Fresh from their MusiCares Person of the Year gala honors the night before, Aerosmith took the stage at Sunday night’s (Jan. 26) 2020 Grammy Awards to teach the kids how its done. Singer Steven Tyler walked out into the audience with trusted sidekick guitarist Joe Perry, leaning in to let Grammy winner Lizzo get some on the chorus of 1993′ “Livin’ on the Edge.”
And then the iconic beat and shuffling riff of the Rock Hall of Famer’s 1977 hit “Walk This Way” lit up the stage, as Tyler tossed off his jacket to reveal a black vest while Perry played the song’s riff on a small satellite stage with the singer in the middle of the Staples Center floor. “Whoa, whoa, wait… what’s happenin’?” Tyler growled, while Perry suggested they “try a little something different.”
Just then, Rev. Run and DMC of Run-D.M.C. busted through a fake brick wall on the center of the main stage and the dynamic duo’s beat-heavy 1986 hit remake filled the air, with Run-DMC asking the audience to throw their hands in the air as the arena floor exploded into a sea of waving digits and nostalgic smiles. The celebration of the first true rap-rock hit single saw Tyler, wearing a sideways Aerosmith baseball hat, trading verses with the rap duo while Perry ripped off solos on a white custom electic guitar.
As the performance wound down a member of Run-DMC’s crew held up a No. 24 Lakers jersey in honor of late hometown b-ball legend Kobe Bryant, who was among eight people killed in a tragic helicopter accident earlier in the day. With everyone from Lizzo to Keith Urban, Gary Clark Jr., Flavor Flav and super-producer Jimmy Jam bobbing their heads along to the song’s inescapable beat, the high-energy reboot was a triumphant reminder of the power of music to bring everyone together.
Watch a clip of the performance above.
