Outside the Lines With Rap Genius - OTL 58: Bill Adler Excerpt #3 "Run DMC and Aerosmith - Walk Which Way?" lyrics

Bill Adler: Before they cut "Walk This Way," Run-DMC did not know the name of the record. They thought the name of the band was "Walk This Way". Or, no, they thought the name of the band was "Toys in the Attic". But they'd never heard of Aerosmith. God knows what they called the beat, but it was just a rhyme to them, you know, that beat for them. It was a well-known break beat among the DJs of that time. And Run-DMC's initial idea was to use that beat as the basis of a new song. But Rick Rubin was a fan of Aerosmith. He knew that that was the name of the band, and he was the one who said, "You know fellas, let's just remake 'Walk this Way' and we'll pull in Joe Perry and Steve Tyler to do it with us." So now, for the first time, Run and D had to listen deep enough into the record to hear the vocals -- and they were appalled!