Rocktober '70s Song #5: "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (1975)

A Rocktober featuring the 1970s wouldn't be complete without something from Aerosmith.  There are many fine choices from their '70s catalog.  After much internal deliberation, I decided to go with "Walk This Way," off the band's seminal 1975 album Toys in the Attic.

While "Walk This Way" isn't necessarily my favorite Aerosmith song, it's right up there. The song starts out with Joey Kramer's drum beat that is almost as sampleable as "Funky Drummer."  Then, of course, we get to one of the best and most recognizable riffs in rock history, courtesy of Joe Perry.  The lyrics -- which Steven Tyler hastily penned at the Record Plant when the band was recording the album -- describe an awkward kid losing his virginity, which is something we can all relate to (or at least those of us dudes who awkwardly lost their virginity, which I assume is everyone).  The song became the band's second Top 10 hit in the U.S., hitting #10.

"Walk This Way" is also the song that I most associate with Aerosmith.  By the early '80s, the band was basically dead, thanks to crippling drug addictions and several departures.  And then in 1986, the band's unlikely collaboration with Run-D.M.C. that reworked this song gave Aerosmith a second act, reignited their popularity, and propelled their comeback into the mainstream for the next 15 years.  For many younger Gen Xers like me, the first time they heard "Walk This Way" (and maybe even Aerosmith in general) was the Run-D.M.C. collaboration.  The redux was even more popular than the original, topping out at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

But this month is about the '70s, so you're only getting the original.  Here it is in all its glory.