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TL;DR:

  • Steven Tyler said Aerosmith’s “Dream On” was supposed to be played on the piano, not the guitar.
  • Tyler cried when he heard it played on the guitar because it was so good.
  • The tune became Aeromsmith’s first top 10 hit and it inspired a track by Eminem
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler near a white guitar
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler | Tiffany Rose / Contributor

Some classic rock songs just move the soul. For example, Steven Tyler said Aerosmith’s “Dream On” caused him to cry. In addition, he said the final version of the song is vastly different from what he envisioned.

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler said putting too many sad songs on an album is a bad idea

During a 2012 interview with SongFacts, Tyler discussed his philosophy of songwriting. “I write about the joys of life, sometimes the sorrows,” he said. “”Some albums are more full of sorrow than joy. Therefore, those albums didn’t sell as well.

“People like to listen to music to identify with the songs,” he continued. “You don’t want to identify with really down songs. I recognize when I’m in a down head. I’ll write the song and stash it away in my memory bank. If it’s a good song, I’ll put it on record anyway.”

Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’ was designed to be played on the piano, not the guitar

Subsequently, Tyler revealed “Dream On” predated Aerosmith. “‘Dream On’ was written four or five years before the group even started,” he recalled. “I wrote it on an upright piano in my parents’ living room at Trow-Rico Lodge in New Hampshire. Never in a million years did I think I’d take it to guitar.”

Tyler explained how Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Brad Whitford changed “Dream On” profoundly. “When I transposed it to guitar, Joe played the right fingers, and Brad played the left hand on guitar,” he said. “Sitting there working it out on guitar and piano, I got a little melodramatic. The song was so good it brought a tear to my eye.”

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How ‘Dream On’ performed on the charts and impacted Eminem and Rob Zombie

“Dream On” became a big hit for Aerosmith. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band’s first top 10 single. It lasted on the chart for 29 weeks, making it the band’s longest-charting song in the United States.

“Dream On” appeared on the seminal album Aerosmith. That album reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 59 weeks. The record wasn’t huge, but it set the band on the path to stardom.

“Dream On” had a huge impact on pop culture. Eminem extensively sampled the track for his rap-rock hit “Sing for the Moment.” “Sing for the Moment” introduced “Dream On” and Aerosmith as a whole to a younger generation.

Rob Zombie also used “Dream On” in the ending scene of his gut-wrenching horror film 31. Like several of Zombie’s films, 31 is a period piece set in the 1970s. The use of the song shows how much it typified 1970s stadium rock.

“Dream On” is one the greatest power ballads ever written, and it even made Tyler cry.

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