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Aerosmith 80s ComebackColumbia/Geffen A&R honcho John Kalodner Reunites Aerosmith in 1984
Meet John Kalodner, the genius, the long hair and the unlikely hip hop visionary behind the Walk This Way cover; a new song for rap music and Aerosmith's career.
When you dig deep enough into the hair follicles of 1980s rockers, one of the biggest manes in the bunch belongs to former Columbia/Geffen A&R honcho John Kalodner. Credited with reuniting the original line up of Aerosmith in 1984, Kalodner's name, signature long hair and John Lennon beard is synonymous with such marquee 80s artists such as Whitesnake, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Madness, Wang Chung, one of rock's original super groups, Asia and even Madonna. Kalonder's range within the music industry sowed the seeds of musical legacy from the 70s straight through until today. With a clear yen for hard rock, Aerosmith's comeback on Kalodner's watch during his years with Geffen Records (1980-1994) was one of the sweetest coups to be pulled on the charts. The cherry on top is that Kalonder had the courage to shake in a bit of power hip hop to make it happen. After establishing themselves on the international charts during the 70s with a self-titled debut(1973), Get Your Wings (1974) and Toys in the Attic (1975), Aerosmith entered the 80s with a Greatest Hits album and a downward spiral of substance abuse and tension. Once reunited, Kalodner signed the band to Geffen where they would go on to release 4 albums during the decade, commencing with 1985's Done With Mirrors and culminating with Love In An Elevator in 1989. While Done With Mirrors failed to garner any hit singles, it did provide the band with general commercial and radio appeal. However it would be the 1986 groundbreaking rap/rock crossover hit and cover of the band's 1975 smash hit Walk This Way with Run DMC that helped introduce the band to a younger audience. The collaboration would go on to define a new generation of hip hop and secure the genre as a legitimate part of mainstream American music. Kalodner was one of the key players in creating the first ever hip hop song to break the top ten on the Billboard charts. By the time that Dude Looks Like A Lady(UK20 , US14), considered Aerosmith's official comeback song, from 1987's Permanent Vacation album was released, the band had flown to a whole new stratosphere on the wings of a hip hop cover. Today Aerosmith's original line up remains fully intact and they continue to perform, record, and rack up their trophy cabinet.
The copyright of the article Aerosmith 80s Comeback in Rock Music is owned by Wendy Vincent. Permission to republish Aerosmith 80s Comeback in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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