"Same Old Song and Dance" is a song by American

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 singer

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

and guitarist Joe Perry. Released on March 19, 1974, as the lead single from their second studio 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 ...

'', it has remained a staple on rock radio and in the band's setlists.

Structure

The song was built around a riff that Joe Perry came up with while sitting on his amp. Steven Tyler quickly came up with the lyrics, which are sung in sync with the main riff. The song is known for its upbeat rhythm and the duelling guitars of Perry and

Brad Whitford Bradley Ernest Whitford (born February 23, 1952)Putterford, Mark (1991) ''The Fall and Rise of Aerosmith'', Omnibus Press, Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'' (2nd edn.), MOJO Books, , p. 11-13 is an American musician who i ...

, along with interspersed horns.

Dick Wagner Richard Allen Wagner (December 14, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American rock guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Bos ...

(

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

) plays the guitar solo on the ''Get Your Wings'' recording. "On 'Same Old Song And Dance', I told them that we should bring in some horns to bring out their

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

side," said producer Jack Douglas. "They definitely had that kind of style and sound already. We got the

Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael Brecker, Michael and Randy Brecker, Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI (musical instrument), EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers ...

to play on that. The sax solo is

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "top flight hard rocker."

Live performances

The song remains a fan favorite and a staple in the band's shows. The band often does an extended jam during it in concert, often resulting in the song extending two minutes over its original running time. This extended jam at the end of a song is used as a showcase for bassist Tom Hamilton. Tyler is also known to do his trademark

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

during these jams.

On other albums

"Same Old Song and Dance" has been featured on Aerosmith compilations including ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' (1980) (where the song is remastered, 52 seconds of the song are edited out and the first line from one of the verses is changed from "Got you with your cocaine..." to "Shady-looking loser..."), ''

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 ...

'' (1991), ''

O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits ''O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits'' is a greatest hits album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in 2002 by Columbia Records and Geffen Records. A double-disc album, it includes 27 of the band's biggest hits in chronological order and ...

'' (2002), and '' Greatest Hits 1973–1988'' (2004). The song can also be found on the live albums ''

Classics Live II ''Classics Live'' and ''Classics Live II'' are a set of albums by American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Together, they constitute the band's second live offering, after '' Live! Bootleg''. ''Classics Live I'' has g ...

'' (1987), ''

A Little South of Sanity ''A Little South of Sanity'' is a live album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released on October 20, 1998, by Geffen Records. The two-disc album features recordings taken while the band was on the Nine Lives Tour, which began in 1997 and w ...

'' (1998) and '' Rockin' the Joint'' (2005), and the live DVD '' You Gotta Move'' (2004).

In popular culture

The song is mentioned in the Season 5 episode "Gaza" of the American TV series ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Same Old Song And Dance 1974 singles Aerosmith songs Songs written by Steven Tyler Songs written by Joe Perry (musician) Song recordings produced by Jack Douglas (record producer) Columbia Records singles 1974 songs