Between 1987 and 1992 I co-wrote a dozen songs with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.  I learned a lot, I had a lot of fun, and I came away with enormous respect for Aerosmith's talent, integrity, their brotherhood as a band, and their commitment to music as a positive force.

Aerosmith are unique as individuals and they're unique as a group. In all of Rock-n-Roll there are few bands that can match their energy and innovation, on-stage or in the studio.

In March 1987 I was brought onto the "Permanent Vacation" session by my friend Bruce Fairbairn.  A few months earlier Bruce had been hired by Geffen Records guru John Kalodner, and given the task of producing Aerosmith's "come-back" album.

Bruce, in turn, enlisted a handful of trusted people he'd worked with in the past: songwriter Desmond Child, audio engineer Bob Rock, assistant engineer Mike Fraser, and me, among others.

John Kalodner: In January 1987 I go to the band's rehearsal hall in Somerville in the dead of stinking Boston winter during a horrible blizzard. They play me what they've been rehearsing. Tyler had part of "Dude" but it wasn't together. I returned two weeks later in another stinking blizzard and they'd made basically no progress. The songs were just a collection of rehearsal riffs, not really happening. I listened as politely as I could, made some notes, and thought, "I gotta get somebody to fix these songs". I didn't know how they'd react to what I had to say next: "Look, here's what an A&R person does. I need to bring in some people to help you write songs".

Steven Tyler: I told him if he knew someone I could write lyrics with and have as much fun as when I'm writing with Joe Perry, then please bring 'em in.

John Kalodner: In April they moved to Vancouver and started to work with Jim Vallance. From then through June they came up with most of the tracks.

(From the book "Walk This Way - The Autobiography of Aerosmith" by Stephen Davis).