Toys in the Attic (song)

Last updated
"Toys in the Attic"
Toys in the Attic single label.jpg
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Toys in the Attic
A-side "You See Me Crying"
ReleasedNovember 11, 1975
RecordedJanuary - February 1975 at Record Plant Studios, New York
Genre Hard rock
Length3:05
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
Producer(s) Jack Douglas
Aerosmith singles chronology
"You See Me Crying"
(1975)
"Toys in the Attic"
(1975)
"Last Child"
(1976)

"Toys in the Attic" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, it is the first song and title track from the band's third album Toys in the Attic , their bestselling studio album in the United States. It was released as the B-side to the "You See Me Crying" single in 1975.

Contents

Reception

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated Perry's guitar riff in the song as Aerosmith's 10th greatest, and also said that Perry's "fierce solo sounds gutsier and angrier than usual." [1]

Achievements

The song "Toys in the Attic" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. [2]

Other versions

The song is also featured on two of the band's live albums, Live! Bootleg (1978) and Classics Live II (1987). It is also found as a bonus track on some pressings of the career-spanning collection O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (2002).

Cover versions

R.E.M. recorded a version of the song in 1986 as a B-side to their single "Fall on Me". This can be found on Dead Letter Office , with guitarist Peter Buck saying that the song "...was always fun to play live."

It has also been covered by The Answer, Black Happy, Metal Church, Warrant, Ratt and Roadsaw. [3]

Stephen Pearcy, Tracii Guns, Phil Soussan and Aynsley Dunbar performed it for the Aerosmith tribute album Not the Same Old Song and Dance (Eagle Records, 1999). Backing vocals were by David Glen Eisley. This version resurfaced on a set entitled Guns Box: Attitude for Destruction.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerosmith</span> American rock band

Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums), and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has also incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. Aerosmith is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". The primary songwriting team of Tyler and Perry is sometimes referred to as the "Toxic Twins".

<i>Rocks</i> (Aerosmith album) 1976 studio album by Aerosmith

Rocks is the fourth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on 3 May 1976. AllMusic described Rocks as having "captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking." Rocks was ranked number 366 on the updated Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. It has greatly influenced many hard rock and heavy metal artists, including Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and Nirvana. The album was a commercial success, charting three singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of which reached the Top 40. The album was one of the first to ship platinum when it was released, and has since gone quadruple platinum.

<i>Toys in the Attic</i> (album) Album by Aerosmith

Toys in the Attic is the third studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on April 8, 1975, by Columbia Records. Its first single, "Sweet Emotion", was released on May 19 and the original version of "Walk This Way" followed on August 28 in the same year. The album is the band's most commercially successful studio LP in the United States, with nine million copies sold, according to the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 228 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album's title track and their collaboration with Run-DMC on a cover version of "Walk This Way" are included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".

<i>Draw the Line</i> (Aerosmith album) 1977 studio album by Aerosmith

Draw the Line is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released on December 9, 1977. It was recorded between June–October in an abandoned convent near New York City. The portrait of the band on the album cover was drawn by the celebrity caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

<i>Night in the Ruts</i> 1979 studio album by Aerosmith

Night in the Ruts is the sixth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 16, 1979 by Columbia Records. Guitarist Joe Perry left the band midway through the album's recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Tyler</span> American singer (born 1948)

Steven Victor Tallarico, known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, harmonica and percussion. He has been called the "Demon of Screamin'" due to his high screams and his powerful wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics. During his performances, Tyler usually dresses in colorful, sometimes androgynous outfits and makeup with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Perry (musician)</span> American guitarist (born 1950)

Joseph Anthony Pereira, professionally known as Joe Perry, is an American musician best known as the founding member, lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist of the rock band Aerosmith. Perry also has his own solo band called the Joe Perry Project, and is a member of the all-star band Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Whitford</span> American guitarist

Bradley Ernest Whitford is an American musician who is best known for serving as guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He has also worked as a songwriter for the group, co-composing well-received tracks such as 1976's "Last Child".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walk This Way</span> 1975 single by Aerosmith

"Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album Toys in the Attic (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s. In addition to being one of the songs that helped break Aerosmith into the mainstream in the 1970s, it also helped revitalize their career in the 1980s when it was covered by hip hop group Run-D.M.C. on their 1986 album Raising Hell. This cover was a touchstone for the new musical subgenre of rap rock, or the melding of rock and hip hop. It became an international hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard charts and becoming the first hip hop single to reach the top five on the charts, and won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Single in 1987 Soul Train Music Awards. Both versions are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

<i>Aerosmith</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Aerosmith

Aerosmith is the debut studio album by the American rock band Aerosmith, released on January 5, 1973, by Columbia Records. "Dream On", originally released as a single in 1973, became an American top ten hit when re-released on 27 December 1975. The album peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard 200 album chart in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Emotion</span> 1975 single by Aerosmith

"Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1975 on their third studio album Toys in the Attic by Columbia Records. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale success for the band that would continue for the remainder of the 1970s. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton, produced by Jack Douglas and recorded at Record Plant studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dream On (Aerosmith song)</span> 1973 single by Aerosmith

"Dream On" is a power ballad by Aerosmith from their 1973 eponymous debut album. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this song was their first major hit and became a classic rock radio staple. Released in June 1973, it peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 but hit big in the band's native Boston, where it was the number one single of the year on WBZ-FM, number five for the year on WRKO and number 16 on WMEX (AM). The song also received immediate heavy airplay on the former WVBF (FM), often showing up in the #1 position on "The Top Five at Five" in June 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mama Kin</span> 1973 single by Aerosmith

"Mama Kin" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith, which appears on their 1973 self-titled debut album. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler. It was a staple of Aerosmith concerts and appeared on several live albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janie's Got a Gun</span> 1989 single by Aerosmith

"Janie's Got a Gun" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith and written by Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton. The song was released as the second single from Pump in 1989, peaking at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in 1990. In Australia, the song reached number one, becoming Aerosmith's first of two number-one singles there. It also reached number two in Canada, number 12 in Sweden, and number 13 in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dude (Looks Like a Lady)</span> 1987 single by Aerosmith

"Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the lead single from the band's ninth studio album Permanent Vacation in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draw the Line (song)</span> Song by Aerosmith

"Draw the Line" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, and was released in 1977 as the first single from the album Draw the Line. It peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was included on their album Greatest Hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Train Kept A-Rollin'</span> Song first recorded by Tiny Bradshaw in 1951

"Train Kept A-Rollin'" is a song first recorded by American jazz and rhythm and blues musician Tiny Bradshaw in 1951. Originally performed in the style of a jump blues, Bradshaw borrowed lyrics from an earlier song and set them to an upbeat shuffle arrangement that inspired other musicians to perform and record it. Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio made an important contribution in 1956 – they reworked it as a guitar riff-driven song, which features an early use of intentionally distorted guitar in rock music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You See Me Crying</span> 1975 single by Aerosmith

"You See Me Crying" is a power ballad by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as the last track on the band's breakthrough album Toys in the Attic. A shorter mix of the song was released as the third single from the album in November 1975, but failed to chart. Consequently, the original single is rather rare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legendary Child</span> 2012 single by Aerosmith

"Legendary Child" is a single by American hard rock band Aerosmith that was released May 24, 2012.

References

  1. Gallucci, Michael (September 10, 2014). "Top 10 Joe Perry Aerosmith Riffs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  2. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. "The 20 Songs That Can Represent The Career Of Aerosmith". Society of Rock. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-23.