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On this day (March 9) in 1986, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of Aeros<\/a>mith stepped into the studio to re-record their parts of \u201cWalk This Way\u201d to contribute to Run-DMC\u2019s now-legendary cover of the song. It became their first major hit. Moreover, it introduced the group and hip hop in general to a wider\u2013and whiter\u2013audience. The collaboration helped bring hip hop into the mainstream, paving the way for generations of artists and countless genre-bending collaborations.<\/p>\n Aerosmith originally released \u201cWalk This Way\u201d as a single from their 1975 album Toys in the Attic<\/em>. Two years later, it became one of the band\u2019s first top 10 hits on the Hot 100. It helped launch them to mainstream success and has since become one of their signature songs.<\/p>\n [RELATED: 3 Aerosmith Music Videos That Ruled MTV in the Late 1980s]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n By the mid-1980s, though, the band\u2019s popularity was beginning to falter. Their 1985 album, Done With Mirrors<\/em>, peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard<\/em> 200, a career low. So, when Rick Rubin, who was producing Run-DMC\u2019s album Raising Hell<\/em>, called and asked Perry and Tyler to record, they quickly agreed, according to Songfacts<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIt took me all of a minute to say yes,\u201d Perry recalled. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what was going to happen when I walked in the studio. I thought they\u2019d show us some ideas on how to rearrange it, but all they had was a drum track. Rubin said, \u2018All you gotta do is play the song the way you play it.\u2019 So I sat down and played it.\u201d<\/p>\n Run-DMC were no strangers to incorporating rock elements into their music by 1986. They had already done so on \u201cKing of Rock\u201d and \u201cRock Box.\u201d However, that didn\u2019t mean they wanted to collaborate with Aerosmith. In fact, both Joseph Simmons (Run) and Darryl McDaniels (DMC) didn\u2019t want to do the cover at all.<\/p>\n Initially, they were going to sample \u201cWalk This Way\u201d because they liked rapping over the beat. Then, Rick Rubin suggested that they do a cover version of the song. He gave them the record and told them to listen to it and learn the lyrics. At the time, they had never heard the vocals. \u201cWe put the needle on the number four on Aerosmith, we take out a pen and pad, and we sat there and was going to let the record play,\u201d McDaniels recalled in an interview<\/a>. <\/p>\n After hearing the first verse, they called Rubin with their reaction. \u201cOh hell no! We ain\u2019t makin\u2019 this! This is country bumpkin music, this is hillbilly jibberish!\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, Run-DMC had a major hit with \u201cWalk This Way\u201d and found a new audience. At the same time, the song revived Aerosmith\u2019s career. More importantly, it introduced hip hop to a new audience.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, when I go to high schools and middle schools, and I speak to the kids, I always tell the kids this: Always be open to try something new because it might not just change your life, it could change the world,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cWhen Steven Tyler took that microphone stand and knocked down that wall in the \u2018Walk This Way\u2019 video, that didn\u2019t just happen in the video. That happened in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n Featured Image by<\/em> Jeff Kravitz\/FilmMagic<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nRun-DMC Weren\u2019t Excited to Collaborate with Aerosmith<\/h3>\n