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And be sure and check out our Aerosmith Flashback Friday playlist.
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It was hardly a smooth ride but this summer when Aerosmith releases its first album since 2004, complimented by a nationwide tour that kicks off next month, it will mark over forty years together as a band. But man, have things been rocky recently; there’s always been tension between frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry, but things came to a head in 2010 when, in response to Tyler signing as a judge on American Idol, Perry described the talent show as “one step above [Teenage Mutant] Ninja Turtles.” However, just last month Perry was on the Idol stage to wish Tyler a happy birthday and perhaps signal that yes, things were smoothed over and that dudes were ready to rock once more. So in honor of the grand return of Aerosmith — which also includes drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Brad Whitford — as well as next week’s season finale of Idol, we’ve decided to honor the time-tested legends for this edition of Flashback Friday.

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“Sweet Emotion”
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While “Dream On,” the lead single off their self-titled 1973 debut album,would be Aerosmith’s first true hit, it was their third album, Toys in the Attic, and its fireball-of-a single, “Sweet Emotion,” that would catapult the rocking Boston buddies into the mainstream. Released as a single in 1975, the song, frontloaded by a now-famous bass riff, and anchored by Perry’s wailing guitar, would become the band’s first Top 40 hit, peaking at Number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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“Dude (Looks Like A Lady)”
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Yes, Steven Tyler has often been described as having slightly effeminate features. But no, this 1987 smash single off Aerosmith’s ninth album, Permanent Vacation, is not about the singer. Rather, it’s about an experience Tyler shared with Motley Crue frontman Vince Neill. According to Tyler, “one day we met Mötley Crüe, and they’re all going, ‘Dude!’ Dude this and Dude that, everything was Dude. ‘Dude (Looks Like a Lady)’ came out of that session.” Neill meanwhile, has countered, saying the title was derived from a New York bar crawl where him and Tyler had drinks at a bar where the waiters were dressed in women’s clothes prompting Tyler to remark that “dude looks like a lady.” Either way, the song was a smash: it peaked at Number 14 on the Hot 100.
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Cryin’
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Aerosmith’s legacy may be as hard-rocking riff rockers, but they also dabbled in more emotionally-driven material as their career progressed. Case in point is 1993’s “Cryin’,” a hit single off their absurdly-scucesful album Get A Grip. Not only did it hit Number 11 on the charts, but it also was given the incredible music video treatment. The video for “Cryin’” featured a young Alicia Silverstone, Stephen Dorff and Josh Holloway.
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“I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”
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Perhaps it’s a bit sad in a way that this 1998 Aerosmith ballad, featured on the soundtrack to the blockbuster film Aramgeddon, was the last true hit song from the rock legends to date. And say what you will about the song, or how a 1970’s-era Tyler and Perry may have felt knowing they’d eventually record something like it, but when you compare it to some of their more recent material — “Jaded,” “Just Push Play,” etc. — it doesn’t seem so bad, really. Here’s just to hoping that the new Aersomtih cuts live up to their older material. Let’s keep those fingers crossed!
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Don’t forget to listen to our Aerosmith Flashback Friday playlist!