- Cryin'
-
This article is about the song by Aerosmith. For act of shedding tears, see Crying.
"Cryin'" 
Single by Aerosmith from the album Get a Grip B-side "Walk on Down" Released October 1993[1] Format CD, Cassette Recorded 1992 at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, California and/or Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, Canada[2] Genre Hard rock, blues rock Length 5:08 Label Geffen Writer(s) Steven Tyler
Joe Perry
Taylor RhodesProducer Bruce Fairbairn[2] Certification Gold (RIAA)[3] Aerosmith singles chronology "Eat the Rich"
(April 1993)"Cryin'"
(October 1993)"Amazing"
(November 1993)Music video "Cryin'" on YouTube "Cryin'" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Taylor Rhodes. It was released by Geffen Records in October 1993 as a single from their April release, Get a Grip.[1] The song features a music video with Alicia Silverstone.
Contents
Chart performance
Chart (1993) Peak
positionAustria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[4] 5 Canada (RPM100 Singles)[5] 8 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[6] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 3 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[8] 17 US Billboard Hot 100[9] 12 US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[9] 1 US Billboard Mainstream Top 40[9] 11 Chart (1994) Peak
positionFrance (SNEP)[10] 6 Germany (Media Control AG)[11] 7 Norway (VG-lista)[12] 1 End of year chart (1993) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 60 Song structure
The song begins with a bluesy guitar-oriented intro. It then becomes stripped down during the first verse, before going into a heavier arrangement for the first chorus. The song picks up in even more steam during the second verse before mellowing out during the third verse. The chorus repeats several times throughout the song.
The song is also highlighted by the clear guitar parts of Brad Whitford and Joe Perry, who each play guitar solos on the song. There is also a notable harmonica solo by Steven Tyler towards the end of the song before the last refrain of the chorus.
A strong rhythm section is provided by bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer, as well as synthesizers.
The song samples the famous chord progression from Pachelbel's Canon.
Music video
A screenshot of Alicia Silverstone's character getting a navel piercing in the music video for "Cryin'".
The music video for the song, directed by Marty Callner, features the first appearance of Alicia Silverstone in the band's videos, as well as the band performing in the Central Congregational Church in Fall River, Massachusetts.[14] The song flashes back and forth between the band and Alicia Silverstone, who plays a teen who has a falling out with her boyfriend (played by Stephen Dorff) after catching him cheating. She feigns an attempt to kiss him, but instead leans away annoying him. She then punches him and shoves him out of the car leaving him in the dust. She begins a phase of rebellion and individuality and gets a navel piercing, which has largely been credited as introducing navel piercing to mainstream culture.[15] After having her purse stolen by another young man (played by then-unknown Josh Holloway of Lost), she chases him down and knocks him to the ground. The video then cuts to her standing on the edge of an overpass bridge, contemplating jumping. Her ex-boyfriend arrives on the scene, along with numerous police officers, encouraging her to come down from the overpass. She jumps, but a rope is revealed, arresting her fall and leaving her dangling over the freeway, laughing at Dorff's character. The video ends with the dangling Silverstone looking up at Dorff and giving him the finger.
The video was a smash success on MTV, becoming one of the most requested videos in 1993, and earning the band several awards at the Video Music Awards.
Awards
- MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year, 1994[16]
- MTV Video Music Award for Viewer's Choice, 1994[16]
- MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video, 1994[16]
Legacy
- The song was the most successful single from Get a Grip and has consistently been a staple on rock radio stations, and even seeing considerable airplay on Top 40/pop stations.
- The song has always been a concert staple for Aerosmith, for nearly every tour they have done since the Get a Grip Tour in 1993.
- The song has also been featured on several compilations (Big Ones, O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits) and live albums (A Little South of Sanity).
- Steven Tyler and Christina Milian sang and performed the song in the film Be Cool.
- The song appears in the main setlist of the rhythm videogame Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
File sharing lawsuit
Main article: Capitol v. Thomas"Cryin'" was one of the 24 songs, for which the first file-sharing copyright infringement lawsuit brought by major record labels to be tried to a jury. Jammie Thomas, single mother of four, was found liable in a 2007 trial for downloading the 24 songs from Kazaa and ordered to pay $222,000 ($9,250/song) in damages. In a second trial, in 2009, a jury again found against Thomas, this time awarding $1,920,000 ($80,000/song) in damages.
References
- ^ a b Strong, Martin (2002) [First published in 1994]. The Great Rock Discography (Sixth ed.). United Kingdom: Canongate Books. ISBN 1 84195 312 1.
- ^ a b (1994) Album notes for Big Ones by Aerosmith [CD insert]. U.S.A.: Geffen Records (GEFD-24716).
- ^ RIAA Certification Search Type "Cryin" under Title and "Aerosmith" under Artist to see the results.
- ^ "Aerosmith – Cryin' – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
- ^ "RPM - Item Display: Top Singles - Volume 58, No. 14, October 16, 1993" (.Php). Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2270&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Aerosmith – Cryin'" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Aerosmith – Cryin'". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
- ^ a b c "Aerosmith - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/aerosmith-p3508/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Aerosmith – Cryin'" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Aerosmith – Cryin'". VG-lista. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1993.php. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- ^ MTV Onair - Icon
- ^ Aerosmith - BME Encyclopedia
- ^ a b c http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1994/
Categories:- Aerosmith songs
- 1993 singles
- Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one singles
- MTV Video of the Year Award
- Music videos directed by Marty Callner
- Rock ballads
- Songs written by Taylor Rhodes
- Songs written by Joe Perry
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
