Off of their first LP, this is one of Aerosmith’s biggest early hits, along with “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion.”

Frontman Steven Tyler began writing the song on his father’s Estey upright organ as a teen and finished it on a piano in the basement where the band lived in the early 1970s. He claims the ‘chordage’ of the song came from laying under his father’s piano as a child and listening to him play.

On its original 1973 release, “Dream On” charted at #59 (though regionally in New England it was more successful). But after the top 40 success of “Sweet Emotion” from their 3rd album in 1975, the re-release of “Dream On” sent the song all the way to #6 the following year. It remained their biggest hit until “Angel” reached #3 twelve years later.

“Dream On” is a bittersweet take on aging, and how one should continue to live one’s life to the fullest as time is a commodity that we don’t have control over and the “good Lord” is able to take us away at any time.

In 2003, Eminem interpolated “Dream On” into his song “Sing For The Moment”. Joe Perry played the guitar solo towards the end of Em’s song.