Ten Favorite Aerosmith Songs from 30 Years of Music

I was not a child in the 80's; I was an adult. I was a mom at home with two little bitty kids. The dawn of MTV gave us "at home" moms something fantastic to watch, sing and dance to. But I was an Aerosmith fan long before MTV. They had been a favorite back in college in the 1970's. And I fell in love with those crazy guys all over again when their "Permanent Vacation" album premiered and three of the cuts became top video hits played in "heavy rotation" on MTV in the late 1980's. Then the 1990's brought even more fun with more new video hits. Here is my list:

#10 - From the album Nine Lives (1997), my pick is "Fallin' in Love (Is So Hard on the Knees). Aerosmith has certainly proven it has nine lives as a group and I think this song demonstrates why. It still has a sound with a bluesy edge that can really wake you up. At the same time it has a fast, steady beat and a chorus with easy to remember lyrics.

#9 - From the album Pump (1989) at number nine I pick "Love in an Elevator" mostly because it's so much fun. That was one of the first music videos that really used the visual medium to inject more humor into the song. Great costumes, and no explicit reveals, but everyone knew what was going on in the elevator.

#8 - From Pump I also pick the serious "Janie's Got A Gun" at number eight. It was a quite a departure for Aerosmith. Steven Tyler said he was inspired by a news article about incest and wrote the song within 24 hours. The music of this song really struck me personally, and the mixture of color and black and white video was very effective.

#7 - From Pump again I pick the raucous "The Other Side" as my number seven. This song is more sound and raw energy than lyrics, but that's what draws me to it. Around the time this song was popular I had a one hundred and four-mile commute and I often got off work late at night. Blaring this and several other Aerosmith songs are what kept me awake for the drive.

#6 - My final pick from Pump at number six for me is "What It Takes". "Tell me what it takes to let you go. Tell me how the pain's supposed to go". Steven Tyler's wail and Joe Perry's brilliant, sad guitar sing out the pain from lost love like no other. Aerosmith have never been just head-bangers, they can make you feel the feeling.

#5 - Their Permanent Vacation (1987) album was the one that reignited Aerosmith's popularity. It also spawned three of their most popular music videos. At number five for me is "Angel" - their only song to make it to number one on the charts. This sweet ballad catapulted Aerosmith to a new height. Although the group was never obsessed with how their tunes charted, it was nice for them to get that kind of recognition.

#4 - From Permanent Vacation I chose "Rag Doll" at number four. It's no surprise that Steve Tyler and the boys often have a certain leer in their lyrics. But with music video - they took it to a new height, again, with more fun and tease than offensiveness. With easily repeatable lyrics, everyone was singing "Rag Doll" in the summer of 1987 and beyond.

#3 - From Permanent Vacation a language lexicon found new life in the wild and crazy "Dude Looks Like A Lady". As my number three It's one of the few Aerosmith songs that I made sure I knew all of the words to. It came out at a time when I needed to escape. Every time it came on the radio or the television, I would crank up the sound and dance, jump and run around to the music. I even found an old scarf to use like Steve Tyler did on stage.

#2 - Now many of you may not remember when Toys in the Attic (1975) came out, still in an actual cardbaord album. Many fans consider it the ultimate Aerosmith album. I have a special place in my heart for "Sweet Emotion", my number two. I've heard that when Steve Tyler first saw Joe Perry sing he knew they would be able to harmonize like no other rock duo. In addition to having a great rock sound, a bluesy edge, and flaming guitar solos, Aerosmith can smooth out the sound with fantastic harmonies that carry you away.

#1 - Also from Toys in the Attic is my number one - "Walk This Way". Even if you are not familiar with other Aerosmith tunes, I think everyone knows "Walk This Way". The reason is that it had two births. It began as just a great rock song showcasing Tyler's versatile, nearly schizophrenic vocals. Then in 1986 Aerosmith recognized the power of rap and hip-hop and hooked up with Run DMC to create a new version with a new sound - rap-rock. It worked like magic, like it was always meant to be.