Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album Toys in the Attic (1975).

It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s.

[5] The song starts out with a two measure drum beat intro by Joey Kramer, followed by a guitar riff composed by Joe Perry.

The song proceeds with the main riff, with Perry and Brad Whitford on guitar with Tom Hamilton on bass.

Loving "their riffy New Orleans funk, especially 'Cissy Strut' and 'People Say'", he asked the drummer "to lay down something flat with a groove on the drums."

[6]When bandmate Steven Tyler heard Perry playing that riff, he "ran out and sat behind the drums and [they] jammed."

Deciding to take a break from recording, band members and producer Jack Douglas went down to Times Square to see Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

Returning to the studio, they were laughing about Marty Feldman telling Gene Wilder to follow him in the film, saying "walk this way" and limping.

Cash Box said that "Steve Tyler's vocal is aggressive, gritty and right on as he literally spits out a slew of lyrics while never losing clarity" and that "the music itself is hardboiled rock.

The line "I took a chance at the high school dance never knowing wrong from right" references lyrics from the songs "Walk This Way" and "Adam's Apple" respectively.

[22] In 1986, the hip hop group Run-DMC covered "Walk This Way", in collaboration with Aerosmith (with its leaders Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on vocals and guitars, respectively).

While Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels had no idea who Aerosmith were at that time, Rubin suggested remaking the song.

Neither Simmons nor McDaniels liked the idea, and considered the lyrics "hillbilly gibberish",[25][26] though Jam Master Jay was open to it.

This version of "Walk This Way" charted higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than the original, peaking at number 4, becoming Run-DMC's biggest hit.

"[31] The song marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, as they had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years while Tyler battled addiction and Perry and Brad Whitford were out of the band.

[citation needed] The chorus of Run-DMC's cover contains a pitch alternation that Aerosmith adopted in most future live performances.

[32] The 1986 video for "Walk This Way" symbolically places a rock band and Run-DMC in a musical duel in neighbouring studios before Steven Tyler literally breaks through the wall that separates them.

Small had an office at 1775 Broadway, the same building where Run-DMC's label Profile Records were based: Profile's co-owner Steve Plotnicki approached Small about directing the video, as he had directed another video by a black act that had broken through into rotation onto the then predominantly white rock-oriented MTV, Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All".

[34] Aside from Tyler and Perry, none of the other rock musicians in the video are the Aerosmith members; instead, they were played by Roger Lane, J. D. Malo, and Matt Stelutto—respectively rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer of the largely unknown hair metal outfit Smashed Gladys.

As only Tyler and Perry had traveled to record the cover, they were the only Aerosmith members to appear, even though the entire band was credited in some releases of the remake.

Plotnicki described the atmosphere on set as "beyond chilly", whilst Smashed Gladys lead guitarist Bart Lewis was struck by the fact that interaction between the members of Aerosmith and Run-DMC was minimal.

DMC and Steve Tyler closed-out the July 2005 "Celebration of the Seas" event on Key Largo with a stage performance of "Walk This Way".

Contemporary music critics criticised the cover version, but supported the single due to its fundraising nature.

cover is nearly identical to the original version, the Girls Aloud/Sugababes version has a few changes tweaked into the song; the additional line "Walk this way, you wanna talk this way" is added, the lyrics are moved around, and the beat is slightly sped up and realized on a drum machine to add a further dance feel to the song.

[70] "Walk This Way" is notably the first Girls Aloud single to date not to feature production from Brian Higgins and Xenomania, who have also worked with Sugababes.

[71] Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud said, "It's a fantastic song and hopefully will raise tons of money for people living in really difficult situations here and in Africa.

[70] The video includes cameos from Davina McCall, Lily Cole, Stephen Mangan, Graham Norton, Ruby Wax and Natalie Cassidy.