Introducing rock to your kids #6 - Aerosmith "Walk This Way"

Kids are awesome for a number of reasons, but one of the things they are great at doing is recognizing is popular music.  I noticed a trend very early in my parenthood:  the more popular the song, the more my kids liked it.  Take Michael Jackson's Thriller, for example.  The album is the work of a genius start to finish, but despite my attempts to get them to appreciate the whole album, Quinn and Callie really only want to hear "Beat It" and "Thriller."  They have no knowledge that these were 2 of the album's biggest selling singles, but they know.  It's like some innate gift.

Aerosmith's song "Walk This Way" is one of those songs.  It's incredibly popular and it's no mystery that kids love it.  Go down the line....Walk This Way has it all:

1. killer beat - check
2. killer guitar riff - check
3. easy to sing chorus - check
4. verse rap that makes you want to learn the lyrics - check
5. steven tyler - check

This is a special recommendation because it's really the gift that keeps on giving.  After all, who can forget Aerosmith's monumental collaboration with Run DMC?  The video featured Aerosmith in one rehearsal room and Run DMC in the adjacent one.  The two groups are annoyed with each other's music until finally Steven puts his mic stand through the wall and they unite.  Who knew Walk This Way had the potential to be a symbolic message about breaking down the walls of racial stereotyping?

I love both versions equally, but the Run DMC collab holds a special place in my heart.  At the time it was released I was wearing my black windbreaker outfit religiously and breakdancing on a broken down refrigerator box for money.  While listening to Walk This Way I would build elaborate plots similar to The Karate Kid in my mind.  Me, overcoming the bully in the final round of the Breakdancing Championship, crushing him with a lightning quick armspin-into-backspin combo (never completed before!!!).  Crowd cheers.  I am raised on the shoulders of Grandmaster Flash.  Run DMC and Aerosmith perform at the ticker tape parade.  Victory!

Neal