What It Takes (Aerosmith song)

"What It Takes" is a power ballad by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Desmond Child. It was released in 1990 as the third single from Aerosmith's critically and commercially successful 1989 album Pump. In the video The Making of Pump, A&R man John Kalodner described the song as "a masterpiece". During live performances, Tyler sings the first verse a cappella and belts out one of his signature screams right before the chorus.

The album version of the song is followed by an untitled hidden track.

Chart performance

The single reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[1]	9

Music video

There are two videos for the song. One features the band performing in a bar. The other is culled from scenes from The Making of Pump, a film which documented the recording process of the Pump album. The latter received much greater airplay, and was also the version the band chose to include on their video collection Big Ones You Can Look At. The videos were directed by Keith Garde and Martin Torgoff.

References to other Aerosmith songs

The song contained numerous references to other Aerosmith songs in its lyrics. Tyler spells "F.I.N.E." in the second verse and mentions that his "heart's been doing time" ("Heart's Done Time"). Another lyric, "leave your life to the toss of the dice," relates to the "Love in an Elevator" lyric, "betting on the dice I'm tossing." The song contains other, smaller references. It is not uncommon for Aerosmith to reference their own songs within their songs (for example, "Eat The Rich", "Legendary Child", and "Just Push Play" all contain references to "Walk This Way").

References

↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". Retrieved 2009-09-15.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Aerosmith singles discography

1970s	"Mama Kin" "Dream On" "Same Old Song and Dance" "Train Kept A-Rollin'" "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" "Sweet Emotion" "Toys in the Attic" "Walk This Way" "You See Me Crying" "Last Child" "Home Tonight" "Back in the Saddle" "Draw the Line" "Kings and Queens" "Get It Up" "Come Together" "Chip Away the Stone" "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"

1980s	"Lightning Strikes" "Bitch's Brew" "Let the Music Do the Talking" "Shela" "My Fist Your Face" "Darkness" "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" "Hangman Jury" "Angel" "Rag Doll" "Chip Away the Stone" (re-release) "Love in an Elevator" "F.I.N.E.*" "Janie's Got a Gun"

1990s	"What It Takes" "The Other Side" "Monkey on My Back" "Love Me Two Times" "Helter Skelter" "Sweet Emotion" (re-release) "Livin' on the Edge" "Eat the Rich" "Fever" "Cryin'" "Amazing" "Shut Up and Dance" "Deuces Are Wild" "Crazy" "Blind Man" "Walk on Water" "Nine Lives" "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" "Hole in My Soul" "Pink" "Taste of India" "Full Circle" "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" "What Kind of Love Are You On"

2000s	"Angel's Eye" "Jaded" "Fly Away from Here" "Sunshine" "Just Push Play" "Girls of Summer" "Baby, Please Don't Go" "Devil's Got a New Disguise"

2010s	"Legendary Child" "Lover Alot" "What Could Have Been Love" "Can't Stop Lovin' You"

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