the first rap video ever played in heavy rotation on MTV and is regarded as a classic of the medium.

[edit] Later collaborations

In 1989, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joined Bon Jovi at a concert at Milton Keynes Bowl in the United Kingdom for an encore performance and extended jam of the song. [1]

On September 9, 1999, Kid Rock joined Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith for an updated rendition of "Walk This Way" at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2002, Kid Rock and Run-D.M.C. (as separate acts) opened for Aerosmith on the first leg of the Girls of Summer Tour. Each night, at the end of Aerosmith's set, Kid Rock and Run-D.M.C. would join Aerosmith for an encore collaborative performance of "Walk This Way".

At the Super Bowl XXXV half-time show in January 2001, performers *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly joined Aerosmith onstage for an encore performance of "Walk This Way" with members of *NSYNC and Britney Spears singing different parts of the 2nd verse, Mary J. Blige adding background harmony, and Nelly performing a rap towards the end of the song.

[edit] Awards and accoloades

[edit] Song

• The song won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single in 1987.
• The version of "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry is included on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.
• Rolling Stone ranked the original version of "Walk This Way" at #336 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The version by Run-D.M.C. is ranked at #287.
• In 2000, "VH1: 100 Greatest Rock Songs" included "Walk This Way" at #35
• In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 23 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

[edit] Music video

The Music Video is one of the best ever created.

• In 1993, "Rolling Stone: The Top 100 Music Videos" included "Walk This Way" (w/ Run-D.M.C.) at #11
• In 1999, "MTV: 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made" included "Walk This Way" (w/ Run-D.M.C.) at #5
• In 2001, "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos" included "Walk This Way" (w/ Run-D.M.C.) at #11

[edit] In other media

• Aerosmith's autobiography is named "Walk This Way".
• Aerosmith's fan club, Aero Force One, sells doormats printed with the phrase "Walk This Way".
• The music video for "Walk This Way" was parodied in the music video for Lil Jon's "Get Low Remix"
• When Aerosmith guest-performed on the hit animated-series The Simpsons in the early 90s, they performed "Walk This Way", featuring side vocals from Moe Szyslak the bartender (voiced by Hank Azaria.)
• The original version of the song is featured in the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Walt Disney World.
• The Aerosmith/Run-DMC remake version of the song is included in Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3.

[edit] Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud

"Walk This Way"
Single by Comic Relief
Released	March 12, 2007 ( UK)
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	December 2006
Genre	Rock, Pop
Length	2:54
Label	Fascination, Island
Producer(s)	Dallas Austin
Chart positions
#1 (United Kingdom) #11 (Lithuania) #14 (Ireland) #15 (Europe, Latvia)
Sugababes chronology
"Easy" (2006)	"Walk This Way" (2007)
Girls Aloud singles chronology
"I Think We're Alone Now" (2006)	"Walk This Way" (2007)
Comic Relief singles chronology
"Is This The Way To Amarillo Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay (2005)	"Walk This Way" ft. Sugababes Vs. Girls Aloud (2007)	"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) ft. The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin (2007)

UK girl groups Sugababes and Girls Aloud teamed up in collaboration for a cover of "Walk This Way", which was released on March 12, 2007 as the official single for the 2007 Comic Relief fundraiser across the United Kingdom. The song charted at #1 on March 18, giving Girls Aloud their third British number-one and Sugababes their fifth, and first with member Amelle Berrabah.

The first verse is sung by Kimberley Walsh and Nadine Coyle, the second by Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range, the third by Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Amelle Berrabah. The bridge is sung by Cheryl Cole and Berrabah, and ad libs are sung by Coyle and Buchanan.

[edit] Reception

Newspapers speculate this will be one of the year's biggest hits. Responses to the track were mixed with some people prefering the original version and others loving the new spin on the track. Generally, when DJs & musicians are asked for their opinion on the song, they reply "It doesn't matter what I think, it's for charity" - Scott Mills, before playing it on his show for the first time, urged listeners to remember that the song is for charity, and Steven Tyler said the same thing. However, after plugging the single's release, Chris Moyles remarked "of course, you could just give a fiver to Comic Relief and you wouldn't have to own that".

The single charted at #1, but plummeted 12 places in it's 3rd week on the chart from #2 to #14.

[edit] Music video

It premiered on The Box on February 2, 2007, and was shown on Channel 4's Popworld the following day.

The music video for "Walk This Way" is a comedic recreation of the Run DMC and Aerosmith video, in which each group attempts to sing the song, but the other begin that part. It begins with the girls in two separate rooms - Girls Aloud equipped with mic stands, Sugababes with a set of record decks and mics. Girls Aloud start the song, to Keisha Buchanan's disgust, prompting wall banging, vase throwing and guitar thumping. Buchanan then picks up the second verse, to the disgust of Girls Aloud. Sarah Harding breaks through the wall with her microphone stand, mimicking Steven Tyler in the original. The two groups then sing at each other through the hole in the wall leading to Nadine Coyle leaning through singing the line "just give me a kiss", to which Buchanan puts her finger on Coyle's lips. As she turns away, we see the girls all walking down two catwalks surrounded by their fans. A microphone swings between the two groups, before continuing with a dance-off, continuing the idea that the groups are in competition and poking fun at media speculation that the two acts do not get along, when they are, in fact, friends.

At the end of the video, celebrities Davina McCall, Lily Cole, Ewen Macintosh, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Ruby Wax, Graham Norton, Stephen Mangan and Natalie Cassidy also appear on the catwalk in true Comic Relief style. Red noses are thrown at the two groups at the end - relating to Red Nose Day fundraising. During the shoot Keisha Buchanan suffered an injury: she tripped at the end of the catwalk and fell into the fans.

[edit] Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Walk This Way".

UK CD single

1. "Walk This Way" [Single Version] 2:52
2. "Walk This Way" [Yoad Mix] 3:01
3. "Walk This Way" [Video] 3:07
4. Behind the Scenes Footage 3:15

[edit] Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	1
UK Download Chart	2
Lithuania Airplay Chart	11
Latvia Airplay Chart[2]	15
Irish Singles Chart[3]	14
Europe[4]	15

Preceded by "Shine" by Take That

United Kingdom number-one single (Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud version) March 18, 2007 - March 25, 2007

Succeeded by "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin

http://www.lanet.lv/news/airplay/new.html

[edit] Other cover versions

• In 1997, the song was covered by String Cheese Incident on their live album A String Cheese Incident. Although faithful to the intro and main riff, the band gave the verse and chorus a decidedly bluegrass flavour.
• In 2002, the song was covered by Sum 41 with Nelly, Ja Rule, and DJ Clue.
• In 2004, the song was covered by Macy Gray; her version was initially available only by download, but was later released on Gray's 2004 greatest hits compilation, The Very Best of Macy Gray.

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