Aerosmith’s heyday appeared to be a thing of the past in 1986. The band that had dominated the rock world of the 1970s was losing fans, their most recent albums were not doing well, and they were struggling with substance misuse in their personal lives. However, everything changed when a producer named Rick Rubin, who was 22 at the time, called.
“What Is Rap?” A Manager’s Honest Question
Rubin had a wild idea. He wanted Aerosmith to re-record one of their old hits, “Walk This Way,” with a rising rap group called Run DMC. When Aerosmith’s manager Tim Collins first heard the pitch, he responded with a genuine question: “What is rap?” Rubin explained the concept, and Collins realized this might be the kind of big break the band desperately needed, especially in the MTV era, where the right video could catapult an artist to superstardom.
Rubin had already founded Def Jam Records and had an eye for innovation. He saw potential in mixing the raw edge of Aerosmith’s rock with the power and rhythm of Run DMC’s hip-hop. The idea was bold, maybe even a little weird — but it worked.
A New Spin on an Old Classic
“Walk This Way” originally came out in 1975, landing Aerosmith in the Billboard Top Ten. But a decade later, it wasn’t exactly dominating radio. That’s when Jam Master Jay of Run DMC stepped in. He had already been using the song’s riff in his DJ sets, though he mistakenly thought “Toys in the Attic” was the name of the band.
Still, the groove stuck, and Rubin’s plan brought the two genres crashing together. The new version of “Walk This Way” became an MTV staple, breathing new life into Aerosmith’s career and helping Run DMC cross over to mainstream (and mostly white) audiences. Suddenly, rap was getting serious airplay, and Aerosmith was relevant again.
The Power of Collaboration
The success of the song mirrored what Eddie Van Halen did for Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” just a few years earlier — proving that rock and pop (or in this case, rap) could coexist and even thrive together. “Walk This Way” helped Run DMC’s Raising Hell go platinum and earned them a spot on the cover of Rolling Stone.
Meanwhile, Aerosmith was back in business. Their next album, Permanent Vacation (1987), sold five million copies — ten times more than their last record. With new fans and fresh momentum, the band soared into the late ’80s alongside other stadium acts like Bon Jovi and Guns N’ Roses.
The Track That Opened Doors
The unlikely pairing set off a wave of genre-blending collaborations. Public Enemy linked up with Anthrax, and later, nu-metal bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park rode that same crossover wave (with less impressive results). Still, it all started with this one track — a daring mix that still holds up today.
With a band eager for a second chance and a young producer with vision, the gamble paid off. History has shown that sometimes all it takes to make a big difference is one wild idea and a lot of confidence.