Walk This Way#Run-DMC/Aerosmith version

The song starts out with a two measure drum beat intro by Joey Kramer, followed by a guitar riff composed by Joe Perry. The song proceeds with the main riff, with Perry and Brad Whitford on guitar with Tom Hamilton on bass. The song continues with rapid fire lyrics by Steven Tyler.

In December 1974, Aerosmith opened for the Guess Who in Honolulu. During the sound check, guitarist Joe Perry was "fooling around with riffs and thinking about the Meters," a group guitarist Jeff Beck had turned him on to. Loving "their riffy New Orleans funk, especially 'Cissy Strut' and 'People Say'", he asked the drummer "to lay down something flat with a groove on the drums." The guitar riff to what would become "Walk This Way" just "came off [his] hands."{{cite news|last1=Myers|first1=Marc|title=How Aerosmith Created 'Walk This Way': A look at how the hard-rock band, inspired in part by 'Young Frankenstein,' came up with a song that would become a top-10 hit twice|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-aerosmith-created-walk-this-way-1410275586|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=September 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310124931/http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-aerosmith-created-walk-this-way-1410275586|archive-date=March 10, 2015|df=mdy-all}} Needing a bridge, he:{{blockquote|...played another riff and went there. But I didn't want the song to have a typical, boring 1, 4, 5 chord progression. After playing the first riff in the key of C, I shifted to E before returning to C for the verse and chorus. By the end of the sound check, I had the basics of a song.}}

When bandmate Steven Tyler heard Perry playing that riff, he "ran out and sat behind the drums and [they] jammed." Tyler scatted "nonsensical words initially to feel where the lyrics should go before adding them later."

When the group was halfway through recording Toys in the Attic in early 1975 at Record Plant in New York City, they found themselves stuck for material. They had written three or four songs for the album, having "to write the rest in the studio." They decided to give the song Perry had come up with in Hawaii a try, but it did not have lyrics or a title yet. Deciding to take a break from recording, band members and producer Jack Douglas went down to Times Square to see Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Returning to the studio, they were laughing about Marty Feldman telling Gene Wilder to follow him in the film, saying "walk this way" and limping. Douglas suggested this as a title for their song.{{cite web|url=http://www.aeroforceone.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/312697/pid/302766 |title=Walk their way | Aerosmith News |publisher=AeroForceOne |access-date=January 20, 2011}} But they still needed lyrics.

At the hotel that night Tyler wrote lyrics for the song, but left them in the cab on the way to the studio next morning. He says: "I must have been stoned. All the blood drained out of my face, but no one believed me. They thought I never got around to writing them." Upset, he took a cassette tape with the instrumental track the band had recorded and a portable tape player with headphones and "disappeared into the stairwell." He "grabbed a few No. 2 pencils" but forgot to take paper. He wrote the lyrics on the wall at "the Record Plant's top floor and then down a few stairs of the back stairway." After "two or three hours" he "ran downstairs for a legal pad and ran back up and copied them down."

Perry thought the "lyrics were so great," saying that Tyler, being a drummer, "likes to use words as a percussion element." He says:

{{blockquote|The words have to tell a story, but for Steven they also have to have a bouncy feel for flow. Then he searches for words that have a double entendre, which comes out of the blues tradition.}}

Perry always liked to wait until Tyler recorded his vocal so he "could weave around his vocal attack," but Tyler wanted Perry to record first for the same reason. After a "tug-of-war", Tyler's vocal was recorded first with Perry's guitar track overdubbed.

The lyrics, which tell the story of a high school boy losing his virginity, are sung quite fast by Tyler, with heavy emphasis being placed on the rhyming lyrics (e.g., "so I took a big chance at the high school dance").

Between the elaborately detailed verses, the chorus primarily consists of a repetition of "Walk this way, talk this way".

Live in concert, Tyler often has the audience, combined with members of the band, sing "talk this way". There is also a lengthy guitar solo at the end of the song, and in concert, Tyler will often use his voice to mimic the sounds of the guitar.

Cash Box said that "Steve Tyler's vocal is aggressive, gritty and right on as he literally spits out a slew of lyrics while never losing clarity" and that "the music itself is hardboiled rock."{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=September 13, 1975|page=15|accessdate=2021-12-11|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1975/CB-1975-09-13.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}} Record World said that "the pattern that sent 'Dream On' up the charts is again being established."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=November 20, 1976|page=1|accessdate=2023-03-03|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/76/Record-World-1976-11-20.pdf}} In 2022, it was included in the list "The story of NME in 70 (mostly) seminal songs", at number 26.{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Beaumont |url=https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/story-of-nme-in-70-seminal-songs-3176759 |title=The Story of NME in 70 (mostly) Seminal Songs |publisher=NME |date=7 March 2022 |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307110139/https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/story-of-nme-in-70-seminal-songs-3176759 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |url-status=dead}}

• Steven Tyler – lead and backing vocals
• Joe Perry – lead guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals
• Brad Whitford – rhythm guitar
• Tom Hamilton – bass guitar
• Joey Kramer – drums, triangle

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Sales certifications for Aerosmith's original recording}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Aerosmith|title=Walk This Way|award=Platinum|relyear=1975|certyear=2023|id=12280|access-date=March 29, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|artist=Aerosmith|title=Walk This Way|award=Gold|relyear=1975|certyear=2023|access-date=July 6, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Aerosmith|title=Walk This Way|award=Gold|relyear=2006|certyear=2024|id=13292-348-1|access-date=November 18, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Aerosmith|title=Walk This Way|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1975|certyear=2021|access-date=November 6, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

"Walk This Way" was one of two hit singles by the band to hit the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1970s, the other one being a re-release of "Dream On". "Walk This Way" helped Toys in the Attic to be the bestselling Aerosmith album, and one of the most critically acclaimed. Aerosmith's version of "Walk This Way" often competes with "Sweet Emotion" and "Dream On" for the title of Aerosmith's signature song, being one of the band's most important, influential, and recognizable songs. The band rarely omits it from their concert setlist, still performing their classic version of the song to this day. The song has also long been a staple of rock radio, garnering regular airplay on mainstream rock, classic rock, and album-oriented rock radio stations. In 2009, it was named the eighth greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.{{cite web|title=spreadit.org music|url=http://music.spreadit.org/vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/|access-date=February 7, 2009}}

Fee Waybill, Steve Lukather, Tim Bogert and Tommy Aldridge covered the song for the Aerosmith tribute album Not the Same Old Song and Dance (Eagle Records, 1999).

Aerosmith reference lyrics from the song in "Legendary Child". The line "I took a chance at the high school dance never knowing wrong from right" references lyrics from the songs "Walk This Way" and "Adam's Apple" respectively. Both songs first appeared on the album Toys in the Attic.

Alternative rock group They Might Be Giants composed a track with surreal lyrics intended to sync up to the music video for the Run-DMC/Aerosmith version called "Last Wave"; a reworked version was ultimately released on their 2018 album I Like Fun.{{Cite web |title=They Might Be Giants give Run-DMC's 'Walk This Way' video the 'bad lip reading' treatment – Slicing Up Eyeballs |url=https://slicingupeyeballs.com/2018/01/29/they-might-be-giants-walk-this-way-video/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Jeff|date=2018-01-30 |title=Watch Aerosmith and Run-DMC's 'Walk This Way' Video in New Mashup |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/they-might-be-giants-last-wave-aerosmith/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}

In 2019, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.{{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/aerosmiths-walk-this-way-inducted-into-grammy-hall-of-fame/|title=AEROSMITH's 'Walk This Way' Inducted Into GRAMMY HALL OF FAME|last=Blabbermouth|date=January 25, 2019|website=BLABBERMOUTH.NET}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Walk This Way

| cover = Run-DMC Walk This Way.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Run-DMC and Aerosmith

| album = Raising Hell

| B-side = "Walk This Way" (instrumental)

| released = {{Start date|1986|07|04}}

| recorded = March 9, 1986

| studio =

| genre = {{hlist|Rap rock{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/artist/run-dmc-mn0000358408 |title= Run-D.M.C. biography on Allmusic

|author= Stephen Thomas Erlewine |work= Allmusic |publisher= Rovi Corporation |access-date= July 10, 2013}} "Run-D.M.C.'s fusion of rock and rap broke into the mainstream with their third album, 1986's Raising Hell. The album was preceded by the Top Ten R&B single "My Adidas," which set the stage for the group's biggest hit single, a cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way.""|hard rock{{cite book |title= Rap Music And Street Consciousness |author= Cheryl Lynette Keyes |editor= University of Illinois Press |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0252072017 |page= [https://archive.org/details/rapmusicstreetco0000keye/page/80 80] |publisher= University of Illinois Press |url= https://archive.org/details/rapmusicstreetco0000keye/page/80 }} "Raising Hell (...) success was attributed to the extensive fusion of hard rock with rap, as best illustrated with [Run-D.M.C.]'s remake of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way.""}}

| length = {{ubl|{{Duration|m=5|s=17}} (album version)|{{Duration|m=3|s=38}} (single/video version)}}

| label = {{hlist|Profile|Geffen}}

| writer = {{hlist|Steven Tyler|Joe Perry}}

| producer = {{hlist|Russell Simmons|Rick Rubin}}

| chronology = Run-DMC

| prev_title = My Adidas

| prev_year = 1986

| next_title = You Be Illin'

| next_year = 1986

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|4B_UYYPb-Gk|"Walk This Way"}}}}

}}

In 1986, the hip hop group Run-DMC covered "Walk This Way", in collaboration with Aerosmith (with its leaders Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on vocals and guitars, respectively). While working on Raising Hell, Rick Rubin pulled out Toys in the Attic. At shows, Run-DMC had freestyled over the first few seconds of the song on a loop, not knowing what the full song sounded like, or even hearing the lyrics. While Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels had no idea who Aerosmith were at that time, Rubin suggested remaking the song. Neither Simmons nor McDaniels liked the idea, and considered the lyrics "hillbilly gibberish",{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkxP5GsWkAk|title=Behind The Vinyl - "Walk This Way" with D.M.C. from RUN D.M.C.|date=October 2, 2015 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ikJrtxRovI|title=DMC: The Real Story of Aerosmith + Run-D.M.C.'s 'Walk This Way'|date=November 15, 2016 |via=www.youtube.com}} though Jam Master Jay was open to it. Rubin brought in Tyler and Perry to re-record their parts; initially, Run and DMC intended to mimic Tyler's delivery, but were convinced by Jam Master Jay to do it in a more natural rap flow. Perry also recorded the bass tracks for the song; the studio didn't have a bass at hand, so one of the Beastie Boys, who happened to hang around the studio, went home and brought in his bass for Perry to use.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7A0xh4zNI|title=EXTRA MINUTES | AEROSMITH (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on Wall This Way)|date=February 26, 2013 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/tyler-and-perry-spill-beans-on-their-biggest-hits|title=Tyler and Perry spill beans on their biggest hits|first=Stef|last=Lachpublished|date=April 28, 2014|website=louder}}

Even after recording with Tyler and Perry, Run-DMC did not want the record to be released as a single, and were shocked when it was played on both urban and rock radio stations.{{Citation|last=Loudwire|title=DMC: The Real Story of Aerosmith + Run-D.M.C.'s 'Walk This Way'|date=November 15, 2016|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ikJrtxRovI|access-date=2017-12-13}} "I never even thought 'Walk This Way' would be a single," Rubin recalled. "Not that I didn't like it, but I didn't think in those terms."{{cite magazine|first=Paul|last=Rees|title=The Q Interview: Rick Rubin|magazine=Q|date=October 2009|page=97}} DMC called it "a beautiful thing" in a trailer for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. This version of "Walk This Way" charted higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than the original, peaking at number 4, becoming Run-DMC's biggest hit. It was also the first hip hop single to reach the top five on the Billboard charts, as well as one of the first big hip hop singles in the UK, peaking at number 8.

Cash Box called it "a raucous, sure-to- please version of the Aerosmith classic."{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1986/CB-1986-07-26.pdf|date=July 26, 1986|accessdate=2022-08-04|page=9}}

The song marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, as they had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years while Tyler battled substance use disorder and Perry and Brad Whitford were out of the band. Their 1985 comeback album, Done with Mirrors, had also not met commercial expectations. Aerosmith followed "Walk This Way" with multi-platinum albums and Top 40 hits, starting with Permanent Vacation and its hit "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" in 1987.

In 2008, "Walk This Way" was ranked number 4 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop".{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The chorus of Run-DMC's cover contains a pitch alternation that Aerosmith adopted in most future live performances. In collaborations, the other singer often says "talk this way" every alternate line of the chorus. This rap-style delivery may explain why the song worked so well as a hip hop song when it was covered eleven years later.{{cite news | title=Walk their way; Boston's Aerosmith opens up for VH1's 'Behind the Music' | newspaper=Boston Herald | last=Rodman | first=Sarah | date=August 30, 2002 | pages=Scene section page 3}}

The 1986 video for "Walk This Way" symbolically places a rock band and Run-DMC in a musical duel in neighbouring studios before Steven Tyler literally breaks through the wall that separates them. The video segues to the bands' joint performance on stage. Guitarist Perry recalls the experience and the impact on the network: "It was fun going down there and recording with them, and when they said, 'It's gonna go on the record. Do you want to do this video of you guys playing, and then you break down a wall, and we're side by side?' We said, 'Yeah, let's do it,' that was pretty amazing. It was amazing because it really did break down walls. At the time, I don't think that there were any minority acts on MTV, except for Michael Jackson, up to that point. If there was (sic), it wasn't a lot, and I think it definitely opened some doors, and I'm really proud of that. I'd like to say we planned it and that we knew that it was going to happen, but we didn't. I'm just glad it was Aerosmith and Run-DMC that did it."Daly, Andrew. An Interview with Joe Perry of Aerosmith. July 2, 2022. VWMusic. July 2, 2022. https://vwmusicrocks.com/2022/07/02/an-interview-with-joe-perry-of-aerosmith/.

The video was directed by Jon Small and filmed at the Park Theater in Union City, New Jersey. Small had an office at 1775 Broadway, the same building where Run-DMC's label Profile Records were based: Profile's co-owner Steve Plotnicki approached Small about directing the video, as he had directed another video by a black act that had broken through into rotation onto the then predominantly white, album-rock-oriented MTV, Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All". Small believed that for the video to break into heavy play on MTV, it had to feature Tyler and Perry: he developed the concept of the bands playing on either side of a wall that was subsequently breached. The video's budget was a modest $67,000.{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/walk-this-way-video-making-of-run-dmc-aerosmith.html |title=Breaking Down the Wall |last=Edgers |first=Geoff|author-link=Geoff Edgers|date=6 February 2019|website=Slate |access-date=8 February 2019}}

Aside from Tyler and Perry, none of the other rock musicians in the video are the Aerosmith members; instead, they were played by Roger Lane, J. D. Malo, and Matt Stelutto—respectively rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer of the largely unknown hair metal outfit Smashed Gladys. According to VH1's Pop Up Video, Run-DMC could not afford to use the entire Aerosmith band, just Tyler and Perry. As only Tyler and Perry had traveled to record the cover, they were the only Aerosmith members to appear, even though the entire band was credited in some releases of the remake.This was published in Brazilian rock magazine Roadie Crew, issue 100 (May 2007), in its entry for Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic (in which "Walk This Way" was first released), mentioning the video for the Run-DMC/Aerosmith joint version.

According to journalist Geoff Edgers, Tyler and Perry were initially ambivalent about appearing in the video: when Small phoned Tyler to discuss the video concept, Tyler told him: "Just don't make fools of us... I don't want people laughing at us". Plotnicki described the atmosphere on set as "beyond chilly", whilst Smashed Gladys lead guitarist Bart Lewis was struck by the fact that interaction between the members of Aerosmith and Run-DMC was minimal. However, according to Edgers, the frosty relations did thaw as the shoot went on.

The guitar that Perry is playing is a Guild X-100 Bladerunner. The Guild X100 Bladerunner was originally developed and patented by David Newell and Andrew Desrosiers of David Andrew Guitars. The patent was licensed to Guild Guitars for 17 years and entered the public domain in 2006. During initial manufacture, Newell and Desrosiers worked directly with Guild craftsman to develop the final product. The guitar used in this video was one of these early issues.

• Rev. Run, Darryl McDaniels – rap
• Steven Tyler – featured vocals
• Joe Perry – featured lead guitarist, backing vocals
• Joe Perry – bass guitar
• Jam Master Jay, Rev. Run – co-producer
• Howie Weinberg – mastering engineer

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Run D.M.C. version}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Run D.M.C.|title=Walk This Way|award=Gold|relyear=1986|certyear=1986|access-date=September 26, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Aerosmith & Run-D.M.C.|title=Walk This Way|award=Platinum|relyear=1986|certyear=2021|access-date=January 3, 2022|id=9610}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2024|artist=Aerosmith & Run-D.M.C.|title=Walk This Way|accessdate=February 21, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Run DMC & Aerosmith|title=Walk This Way|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|id=13292-4033-1|access-date=December 16, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Run-D.M.C.|title=Walk This Way|award=Platinum|relyear=1986|certyear=2019|access-date=August 16, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

{{col-end}}

At the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show in January 2001, performers *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly joined Aerosmith onstage for an encore performance of "Walk This Way" with Spears and members of *NSYNC singing different parts of the second verse, Blige adding background harmony, and Nelly performing a rap towards the end of the song.

DMC and Steve Tyler closed-out the July 2005 "Celebration of the Seas" event on Key Largo with a stage performance of "Walk This Way".

Aerosmith and Run-DMC performed "Walk This Way" at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020.

• The song won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single in 1987.
• {{RRHF500|Walk This Way}}
• Rolling Stone ranked the original version of "Walk This Way" at number 346 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and the version by Run-D.M.C. was ranked at number 293 in 2010.
• In 2000, "VH1: 100 Greatest Rock Songs" included "Walk This Way" at number 35.
• In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 23 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
• In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked the original version of "Walk This Way" at number 34 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
• In 2009, VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" included "Walk This Way" at number 8.{{cite magazine| title ='Walk This Way' Makes 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time | author = Gavin Edwards | magazine = Rolling Stone | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227122732/https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/16 | archive-date=February 27, 2009 | url-status =dead | access-date=June 12, 2008}}
• VH1 ranked the version by Run-D.M.C. at number 4 on VH1 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.

• In 1993, "Rolling Stone: The Top 100 Music Videos" included "Walk This Way" (with Run-D.M.C.) at number 11.
• In 1999, "MTV: 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made" included "Walk This Way" (with Run-D.M.C.) at number 5.
• In 2001, "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos" included "Walk This Way" (with Run-D.M.C.) at number 11.
• In 2007, "Fuse: 25 Greatest Music Videos" included "Walk This Way" (with Run-D.M.C.) at number 24.

• CD Single

1. Walk This Way – 4:46
2. Little Hands – 8:16
3. Rhythm of the Road – 6:08
4. San Jose – 8:53

{{clear}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Walk This Way

| cover = WalkThisWayCD1Cover.jpg

| type = single

| artist = Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud

| released = March 12, 2007

| recorded = December 2006

| genre = Dance-rock

| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=53}}

| label = {{hlist|Fascination|Island}}

| writer = {{hlist|Steven Tyler|Joe Perry}}

| producer = Dallas Austin

| chronology = Sugababes

| prev_title = Easy

| prev_year = 2006

| next_title = About You Now

| next_year = 2007

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Girls Aloud

| type = single

| prev_title = I Think We're Alone Now

| prev_year = 2006

| title = Walk This Way

| year = 2007

| next_title = Sexy! No No No...

| next_year = 2007

}}{{External music video|{{YouTube|1Jvrjd8DI-c|"Walk This Way"}}}}

}}

In 2007, both British girl groups Girls Aloud and Sugababes recorded their mash-up cover of "Walk This Way" as the official Comic Relief charity single. Their version was produced by American producer Dallas Austin, making it Girls Aloud's first single not to be produced by Xenomania. The track charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving Girls Aloud their third number 1 and Sugababes their fifth.

The music video was a comic re-enactment of the Run-D.M.C. video. "Walk This Way" was promoted through numerous live appearances and has been included on tours by both Girls Aloud and Sugababes. Contemporary music critics criticised the cover version, but supported the single due to its fundraising nature.

While the Run-D.M.C. cover is nearly identical to the original version, the Girls Aloud/Sugababes version has a few changes tweaked into the song; the additional line "Walk this way, you wanna talk this way" is added, the lyrics are moved around, and the beat is slightly sped up and realized on a drum machine to add a further dance feel to the song.

The idea of a Girls Aloud and Sugababes collaboration came from Comic Relief co-founder and trustee Richard Curtis.{{cite AV media notes |title=The Singles Boxset |others=Girls Aloud |year=2009 |chapter=Walk This Way |first=Peter |last=Robinson |author-link=Peter Robinson (journalist) |page=35 |type=Booklet |publisher=Fascination Records |location=London, England }} Several songs were possibilities, including Blur's "Girls & Boys" and Candi Staton's "You Got the Love", which was Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts' idea and favourite choice. "Walk This Way" is notably the first Girls Aloud single to date not to feature production from Brian Higgins and Xenomania, who have also worked with Sugababes. Girls Aloud and Sugababes launched the charity appeal on January 31.{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6317377.stm | title=Girl groups get red noses rolling | work=BBC News | publisher=BBC | date=January 31, 2007 | access-date=August 31, 2010 }} Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud said, "It's a fantastic song and hopefully will raise tons of money for people living in really difficult situations here and in Africa."

Cheryl and Amelle perform the refrain, Kimberley and Nadine sang the first verse, Keisha and Heidi sang the second verse, and Sarah, Nicola, and Amelle rap in the middle eight.

The single was released on March 12, 2007, on just one CD single format, which included a remix of the single and its music video.{{cite web | url=http://www.discogs.com/Sugababes-Vs-Girls-Aloud-Walk-This-Way/release/1292240 | title=Sugababes Vs Girls Aloud – Walk This Way (CD, Single, Enh) | work=Discogs | publisher=Zink Media | access-date=August 31, 2010 }} It was also available as a digital download.

"Walk This Way" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1 on March 18, 2007 ― for the week ending date March 24, 2007.{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6460000/newsid_6465000/6465049.stm | title=Comic Relief tune takes top spot | work=CBBC Newsround | publisher=BBC | date=March 18, 2007 | access-date=August 31, 2010 }}{{cite web | url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL1831053920070318 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025120551/https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL1831053920070318 | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 25, 2020 | title=Comic Relief song strolls to top of charts | work=Reuters | publisher=Thomson Reuters | date=March 18, 2007 | access-date=August 31, 2010 }} The following week, the single dropped to number 2; it was dethroned by another Comic Relief single, "I'm Gonna Roll (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers with Peter Kay and Matt Lucas.{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6490000/newsid_6493800/6493821.stm | title=Comic Relief tune in top spot | work=CBBC Newsround | publisher=BBC | date=March 25, 2007 | access-date=August 31, 2010 }} In its third week on the chart, "Walk This Way" dropped twelve places out of the top ten, placing itself at number 14.{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6516355.stm | title=Proclaimers hang on to top spot | work=BBC News | publisher=BBC | date=April 1, 2007 | access-date=August 31, 2010 }}

The song also charted at number 8 on the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/european-hot-100#/charts/european-hot-100?chartDate=2007-03-31 | title=European Hot 100 – Week of March 31, 2007 | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Nielsen Company | access-date=August 31, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726022024/http://www.billboard.com/charts/european-hot-100 | archive-date = July 26, 2009 }}

The music video premiered on The Box on February 2, 2007, and was shown on Channel 4's Popworld the following day. The video was filmed over three days in January 2007 – Sugababes on the first, Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberley Walsh on the second, and Nadine Coyle and Sarah Harding on the third and final day. The video includes cameos from Davina McCall, Lily Cole, Stephen Mangan, Graham Norton, Ruby Wax and Natalie Cassidy.

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Walk This Way".

UK CD single (Polydor/Island / 1724331)

1. "Walk This Way" – 2:52
2. "Walk This Way" [Yoad Mix] – 3:01
3. "Walk This Way" [video] – 3:07
4. Behind the Scenes Footage [video] – 3:15

UK digital copy & International Digital EP{{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/0JUiP7kXHP38Eyv3lypjub?si=bKiikxz1RLSUBGiPOLyPeA|title=Sugababes & Girls ALoud - Walk This Way EP|website=Spotify|date=26 April 2024}} (Polydor/Island / 1724332)

1. "Walk This Way" – 2:52
2. "Walk This Way" [Yoad Mix] – 3:01

• Engineer: Rick Shepherd, Graham Archer (assistant recording)
• Keyboards: Brian Higgins, Tim Powell
• Mixing: Jeremy Wheatley, Richard Edgeler (assistant)
• Production: Dallas Austin
• Vocals: Girls Aloud, Sugababes

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://lyrics.wikia.com/wiki/Aerosmith:Walk_This_Way Lyrics of this song] at Lyrically

{{Aerosmith singles}}

{{Run-D.M.C.}}

{{Sugababes songs}}

{{Girls Aloud songs}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1975 songs

Category:1975 singles

Category:1976 singles

Category:1986 singles

Category:1997 singles

Category:2007 singles

Category:Aerosmith songs

Category:Funk rock songs

Category:American hard rock songs

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Comic Relief singles

Category:Fascination Records singles

Category:Geffen Records singles

Category:Girls Aloud songs

Category:Island Records singles

Category:Music videos directed by Trudy Bellinger

Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand

Category:Number-one singles in Scotland

Category:Profile Records singles

Category:Run-DMC songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Dallas Austin

Category:Song recordings produced by Jack Douglas (record producer)

Category:Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin

Category:Songs written by Joe Perry (musician)

Category:Songs written by Steven Tyler

Category:Sugababes songs

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Musical collaborations