On April 20th, 1993, Aerosmith released their 11th studio album, Get a Grip. To celebrate the iconic recordâs anniversary, here are 23 things you might not know about it:
1.Get a Grip originally had 12 tracks, but the label thought it lacked variety and needed a radio-friendly song, so they sent the band back into the studio.
2. The album cover features a cowâs udders, with one of them pierced and sporting an earring. An animal rights group objected, but the band explained the image was computer-generated.
3. Seven songs from Get a Grip wound up charting on at least one of Billboardâs charts.
4. âLivinâ on the Edgeâ went to number one on the rock chart and stayed there for nine weeks.
5. âLivinâ on the Edgeâ tackles many social issues including racism, religion, the state of the world and more, but the lyrics say that even with all that, itâs still worth living in this world.
6. âLivinâ on the Edgeâ references the Yardbirds song âMister Youâre a Better Man Than I.â
7. âLivinâ on the Edgeâ was inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
8. Towards the end of âLivinâ on the Edgeâ are four loud beats from a bass drum. Steven Tyler has confessed to stealing that drum from his high school.
9. Weird Al Yankovich parodied âLivinâ on the Edgeâ with his song âLivinâ in the Fridge.â
10. The sexually-suggestive lyrics to âShut Up and Danceâ feature many double entendres like âsex is like a gun: you aim, you shoot, you run.â
11. Styx's Tommy Shaw and Night Ranger's Jack Blades co-wrote âShut Up and Dance.â
12. âCryinââ has been certified gold and sold over 600,000 copies.
13. Most people remember that Alicia Silverstone starred in the video for âCryin,ââ but the clip also featured Stephen Dorff as well as Josh Holloway of Lost.
14. Thereâs an unconfirmed story that for the video for âCrazy,â producers cast a woman they had seen in a Pantene commercial to star opposite Alicia Silverstone. That woman was Steven Tylerâs daughter, Liv Tyler. They apparently had no idea her father was in the band.
15. The song âFever,â which is about how the band members have given up drugs in favor of sex (âthe buzz that you be gettinâ from the crack donât last, Iâd rather be ODâin on the crack of her assâ), peaked at number five on the rock chart.
16. Country singer Garth Brooks covered the song âFeverâ in 1995 and called it âThe Fever.â
17. Lenny Kravitz provided back-up vocals on the song âLine-Up.â
18. âAmazingâ is about Steven Tylerâs troubled life and his drug abuse in the late 70s and early 80s.
19. The lyrics in âAmazingâ mention the bandâs 1987 comeback album, Permanent Vacation.
20. Don Henley sings back up on âAmazing.â
21. At the end of âAmazing,â a radio can be heard tuning into a recording of Lucky Millinderâs song âWho Threw the Whiskey in the Well.â Over the song, Steven Tyler says, âSo from all of us at Aerosmith to all of you out there, wherever you are, remember: the light at the end of the tunnel may be you. Good night.â
22.Get a Grip is Aerosmithâs most successful studio album, selling over 20-million copies worldwide, 7-million of which were in America.
23. The band earned two Grammys off the album, the 1993 award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocal for âLivinâ on the Edgeâ and the same trophy in 1994 for âCrazy.â