Album · 50 years old this year
Rocks
Rocks is the fourth studio album by Aerosmith, following Toys in the Attic and arriving on 13 May 1976 through Columbia. It sits at the heart of the band's 1970s run, before Draw the Line in 1977, and it was a hit straight away: it shipped platinum on release, one of the first albums to do so, and has since gone quadruple platinum.
What makes it worth hearing is the rawness. AllMusic said it caught the band at their most raw and rocking, and the songs bear that out. Three singles reached the Billboard Hot 100, with "Back in the Saddle" and "Last Child" both climbing into the Top 40. Its reach went well beyond the charts, too, influencing Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Nirvana, and Rolling Stone placed it at number 366 in its 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums.
Rocks: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 34:53Tracklist
- 1Back in the SaddleJoe Perry and Steven Tyler4:40
- 2Last ChildSteven Tyler and Brad Whitford3:27
- 3Rats in the CellarJoe Perry and Steven Tyler4:02
- 4CombinationJoe Perry3:38
- 5Sick as a DogTom Hamilton and Steven Tyler4:25
- 6Nobody’s FaultSteven Tyler and Brad Whitford4:40
- 7Get the Lead OutJoe Perry and Steven Tyler3:42
- 8Lick and PromiseJoe Perry and Steven Tyler3:04
- 9Home TonightSteven Tyler3:15
- Produced by
- Aerosmith, Jack Douglas, Paul O’Neill
- Recorded at
- The Record Plant (NYC, NY), The Record Plant Mobile Studio, Wherehouse Waltham, Wherehouse, Waltham, MA
- Recorded
- February–March 1976
- Mixed by
- James A. Ball, Paul O’Neill
- Engineered by
- James A. Ball, Jay Messina
- Artwork
- David Krebs, Leber-Krebs, Steven Leber
- Label
- Columbia
- Length
- 34:53
Line-up
- Tom Hamilton · electric bass guitar
- Joey Kramer · drums (drum set), percussion, background vocals
- Joe Perry · guitar, bass guitar, lead vocals, lap steel guitar
- Steven Tyler · keyboard, lead vocals, harmonica
- Brad Whitford · guitar
- Paul Prestopino · banjo · guest
Singles
- “Last Child”
- “Home Tonight”
- “Back in the Saddle”
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1976 | 3 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1976 | 13 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1976 | 14 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1976 | 45 |
| Swedish Albums · 1976 | 46 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1998 | Gold |
| Japan · 1977 | Gold |
| Canada · 1976 | Platinum |
| United States · 2001 | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
68.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
125k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
4.9k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 13 May
Every year →
More from Aerosmith
Full discography →
Aerosmith
1973
Get Your Wings
1974
Toys in the Attic
1975
Draw the Line
1977
Live! Bootleg
1978
Night in the Ruts
1979
Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits
1980
Rock in a Hard Place
1982
Done With Mirrors
1985
Classics Live!
1986
Permanent Vacation
1987
Vacation Club
1987
Gems
1988
Pump
1989
Pandora’s Box
1991
Get a Grip
1993
Pandora’s Toys
1994
Big Ones
1994
Box of Fire
1994
Nine Lives
1997
Made in America
1997
A Little South of Sanity
1998
Classic Aerosmith: The Universal Masters Collection
2000
Just Push Play
2001
Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology
2001
O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
2002
Honkin’ on Bobo
2004
Rockin’ the Joint
2005
Devil’s Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith
2006
Tough Love: Best of the Ballads
2011
Music From Another Dimension!
2012
Greatest Hits
2023
One More Time
2025
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More on Columbia
The label →
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Pink Floyd · 1987
Grace
Jeff Buckley · 1994
Dirt
Alice in Chains · 1992
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains · 1995
Black Ice
AC/DC · 2008
Power Up
AC/DC · 2020
Painkiller
Judas Priest · 1990
But Here We Are
Foo Fighters · 2023
Rock or Bust
AC/DC · 2014
Ixnay on the Hombre
The Offspring · 1997
Conspiracy of One
The Offspring · 2000
Toys in the Attic
Aerosmith · 1975
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1976-05-13; musicbrainz + wikidata 1976-05-03 (10 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 3 May 1976 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 13 May 1976 | |
| Wikidata | 3 May 1976 | |
| US release | 3 May 1976 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 14 May 1976 | earliest UK or European date |
26 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Columbia | 5099747496523 | other |
| 1976 | US | Columbia | other | |
| 1976 | US | Columbia | other | |
| 1976 | GB | CBS | other | |
| 1976 | US | Columbia | other | |
| 3 May 1976 | US | Columbia | original | |
| 14 May 1976 | XE | CBS | other | |
| 14 May 1976 | US | Columbia | other | |
| 1986 | US | CBS | other | |
| 1988 | DE | CBS | 5099703236026 | other |
| 1988 | US | Columbia | 074643416528 | other |
| 1988 | AU | CBS | 9399746673021 | other |
| 22 June 1988 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009611051 | other |
| 1 March 1991 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009606422 | other |
| 1993 | US | Columbia | 074645736327 | remaster |
| 7 September 1993 | US | Columbia | 074645736327 | other |
| 29 October 1993 | DE | Columbia | 5099747496523 | other |
| 21 November 1996 | JP | Sony Records | 4988009904894 | other |
| 29 February 2000 | US | Columbia | 074645736365 | other |
| 26 August 2011 | XW | Columbia | 074645736327 | other |
| 23 November 2011 | JP | Sony Records International | 4547366062427 | other |
| 2 November 2012 | XW | Columbia | 886443692671 | other |
| 19 April 2014 | US | Columbia | 888837906418 | other |
| 7 December 2022 | XW | Aerosmith P&D – Sony | 00074645736327 | other |
| 7 December 2022 | XW | Aerosmith P&D – Sony | 00602448778024 | other |
| 2023 | XE | Capitol Records | 602455099242 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |