Walk This Way

Walk This Way is a 1975 rock song by Aerosmith, written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. It appeared on the album Toys in the Attic and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

History

The track opens with a two-bar drumbeat hit by Joey Kramer, followed by the guitar riffs of Joe Perry. The intro was played by Perry and Brad Whitford on an electric guitar and bass.

Walk This Way is about a high school student who loses his virginity. It was sung by Steven Tyler and contains rap-like passages, such as "so I took a big chance at the high school dance". Marty Feldman's Frankenstein Junior served as inspiration for the lyrics.

Besides the elaborate verses, the chorus essentially consists of the repetition of the phrase "walk this way, talk this way" ("do it this way, then talk this way"). In many performances, the line "talk this way" is often repeated on the part of the band, including with the audience. Longer guitar solos are also played at the concerts, and Tyler imitated the riffs with his voice. In Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, the original reached number 336 and the cover number 287. The first release was on August 28, 1975.

Cover versions