Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)

"Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)"
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Nine Lives
B-side	"Fall Together"
Released	February 11, 1997
Format	Cassette, CD
Recorded	1996
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock, rock n roll
Length	3:26
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Glen Ballard
Producer(s)	Kevin Shirley
Aerosmith singles chronology
"Nine Lives" (1997) "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" (1997) "Hole in My Soul" (1997)

"Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith that appeared on the band's 1997 album Nine Lives. The song was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Glen Ballard, who had signed on to produce Nine Lives. Although he was dropped from the role halfway through production and replaced by Kevin Shirley, Ballard was still credited for his contributions to the album; he also co-wrote "Pink" with Tyler and Perry and "Taste of India" with Tyler and Richard Supa.

Overview

"Falling in Love" was released as the first major single from Nine Lives in 1997. The song is certainly a rocking number, yet maintains the mainstream appeal found in the former Get a Grip singles. The horns arrangements were written by lead singer Steven Tyler and David Campbell.

Tyler got the inspiration for the title off a bumper sticker he saw a few years previously. The line "But you like the way I hold the microphone" was a reference to an almost identical line in The Rolling Stones' 1965 song "The Spider and the Fly".

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. The video was directed by Michael Bay, and had a surreal landscape described as "12 Monkeys meets Brazil", which was meant to parody grunge videos. Many supermodels, such as Angie Everhart, are featured dressed as nurses, dominatrices and princesses.^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" (LP version)	3:25
2.	"Fall Together" (LP version)	4:38
3.	"Sweet Emotion" (LP version)	4:34
4.	"Seasons of Wither" (LP version)	5:39

Charts

The song was a popular radio hit around the world, reaching number 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 1 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (where it remained for five weeks), number 2 in Canada, number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 46 in Australia.

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[2]	46
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3]	35
Canadian Singles Chart	2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[4]	7
Germany (Official German Charts)[5]	40
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6]	76
Polish Singles Chart[7]	11
Spain (AFYVE)[8]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9]	23
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10]	22
UK Singles Chart	22
US Billboard Hot 100	35
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	29

Awards

The single was certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the US. This is the band's third gold single.

The video for the song won the band a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video in 1997.

References

1. SPIN - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
2. "Australian-charts.com – Aerosmith – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
3. "Austriancharts.at – Aerosmith – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
4. "Aerosmith: Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Aerosmith – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Aerosmith – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
7. "Polish Singles Chart |".
8. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
9. "Swedishcharts.com – Aerosmith – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
10. "Swisscharts.com – Aerosmith – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 20, 2015.