Certain songs have come to define the times in which they appeared as they proved to be the catalyst for the transformation of the cultural & political landscape. Most set trends in music, fashion & dance while flouting convention & testing the boundaries of society's accepted moral values. Each program in the Impact! series puts the spotlight on the songs that have left an indelible mark on the world. By any definition, Walk This Way, written by Aerosmith s Steve Tyler & Joe Perry, was your classic rock track. With its hooky guitar riffs & brazen, in-your-face vocal delivery, in the mid 70s, it was the song that set Aerosmith on the road to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; but little could the group have known that it would have a second life a decade later. On its release in 1986, Walk This Way became the original rap/heavy metal video crossover song. Run DMC was the bridge between old-school artists like Grandmaster Flash & the modern rap era. To quote Rolling Stone magazine, they sparked a movement in popular music with an impact similar to the British invasion in the early 60s. With their gold chains & Adidas, they were the first rappers to earn gold, platinum, & multi-platinum albums; the first to have their videos played on MTV; the first to appear on American Bandstand; & the first to grace the cover of Rolling Stone & the first non-athletes to endorse Adidas products. Run DMC brought rap to mainstream America. It wasnt long before hip-hop style & fashion from the street had started to be seen in the stores of suburban shopping malls. Run DMC had a very recognizable look & it started catching on. To this day, the popularity of products associated with the hip-hop culture is not only exclusive to African-American youth. The style & the music have crossed both race & color lines, not only in America, but also around the world. With song clips, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Jam Master Jay of Run DMC , Vernon Reid, Will Calhoun, Corey Glover, Doug Wimbish of Living Colour, Grandmaster Flash.

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