B-side "Monkey on My Back" Format Cassette, CD, Vinyl | Released December 19, 1989 Recorded 1989 | |
Genre Blues rock, hard rock, country rock Length 5:11
4:08 (CHR Remix-Edit) (From the Album: Devil's Got a New Disguise) | ||
"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.
Contents
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.
Music video
There are two videos for the song. One features the band performing in the Longhorn Ballroom. 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.