Aerosmith Considered This Album Their Real “Breakthrough,” Thanks to This Invisible Sixth Band Member

Aerosmith’s debut single, “Dream On”, is an impressive and rare example of a band’s first big hit sticking around for decades—without becoming a one-hit wonder. The first single from the Boston band’s eponymous first album remains a staple on rock radio today.

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However, if the band were to trace their breakthrough to one specific album, it would be the one they put out two years after Aerosmith.

Why ‘Toys In The Attic’ Was Aerosmith’s True Breakthrough

Toys In The Attic featured multiple hit singles, including the ultra-popular cuts “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion”. These two, along with “Dream On”, are some of the band’s best-known songs. But from an insider’s perspective, Toys In The Attic had two crucial elements that Aerosmith was missing. A sense of cohesion amongst the musicians and an invisible, behind-the-scenes sixth member.

“Our first two albums were basically comprised of songs we’d been playing for years live in the clubs,” guitarist Joe Perry recalled in his memoir, Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith. “With Toys, we started from scratch. It was our first album that was written from the ground up. Making this record, we learned to be recording artists and write songs on a deadline. In the process, we began to see just what Aerosmith could accomplish. With everyone throwing in ideas, Toys was our breakthrough.”

“Everyone,” in this case, included a sixth bandmate who never made it on stage. But he played an integral role in the album’s sound just the same.

The Invisible Sixth Member of the Boston-Based Rock Band

Much in the same way that George Martin guided The Beatles musically in the studio, Aerosmith found a similarly kindred spirit in their producer, Jack Douglas. Although Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were the driving forces of the band’s sound as lyricist and guitar riff generator, respectively, Douglas also played a significant role in the overall arrangement of the songs and the album itself. He pushed them beyond their own expectations and tied up their contributions with a neat, polished (or purposefully unpolished) bow.

Perry called Douglas the “facilitator” of the band’s breakthrough on Toys In The Attic. “In the studio, he moved into the slot of the sixth member of the band. Jack was funny, loose, hip, tough, and New York. He was perfectly suited to our musical sensibility. We loved him. Just as we knew how to play our instruments, Jack knew how to play the studio. Together, we made magic.”

The guitarist also said that one of Douglas’ biggest skills was his ability to encourage others, something that helped the band as they navigated their new territory of “recording artists” and not just a “local bar band.”

And indeed, to say this collaboration was successful is an understatement. Toys In The Attic remains Aerosmith’s most commercially successful studio album of all time, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and earning a nine-time platinum certification from the RIAA.

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