What It Takes (6:29)

“What It Takes” is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Desmond Child. It was released in 1990 as the third single from Aerosmith’s critically and commercially successful 1989 album Pump. In the video The Making of Pump, A&R man John Kalodner described the song as “a fuckin’ masterpiece”.

The album version of the song is followed by an untitled hidden track.

The single reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
The song contained numerous references to other Aerosmith songs in its lyrics. Tyler spells “F.I.N.E.” after the first verse. He mentions that his “heart’s been doing time” (Hearts Done Time). The song contains other, smaller references. It is not uncommon for Aerosmith to reference their own songs within their songs (for example, “Eat The Rich” and “Just Push Play” both contain references to “Walk This Way”).