Top 10 Aerosmith Love Songs

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Our Top 10 Aerosmith Love Songs list looks at a band that has had many ups and downs throughout their career. Still, Aerosmith is one of the greatest rock bands to emerge in the 20th century. For proof, consider how Aerosmith reached the top in the 1970s, made a successful comeback in the 1980s, and then made a second successful comeback in the 1990s. There are a lot of rock bands that coast on their previous successes. However, that record should make it clear Aerosmith isn’t one of them. The band members have penned songs about a wide range of subjects throughout their careers. Those include some of the most memorable love songs of their times.

Top 10 Aerosmith Love Songs

#10 – What Could Have Been Love

“What Could Have Been Love” is a single from Aerosmith’s 15th studio album Music from Another Dimension! It did alright in the United States after it came out in 2012, as shown by its peak positions of 22 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs, 28 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, and 48 on the Billboard Rock Songs charts. Strangely enough, it did quite well in Japan where it reached the number 7 position on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. Subject-wise, “What Could Have Been Love” is exactly what one would expect, which is to say, an outpouring of regret for a relationship that could have been.

#9 – Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are responsible for writing a huge portion of Aerosmith’s songs. Sometimes, they do so on their own. Other times, they work with other songwriters. “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)” is an excellent example of the latter because Glen Ballard also contributed to the songwriting process. The song did quite well when it came out in 1997. Specifically, it peaked at the number 1 position on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and the number 35 position on the Billboard Hot 100. Furthermore, the song was certified gold by the RIAA.

#8 – Can’t Stop Lovin’ You

Moving on, Tyler penned “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” for Music from Another Dimension! with a team of four other individuals. With that said, people tend to remember the power ballad because it is a team-up between Aerosmith and Carrie Underwood. Tyler felt that he should get someone to collaborate with him on “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” because it had such a country-influenced sound. He already had a good working relationship with Underwood, so she was a natural choice for that role.

#7 – Hole in My Soul

“Hole in My Soul” came from the same studio album as “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees).” Both were singles for Nine Lives, with the former following the latter. Like with “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees),” Tyler and Perry also created “Hole in My Soul” in close cooperation with a third individual. In this case, that third individual was their long-term collaborator Desmond Child. On the whole, the song didn’t do so well by the band’s elevated standards. Still, it is worth a listen for people in the mood for something to make their hearts ache.

#6 – Love in an Elevator

Aerosmith has a single number-one hit. However, the band has scored several Top 10 hits over their career. One excellent example is “Love in an Elevator,” which was the lead single for 1989’s Pump that topped out at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. On a separate note, it is also a great reminder of Aerosmith’s often fun and irreverent attitude.

#5 – Angel

“Angel” is a power ballad from Permanent Vacation. Tyler and Child wrote the song with the band’s customary flair. Still, it is the emotion packed into the former’s vocals that provide it with most of its power. This song does a wonderful job of describing the singer’s lover as the source of his salvation. A lot of people seemed to have thought the same way because it came very close to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 before falling short.

#4 – Cryin’

Released in 1993, “Cryin'” did quite well by reaching the number 12 position in the United States. For whatever reason, it did even better in European markets where it was consistently a Top 10 hit. The whole thing was particularly strange because it seemed to have been a split between English-speaking markets and non-English-speaking markets. Canada was the only English-speaking country where the song was a Top 10 hit. Elsewhere, the song did worse than it did in the United States, sometimes by a considerable margin. Besides this, “Cryin'” had a memorable music video, so much so that it became the most requested music video on MTV in its year. Supposedly, it was even one of the factors responsible for bringing navel piercings as a symbol of defiant individuality into the mainstream, though the causes of cultural shifts tend to be hard to confirm for obvious reasons.

#3 – I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing

“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” was so popular that it introduced Aerosmith to a whole new generation of fans in the 1990s. Amusingly, Diane Warren wrote it for the movie Armageddon in the late 1990s, thinking that it would be sung by either Celine Dion or someone similar-sounding. Instead, the people behind the movie went with Aerosmith, which performed four songs for the movie. The whole thing was a perfect example of the right band finding the right song at the right time. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” is the only time that an Aerosmith song has ever soared to the top of the charts. Its tender sentimentality has made it a slow-dance favorite ever since.

#2 – Sweet Emotion

Speaking of which, “Sweet Emotion” was another of the four songs Aerosmith performed for Armageddon. The difference is that it had been released on the band’s third studio album Toys in the Attic way back in 1975. It was another product of intra-band songwriting. However, the two songwriters responsible were Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton rather than Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. That isn’t a coincidence. A lot of people interpret “Sweet Emotion” as being about the rift between the band members and Perry’s first wife Elyssa Perry. Whatever their interpretation, interested individuals should know this is widely considered to be not just one of the best Aerosmith songs ever released but also one of the best rock songs ever released.

#1 – Dream On

There aren’t a lot of Aerosmith songs that can compete with “Sweet Emotion.” One of the rare exceptions to that rule would be “Dream On,” which is remarkable because it was the band’s debut single from the band’s self-titled debut album. The song’s lyrics are about the pursuit of one’s dreams while knowing that one’s time is limited. As a result, it is very easy to interpret its message in a romantic light, particularly since there are lines that recommend seizing present opportunities lest something unexpected erase them in the future. Tyler’s choices fundamentally shaped “Dream On.” He was the one who wrote the lyrics. Similarly, he was the one who sang it in his real voice even though he sang everything else on the same release in something more regulated.