"Chip Away the Stone" is a song performed by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

. Written by Richie Supa, a friend and sometime collaborator with the band, it was released in 1978 as the only

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to support the band's live album ''

Live! Bootleg ''Live! Bootleg'' is a double live album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in October 1978. While most of the performances were drawn from concerts in 1977 and 1978, "I Ain't Got You" and "Mother Popcorn" were taken from a radio b ...

''. It also appeared on the '' Cal Jam II'' live album, despite being the same recording from ''Live! Bootleg'' at Santa Monica.Davis, p. 328 The lyrics describe the narrator's attempt to seduce a beautiful woman who is "actin' like a prima donna ndplayin' so hard to get", and who is attracting the attention of men who compete for her attention: "while the boys all promenade." The live version that appears on ''Live! Bootleg'' was recorded in Santa Monica on April 8, 1978. The single also featured a studio version of the track, which was recorded at

Long View Farm Long View Farm Studios was a music recording studio located in North Brookfield, Massachusetts which was founded in 1974 by Gilbert Scott Markle, a professor at Clark University, on his farm property. It was the location of recordings from many ...

studio in Massachusetts on June 4, 1978, with the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

being live versions of both "Chip Away the Stone" and "

S.O.S. (Too Bad) "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as their third single from their second album ''Get Your Wings''. Background Written by Steven Tyler, it is a hard rocking song focusing on sex and sl ...

" from their 1974 album ''

Get Your Wings ''Get Your Wings'' is the second studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 1, 1974. The album was their first to be produced by Jack Douglas, who also was responsible for the band's next three albums. Three singles were rele ...

''. The front and back cover of ''

Night in the Ruts ''Night in the Ruts'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 1, 1979 by Columbia Records. Guitarist Joe Perry left the band midway through the album's recording. The album was initially produced at the ...

'' come from a photoshoot originally intended for the cover of this single.Davis, p. 320 "Chip Away the Stone" peaked at #77 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1978, breaking the band's run of Top-40 charting singles in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the time. The song was also included on the albums ''

Gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *Gems (Aerosmith album), ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 *Gems (Patti LaBelle album), ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 *G ...

'' in 1988 (studio version - its first appearance on an Aerosmith album), ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing phys ...

'' in 1991 (alternate studio version), and '' Greatest Hits 1973–1988'' in 2004. Live video is also featured on '' Aerosmith Video Scrapbook''. The song re-charted in 1988 at #13 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, when it was included on the collection ''Gems'', 10 years after its initial release. The 1989 single contains the original studio version of "S.O.S (Too Bad)" as the B side. The song was a regular part of the setlist in Aerosmith concerts in 1978, but only occasionally played live after that year. 35 years after its release, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performed this song with

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

and members of the house band on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on January 20, 2012.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. The video was directed by Arnold Levine.

Cover versions

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

covered the song on their 1981 album ''

Go for the Throat ''Go for the Throat'' is the tenth studio album recorded by the English rock band Humble Pie and the second with the new lineup including, guitarist and vocalist Steve Marriott, drummer Jerry Shirley, American bassist Anthony "Sooty" Jones an ...

''.

New Bomb Turks The New Bomb Turks are an American punk rock band formed at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States, in 1990. The founding members are Jim Weber, Eric Davidson, Bill Randt, and Matt Reber. Sam Brown replaced Bill Randt on drums i ...

covered the song on their 2003 album ''Switchblade Tongues, Butterknife Brains''.

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 forma ...

Blues Saraceno Blues Saraceno (born October 17, 1971) is an American rock guitarist, composer and music producer, currently residing in Los Angeles, California. He was discovered by ''Guitar for the Practicing Musician'' magazine at the age of 16, which assis ...

Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Babys and Bad Eng ...

Pat Torpey Patrick Allan Torpey (December 13, 1953 – February 7, 2018) was an American drummer and singer, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Mr. Big. As well as playing for other various singers and artists such as; John ...

and Paul Taylor covered the song for the Aerosmith tribute album ''Not the Same Old Song and Dance'' (Eagle Records, 1999). Backing vocals were by

David Glen Eisley David Glen Eisley (born September 5, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. Personal life Eisley was born in Los Angeles, California and is the son of actor Anthony Eisley and Judith Tubbs Eisley. While in high school, he pl ...

The Hot Club of Cowtown The Hot Club of Cowtown is an American Western swing trio that formed in 1997. History The band's name comes from two sources: "Hot Club" from the hot jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli's Quintette du Hot Club de ...

did a tongue-in-cheek country-style version on their 2002 album ''Ghost Train''.

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

covered part of the song during their Up Close and Personal Tour. RagDolls, an all female Aerosmith tribute band, performed the song as part of their set during their premier performance in October 2020.

References

{{authority control Aerosmith songs 1978 singles Songs written by Steven Tyler Songs written by Joe Perry (musician) Songs written by Richard Supa Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Jack Douglas (record producer) 1978 songs Live singles