Aerosmith Finally Explained Why They Dislike Their Biggest Song of All-Time

Aerosmith, the American rock band hailing from Boston, first burst onto the music scene with their eclectic mix of hard rock and blues in the early 1970s. And over the years, thanks to their hit songs such as "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," and "Fly Away From Here," they've cemented themselves as rock 'n' roll royalty. Although the band has retired from making new music, demand for them remains high, and in 2024, they treated fans to a farewell concert. But despite their talent and fame, the group surprisingly only boasts one number one song on the Billboard charts. And coincidentally enough, this hit single is also one of the band's least favorite.

Aerosmith Didn't Expect "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing" to Be Such a Hit

While it's not unusual for revered artists like Aerosmith to be critical of their own work, indeed, that self-criticism is often what makes an artist's music evolve, it is quite unique in that the members of Aerosmith remain unimpressed with what is arguably their biggest hit single. Originally released on July 28, 1998, and later marketed commercially for radio play a month later, "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" served as the main soundtrack for the sci-fi film 'Armageddon', which starred Aerosmith's frontman, Steven Tyler's daughter, Liv Tyler. The hard-rock power ballad was written by famed songwriter Diane Warren and was originally intended for another artist until Aerosmith jumped on the nearly five-minute-long track.

The song was a huge commercial success for Aerosmith, who released their 12th studio album, 'Nine Lives', featuring the lead single "Get A Grip," the year before. The single debuted at the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks, which in turn marked the band's official first and only number one single in the US. In addition to the group's native country, the song also topped charts worldwide. It was later nominated for an Academy Award for best original song but lost out to another contender. Additionally, in 2021, Smooth Radio declared it as one of the greatest power ballads of all time and the perfect comeback song from the hard rock group. However, while the song's greatness is evident, many fans and critics, then and now, note that the single's sound was a huge departure for the group. It was a fact that unsettled some of the band's members, such as Aerosmith drummer, Joey Kramer, who revealed that the band didn’t connect with the track very much. He added that to them, it was “Just another song."

Aerosmith's "Dream On" Was A Flop Until Its Re-release

The year was 1973, and Aerosmith had just released their self-titled debut album. The lead single off the album, "Dream On", was written by the group's lead singer, Steven Tyler. Described as a power ballad, Tyler stated in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine that he wrote the song when he was just a teenager. "Dream On’ was written four or five years before the group even started," Tyler revealed."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 also stated in another interview with the music publication that "Dream On" was about "the hunger to be somebody: Dream until your dreams come true.” He added, “This song sums up the s**t you put up with when you’re in a new band. Most of the critics shredded our first album and said we were ripping off the Stones. That’s a good barometer of my anger at the press."

However, while "Dream On" would later become one of Aerosmith's signature tracks and one of the most popular songs in rock' n 'roll history, when it was first released, it flopped along with the album. Not only did the song fail to make a significant mark on the music charts outside their native Boston, but it was also panned by critics and unfavorably compared to other musicians of the time, such as Bruce Springsteen and the New York Dolls.

Additionally, the band's record label, Capitol Records, threatened to shelve them and only refrained from doing so after significant deliberation and compromise. While "Dream On's" initial failure could have derailed Aerosmith's career indefinitely, they persevered, and in 1975, they re-released it, this time with decidedly more favorable results. The song not only peaked at number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100, but in 2024, Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the 500 greatest songs of all time.