From Boston Rockers to American Legends
Formed in Boston in the early ’70s, Aerosmith released their self-titled debut album in 1973. It included Dream On, the band’s only single from the record. Although it wasn’t an immediate smash, the song went on to sell around four million copies – twice as many as the album itself. Fifty years later, it remains their most-streamed tune on Spotify.
Their follow-up, Get Your Wings (1974), performed better, selling around three million copies, although it produced no charting singles.
Then came Toys in the Attic in 1975, an album many diehard fans still consider their finest. It delivered three essential Aerosmith tracks: the title song, their first major radio hit Sweet Emotion, and the original version of Walk This Way.
The album eventually sold around nine million copies in the U.S. alone. Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way also became major sellers in their own right.
After just three albums, Aerosmith had established themselves as one of America’s biggest rock bands. But the next few years were less successful. Rocks (1976), Draw the Line (1977) and Night in the Ruts (1979) all struggled to match the earlier momentum.
Things were becoming increasingly difficult within the band, too. Guitarist and songwriter Joe Perry left during the making of Night in the Ruts. Aerosmith carried on, releasing Rock in a Hard Place in 1982, but by then the other guitarist, Brad Whitford, had also departed.
The album sold only around half a million copies, a long way from the success of Toys in the Attic. Joe and Brad eventually returned for 1985’s Done with Mirrors, but the reunion didn’t immediately restore the band’s fortunes.
The Comeback Nobody Expected
Aerosmith’s fortunes changed dramatically when Run-D.M.C. recorded a new version of Walk This Way in 1986, bringing the two acts together in an unexpected collaboration.
The result was enormous. A tune from the band’s mid-’70s heyday suddenly became a hit all over again, introducing Aerosmith to a younger audience and giving them a completely new lease on life.
Their next album, Permanent Vacation (1987), capitalised on that momentum. It sold around five million copies and featured Dude (Looks Like a Lady), one of the band’s best-known later hits.
Two years later came Pump, another major success. With Love in an Elevator and Janie’s Got a Gun, Aerosmith were back at the top of their game. The album went on to sell around seven million copies.
Aerosmith Conquer the ’90s
In 1993, Aerosmith released Get a Grip, an album I personally really enjoyed. Perhaps that’s because I was 16 when I bought it!
Songs like Livin’ on the Edge, Eat the Rich, Cryin’, Amazing and Crazy felt fantastic at the time. The album was packed with big choruses and memorable guitar parts, although fans who still preferred the rawer sound of Toys in the Attic might have found the production a little too polished.
The 1997 album Nine Lives wasn’t quite as strong, but the single Pink did well, helped by a memorable music video that picked up numerous awards.
Then came the following year’s I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, recorded for the movie Armageddon. It became Aerosmith’s biggest chart success and best-selling tune.
Originally Written for Celine Dion
Written by songwriter Diane Warren, I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing was not originally intended for Aerosmith – or even a rock band. Warren had written it with someone like Celine Dion in mind.
Instead, Aerosmith recorded it for Armageddon, the 1998 blockbuster starring Bruce Willis and Liv Tyler, Steven Tyler’s daughter. Whether her involvement in the film had anything to do with the choice of band is an interesting thought, but either way, the result was spectacular.
The tune reached No. 1 in ten countries and sold nearly ten million copies worldwide, becoming one of the biggest power ballads of the era.
The production is enormous, with a huge orchestral arrangement, but here’s the interesting part: strip it all away and the song works just as well on a single acoustic guitar.
That’s often the mark of a perfectly crafted song. When the melody, chords and structure are strong enough, you don’t need a massive production to make it work.
For guitarists, it’s a great reminder that learning the underlying song is often more important than copying every detail of the original recording!
A Repertoire That Can Fill Any Setlist
The albums released after Nine Lives didn’t reach the same commercial heights, largely because they lacked major hit singles. But by this point, Aerosmith had built an enormous catalogue.
From Dream On and Sweet Emotion to Walk This Way, Dude (Looks Like a Lady), Cryin’ and I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, they had more than enough classics to keep audiences happy around the world.
With around 150 million albums sold worldwide, Aerosmith remain America’s best-selling hard rock band of all time.
For a guitarist, their catalogue is a fantastic source of repertoire. There are gritty blues-based riffs, hard-rock rhythm parts, memorable solos and big ballads. Whether you’re playing in a rock band or accompanying a singer, there’s plenty here to learn – and plenty of tunes that audiences will recognise from the first few notes.
Aerosmith Tunes | Related Pages
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| D A/C# | Bm7 |
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing…
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