| Walk This Way | |
|---|---|
| Single by | Run-D.M.C. (rap group) |
| from the album | Raising Hell (Run-D.M.C. album) |
| Released | July 4, 1986 |
| Format | Vinyl, Cassette |
| Recorded | 1985 |
| Genre/Style | Hip-Hop, Rap rock |
| Length | 5:17 (album version), 3:38 (single version) |
| Label | Profile Records |
| Producer(s) | Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons |
| Directed by | |
| Writer(s) | |
| Certification | Gold (RIAA, CRIA) |
| Last single | My Adidas (Run-D.M.C. single) |
| This single | Walk This Way (Run-D.M.C. single) |
| Next single | You Be Illin' (Run-D.M.C. single) |
In 1986, the hip hop group Run–D.M.C. performed a cover of "Walk This Way" with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry guesting on vocals and guitars. While working on Raising Hell, Rick Rubin pulled out Toys in the Attic (an album they freestyled over) and explained who Aerosmith were. While Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels had no idea who Aerosmith were at that time, Rubin suggested remaking the song. Neither Simmons nor McDaniels liked the idea, though Jam Master Jay was open to it. Later, however, Run–D.M.C. covered the song. D.M.C. called it "a beautiful thing" in a trailer for Guitar Hero.
The 1986 version of the song is often credited as helping break hip hop music into mainstream pop music as it was the first hip hop song to hit the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the remake demonstrated how elements of hip music can be part of rock and pop songs, harking back to the DJing of Afrika Bambaataa, who would mix in tracks by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Grand Funk Railroad among the more usual funk breaks. It also briefly samples the opening drum intro of the original in a middle section of the song. This version of "Walk This Way" charted higher on the Hot 100 than the original version, peaking at number 4. It was also one of the first big hip hop singles in the UK, reaching a peak of number 8 there.
The landmark collaboration catapulted Run–D.M.C. into mainstream stardom and would influence hip hop music for years to come. The song paved the way for other pop acts to introduce elements of hip hop into their music. It pioneered the trend of rhymed/sung collaborations that is so present on American Radio from the late 1990s and 2000s to the present. The collaboration also introduced a fusion of rock and hip hop, later known as rap rock, to a wide audience for the first time.
The song also marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, as it had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years while recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, and its 1985 comeback album Done with Mirrors flopped. Aerosmith followed up "Walk This Way" 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. In 2008, "Walk This Way" was ranked number 4 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". This version of the song is currently ranked as the 88th greatest song of all time, as well as the best song of 1986, by Acclaimed Music.
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 hip hop hybrid video ever played in heavy rotation on MTV and is regarded as a classic of the medium. The video was directed by Jon Small and filmed at the Park Theater in Union City, New Jersey. The theater has remained largely unchanged since the video was filmed. Visitors may notice two holes in the ceiling toward the front of the stage where a light fixture was meant to be installed for the shoot.
Aside from Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, none of the other rock musicians in the video are the Aerosmith members; instead, they were played by Roger Lane, J. D. Malo, and Matt Stelutto—respectively rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer of the largely unknown hair metal outfit Smashed Gladys. According to VH1's Pop Up Video, Run–D.M.C. couldn't afford to use the entire Aerosmith band, just Tyler and Perry. As only Steven Tyler and Joe Perry had traveled to record the cover with Run–D.M.C., they were the only real Aerosmith members to appear in the video.
Links[]
See Also[]
Template:Run-D.M.C.
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