HB 45 - Aerosmith's Breakthrough Album Released 45 Years Ago
Some bands strike fool's gold with their debut album successful and the band rising out of the ashes rapidly. Others need anothr album to get rising. However, third time is (and was) a charm for the Bad Boys of Boston.
They made a masterpiece
It was 45 years ago when Aerosmith issued their third album, Toys in the Attic. Toys became a major success for Aerosmith spawning two of their well-known songs issued as singles. It's notable for selling eight million copies in just the US. The album is often considered, by fans and critics alike, to be their album of maturity.
There were three singles pulled from the record, Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, and the title track. Sweet Emotion, with the music written by bass playr Tom Hamilton and the lyrics written by Steven Tyler, was the lead single issued a month after the record. Perhaps their signature song, Walk This Way was a top 10 hit in the US and Canada. Ten years later, it appealed to a younger generation when the hip hop band, Run D.M.C. hooked up with Tyler, Joe Perry, and Brad Witford to cover it. The video became an MTV staple of the day.
The success of Walk This Way prompted a reissuance of their debut single, Dream On, the following year. Compared to the original releases in 1973, the single was a top 10 in the US and Canada as well reaching #10 and #6, respectively.
Fun fact, Walk This Way was conceived at a jam session opening for The Guess Who in Honolulu in late '74. The band were scrambling in the studio in early 1975 coming up with lyrics when Withford suggested pulling out the song Tyler had come up with. Tyler came up the with lyrics and the title in his room that evening. The next day, he took a taxi to the Record Plant, in NYC where the album was being made. However, he forgot the lyrics in the cab. Upset, Tyler quickly wrote new word on the landings of the stairwells - one verse per landing, before writing it down on a notepad. Unfortunately, the original lyrics were never seen again, but Tyler and Perry don't regret it...
Working with Douglas
It should also be noted that Toys is the second of many Aerosmith records produed by Jack Douglas along with sideman Ray Colcord on occassional keyboards. Douglas was also notorious for engineering part of The Who's 1971 Lifehouse LP, of which recording was ditched in favor, of course, of Who's Next.
Douglas made his production debut with Aerosmith on their 1974 sophmore LP, Get Your Wings. He then went on to produce three more records (Toys included), and came back in 1981 during the making of their 1982 LP Rock in a Hard Place (not to be confused with the Stones' hit Rock AND A Hard Place).
It was the birth of a band
Aerosmith's career stayed strong with their 1976 LP Rocks as well as 1977's Draw the Line. The band were in turmoil between 1978 and 1983, but rebounded in 1984 when all five original members came back together.
It should be noted that unlike most bands of Aerosmith's style, Aerosmith kept a steady lineup. Tyler, Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer, were always constants and there was also a brief period (during the above turmoil) where Perry and Withford were replaced by Rick Dufay and Jimmy Crespo.
There were three singles pulled from the record, Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, and the title track. Sweet Emotion, with the music written by bass playr Tom Hamilton and the lyrics written by Steven Tyler, was the lead single issued a month after the record. Perhaps their signature song, Walk This Way was a top 10 hit in the US and Canada. Ten years later, it appealed to a younger generation when the hip hop band, Run D.M.C. hooked up with Tyler, Joe Perry, and Brad Witford to cover it. The video became an MTV staple of the day.
The success of Walk This Way prompted a reissuance of their debut single, Dream On, the following year. Compared to the original releases in 1973, the single was a top 10 in the US and Canada as well reaching #10 and #6, respectively.
Fun fact, Walk This Way was conceived at a jam session opening for The Guess Who in Honolulu in late '74. The band were scrambling in the studio in early 1975 coming up with lyrics when Withford suggested pulling out the song Tyler had come up with. Tyler came up the with lyrics and the title in his room that evening. The next day, he took a taxi to the Record Plant, in NYC where the album was being made. However, he forgot the lyrics in the cab. Upset, Tyler quickly wrote new word on the landings of the stairwells - one verse per landing, before writing it down on a notepad. Unfortunately, the original lyrics were never seen again, but Tyler and Perry don't regret it...
Working with Douglas
It should also be noted that Toys is the second of many Aerosmith records produed by Jack Douglas along with sideman Ray Colcord on occassional keyboards. Douglas was also notorious for engineering part of The Who's 1971 Lifehouse LP, of which recording was ditched in favor, of course, of Who's Next.
Douglas made his production debut with Aerosmith on their 1974 sophmore LP, Get Your Wings. He then went on to produce three more records (Toys included), and came back in 1981 during the making of their 1982 LP Rock in a Hard Place (not to be confused with the Stones' hit Rock AND A Hard Place).
It was the birth of a band
Aerosmith's career stayed strong with their 1976 LP Rocks as well as 1977's Draw the Line. The band were in turmoil between 1978 and 1983, but rebounded in 1984 when all five original members came back together.
It should be noted that unlike most bands of Aerosmith's style, Aerosmith kept a steady lineup. Tyler, Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer, were always constants and there was also a brief period (during the above turmoil) where Perry and Withford were replaced by Rick Dufay and Jimmy Crespo.
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