Photo of Aerosmith
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Band · The Bad Boys from Boston

Aerosmith

Active1970-2024
OriginBoston, Massachusetts, US
Albums15
Tracks159

Most frequent collaborator: Jack Douglas  ·  72 tracks

RockHard RockBlues Rock
86%
Authorship
Artist

Holds writing credit on 136 of 159 tracks

Did Aerosmith write their own songs?

Mostly. Aerosmith are credited on about 86% of their catalogue, with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry writing the 1970s classics like 'Dream On,' 'Walk This Way,' and 'Sweet Emotion' themselves. The lower number reflects their comeback era, when they co-wrote with outside songwriters, and covers like the blues album Honkin' on Bobo. Their only number-one single, 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing,' was written entirely by Diane Warren.

By the Numbers

15
Studio Albums
159
Tracks Credited
86%
Self-Written
more than 150 million
Records Sold
54
Years Active
64
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 136 / 159 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 159 tracks: how many Aerosmith wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

Aerosmith has a writing credit86%
43%
43%
14%
Sole author68tracks43%
Co-written68tracks43%
Outside writers23tracks14%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Aerosmith's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 159 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)86%
Composer (music)86%
Producer56%
Performer100%

Member Credit Breakdown share of tracks each member is credited on

Percentage of all 159 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.

MemberPeriodLyricsMusicProductionPerformance
Steven Tyler 1970-2024
80%
80%
31%
100%
Joe Perry 1970-2024
52%
52%
25%
94%
Brad Whitford 1971-2024
9%
9%
0%
94%
Tom Hamilton 1970-2024
9%
9%
0%
100%
Joey Kramer 1970-2024
6%
6%
0%
100%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Aerosmith's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 86%
88%
88%
89%
100%
89%
67%
80%
100%
92%
100%
100%
100%
92%
8%
93%
1973Aerosmith
1974Get Your Wings
1975Toys in the Attic
1976Rocks
1977Draw the Line
1979Night in the Ruts
1982Rock in a Hard Place
1985Done with Mirrors
1987Permanent Vacation
1989Pump
1993Get a Grip
1997Nine Lives
2001Just Push Play
2004Honkin' on Bobo
2012Music from Another Dimension!
Early · 91% written
Mid · 88% written
Late · 80% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

87%
1970s
Aerosmith, Get Your Wings +4 more
93%
1980s
Rock in a Hard Place, Done with Mirrors +2 more
100%
1990s
Get a Grip, Nine Lives
50%
2000s
Just Push Play, Honkin' on Bobo
93%
2010s
Music from Another Dimension!

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Aerosmith sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

Aerosmith
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Tina Turner0%
Cher8%
Eric Clapton40%
Michael Jackson51%
Santana59%
The Rolling Stones75%
Queen99%
86%Aerosmith
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Dream On
Aerosmith
Written by Steven Tyler
Wrote it
Sweet Emotion
Toys in the Attic
Written by Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton
Wrote it
Walk This Way
Toys in the Attic
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry
Wrote it
Last Child
Rocks
Written by Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford
Wrote it
Draw the Line
Draw the Line
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry
Wrote it
Kings and Queens
Draw the Line
Written by Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Jack Douglas
Co-wrote
Remember (Walking in the Sand)
Night in the Ruts
Written by Shadow Morton
Outside writers
Lightning Strikes
Rock in a Hard Place
Written by Richie Supa, Richard Supa
Outside writers
Let the Music Do the Talking
Done with Mirrors
Written by Joe Perry
Wrote it
Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
Permanent Vacation
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Desmond Child
Co-wrote
Angel
Permanent Vacation
Written by Steven Tyler, Desmond Child
Co-wrote
Rag Doll
Permanent Vacation
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jim Vallance, Holly Knight
Co-wrote
Love in an Elevator
Pump
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry
Wrote it
Janie's Got a Gun
Pump
Written by Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton
Wrote it
What It Takes
Pump
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Desmond Child
Co-wrote
The Other Side
Pump
Written by Steven Tyler, Jim Vallance, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland
Co-wrote
Livin' on the Edge
Get a Grip
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Mark Hudson
Co-wrote
Cryin'
Get a Grip
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Taylor Rhodes
Co-wrote
Crazy
Get a Grip
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Desmond Child
Co-wrote
Amazing
Get a Grip
Written by Steven Tyler, Richie Supa, Richard Supa
Co-wrote
Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)
Nine Lives
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Glen Ballard
Co-wrote
Hole in My Soul
Nine Lives
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Desmond Child
Co-wrote
Pink
Nine Lives
Written by Steven Tyler, Richie Supa, Glen Ballard
Co-wrote
Jaded
Just Push Play
Written by Steven Tyler, Marti Frederiksen
Co-wrote
Just Push Play
Just Push Play
Written by Steven Tyler, Mark Hudson, Steve Dudas
Co-wrote
Baby, Please Don't Go
Honkin' on Bobo
Written by Joe Williams
Outside writers
Legendary Child
Music from Another Dimension!
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jim Vallance
Co-wrote
Lover Alot
Music from Another Dimension!
Written by Steven Tyler, Marti Frederiksen, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, Joey Kramer, Jesse Kramer, Moir
Co-wrote
What Could Have Been Love
Music from Another Dimension!
Written by Steven Tyler, Marti Frederiksen, Russ Irwin
Co-wrote

Discography 15 albums

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Aerosmith159 tracks
JD72 MF42 BF36 MH17 KS13 JV11

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. JD Jack Douglas · MF Marti Frederiksen · BF Bruce Fairbairn · MH Mark Hudson · KS Kevin Shirley · JV Jim Vallance

The Writers & Producers Behind Aerosmith 6 key collaborators

JD
Jack Douglas
Producer
Get Your Wings / Toys in the Attic / Rocks / Draw the Line72 tracks
MF
Marti Frederiksen
Producer & Songwriter
Nine Lives / Just Push Play / Honkin' on Bobo / Music from Another Dimension!42 tracks
BF
Bruce Fairbairn
Producer
Permanent Vacation / Pump / Get a Grip36 tracks
MH
Mark Hudson
Songwriter
Get a Grip / Nine Lives / Just Push Play17 tracks
KS
Kevin Shirley
Producer
Nine Lives13 tracks
JV
Jim Vallance
Songwriter
Permanent Vacation / Pump / Get a Grip / Music from Another Dimension!11 tracks

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

Aerosmith's songwriting is almost entirely the domain of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the core 'Toxic Twins' writing partnership that appears on every album. The key authorship story is the shift from raw, self-contained band writing in the 1970s (when Perry, Whitford, Hamilton, and Kramer all occasionally received credit) to a professional hitmaker-assisted model beginning with Permanent Vacation (1987). On that comeback album and successors Pump and Get a Grip, Tyler and Perry co-wrote with Jim Vallance, Desmond Child, Taylor Rhodes, and Holly Knight, a formula that explains their commercial dominance in the late 1980s and 1990s relative to their underground-favorite 1970s catalog. Honkin' on Bobo (2004) is the outlier with only one original track, the rest being blues covers. Rock in a Hard Place (1982) is the only album without Joe Perry, featuring replacement guitarist Jimmy Crespo as Tyler's primary co-writer.

Quick Facts

  • SalesHave sold more than 150 million records worldwide, the best-selling American hard rock band
  • Rock HallInducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001
  • The Toxic TwinsSteven Tyler and Joe Perry are the band's core songwriting partnership
  • Their only number one'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' topped the charts but was written by Diane Warren, not the band
  • GrammysWon four Grammy Awards over their career

Creative Fingerprint

A self-writing band that later hired help: Aerosmith are credited on about 86% of their catalogue, with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry writing the 1970s classics themselves, then bringing in outside co-writers on their 1980s and 1990s comeback hits.

The Story

Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970, consisting of Steven Tyler (lead vocals, harmonica), Joe Perry (lead guitar), Brad Whitford (rhythm guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), and Joey Kramer (drums). Often called 'the Bad Boys from Boston' and 'America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band,' Aerosmith became one of the best-selling music artists of all time with an estimated 150 million records sold worldwide. The band's songwriting has been dominated by the Tyler-Perry partnership, dubbed the 'Toxic Twins' for their notorious drug addictions in the 1970s, which produced the bulk of their catalog across five decades. After a commercially troubled period in the late 1970s and early 1980s (when Perry and Whitford both briefly departed), the band staged a remarkable comeback beginning with Permanent Vacation (1987), collaborating with professional songwriters to produce some of their biggest commercial successes. The band officially retired in 2024 after Steven Tyler sustained a vocal cord injury during the Peace Out Farewell Tour.

Awards & Recognition

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001
Won four Grammy Awards over their career
'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' became their only Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
Best-selling American hard rock band of all time, with more than 150 million records sold

Frequently Asked Questions Aerosmith

Did Aerosmith write their own songs?
Mostly. Aerosmith are credited on about 86% of their catalogue, with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry writing the 1970s classics like 'Dream On,' 'Walk This Way,' and 'Sweet Emotion' themselves. The lower number reflects their comeback era, when they co-wrote with outside songwriters, and covers like the blues album Honkin' on Bobo. Their only number-one single, 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing,' was written entirely by Diane Warren.
Who wrote 'Dream On'?
'Dream On,' from their 1973 debut album, was written entirely by Steven Tyler. It became the band's first signature ballad and one of the defining rock songs of the 1970s, long before they worked with outside writers.
Did Aerosmith write 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'?
No. 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing,' from the 1998 Armageddon soundtrack, was written by professional songwriter Diane Warren. It became Aerosmith's first and only Billboard Hot 100 number one, even though the band did not write it.
Who are the Toxic Twins?
The Toxic Twins is the nickname for Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Aerosmith's lead singer and lead guitarist. They are the band's main songwriting team and wrote most of its original material, especially the early hard rock classics.
Why did Aerosmith use outside songwriters?
During their 1980s and 1990s comeback, Aerosmith worked with professional writers like Desmond Child, Jim Vallance, and Holly Knight to craft radio hits such as 'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)' and 'Cryin'.' This is why their later albums have more co-writing credits than their self-contained 1970s records.
Who wrote 'Walk This Way'?
'Walk This Way,' from Toys in the Attic (1975), was written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Its 1986 remake with Run-DMC helped introduce rap-rock and revived Aerosmith's career.
How many albums did Aerosmith release?
This catalogue covers fifteen studio albums, from their 1973 self-titled debut through Music from Another Dimension! (2012), spanning their 1970s peak, a mid-career decline, and a huge comeback.
Are Aerosmith in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Yes. Aerosmith were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, recognised as the best-selling American hard rock band of all time.
What genre is Aerosmith?
Aerosmith play rock, hard rock, and blues rock, built on Joe Perry's riffs and Steven Tyler's vocals on classics like 'Sweet Emotion' and 'Back in the Saddle.'

Sources

Wikipedia: Aerosmith