What It Takes (Aerosmith song)


"What It Takes" is a power ballad by American hard rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Desmond Child, it was released in 1989 as the third single from the critically and commercially successful 1989 album Pump. "I'll put some ballads on an album," Tyler remarked, "if that's what it takes so that some young kid can get to hear a 'Young Lust' or 'F.I.N.E.*'."
In the video The Making of Pump, A&R man John Kalodner described the song as "a fuckin’ masterpiece". During live performances, Tyler sings the first verse a cappella and belts out a signature scream right before the chorus.
The album version of the song is followed by an untitled hidden track.

Music video

There are two videos for the song. One features the band performing in the Longhorn Ballroom. The other is culled from scenes from The Making of Pump, a film which documented the recording process of the Pump album. The latter received much greater airplay, and was also the version the band chose to include on their video collection Big Ones You Can Look At. The videos were directed by Keith Garde and Martin Torgoff.

Chart performance

The single reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Year-end charts