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Eat the Rich (Aerosmith song)

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"Eat the Rich"
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Get a Grip
B-side"Head First"
ReleasedJune 1993[1]
Length4:10
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bruce Fairbairn
Aerosmith singles chronology
"Livin' on the Edge"
(1993)
"Eat the Rich"
(1993)
"Fever"
(1993)
Music video
"Eat the Rich" on YouTube

"Eat the Rich" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Jim Vallance and was released in June 1993 by Geffen Records as the second single from the band's eleventh album, Get a Grip (1993). The song had success on US rock radio, peaking at number five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In the UK it peaked at number 34,[2] and in Canada, it peaked at number 45. The band's next four singles and correlating videos garnered more mainstream success for the album.

The song quickly became a fan favorite and drew a rousing reaction from crowds when it was used as the band's opening song on the Get a Grip Tour.[citation needed] The band has played the song several times on the Route of All Evil Tour, despite being generally limited to a 13-song setlist.

The song was featured on the band's 1994 Geffen Records-era greatest hits album Big Ones as well as the first song on the live double-album A Little South of Sanity.

Structure

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On Get a Grip, the song is preceded by a 23-second track called "Intro" which features heavy bass, rapid, quasi-tribal drumming, a reversed chorus of "Eat the Rich", rapid-fire lyrics by Tyler, and a sample of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" right at the end, before "Eat the Rich" starts. "Intro" also features a line from "F.I.N.E.*," a song from their previous album, Pump.

Music video

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The music video features footage shot at Soundtrack Studios in Boston, documentary footage of the band recording parts of the song in the studio at Longview Farm In Massachusetts, as well as behind the scenes footage form a photo shoot with photographer Wayne Maser in New York City. Elements such as eyeballs, skulls, horns, etc., were added to suggest the cannibalistic overtone of the song. The video was shot, directed and edited by Peter Martinez and Produced by Ellen Stanford and featured appearances from A&R icon John Kalodner, comedian Anthony Clark and WBCN radio dj Mark Parenteau.

Other

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In addition to "Amazing," "Eat the Rich" is featured on Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4 video game opening. It was one of the looped songs on Revolution X, Aerosmith's game by Midway Games but it was heard for a short time after playing.

Foghat released a cover of "Honey Hush", back in 1974, with a similar intro guitar riff as the main riff in "Eat the Rich."

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Eat the Rich" (LP Version)4:15
2."Fever" (LP Version)4:19
3."Head First" (Previously unreleased)5:05
4."Livin' on the Edge" (Demo version)5:08

Charts

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Chart (1993) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 45
UK Singles Chart (OCC) 34
UK Airplay (Music Week)[3] 28

References

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  1. ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 7.
  2. ^ "Aerosmith Chart History". Official Charts. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 10 July 1993. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2024.