This Aerosmith Hit Was Inspired by James Brolin and Barbra Streisand’s Love Story

In 1998, Aerosmith released “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”. Written by Diane Warren, the song is part of the soundtrack for the hit film Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, and Billy Bob Thornton.

A four-week No. 1 hit, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” says, “I could stay awake just to hear you breathing / Watch you smile while you are sleeping / While you’re far away and dreaming / I could spend my life in this sweet surrender / I could stay lost in this moment forever / Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure / Don’t wanna close my eyes / I don’t wanna fall asleep / ‘Cause I’d miss you, baby / And I don’t wanna miss a thing.” 

Warren is known for writing romantic love songs. But this one she reveals was inspired by James Brolin and Barbra Streisand’s sweet love story. The couple got married in 1998. In an interview, Brolin said that when Streisand traveled, he missed everything about her. Even watching her sleep. It became the beginning of this massive hit.

What Diane Warren Says About Writing “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” for Aerosmith

Warren may have written “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by herself. Still, that doesn’t mean she necessarily likes all of the lyrics.

“Some of the lyrics, like ‘I can stay awake just to hear you breathing,’ I’d be like, ‘No, don’t do that,’” Warren admits. “’Don’t watch me breathe. I won’t be able to sleep. Go do something else.’ It’s so funny, because part of me would never want someone to say that to me. But then again, I write it.”

Celine Dion was also considered as a vocalist for “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”. But as soon as Warren heard Aerosmith’s lead singer, Steven Tyler, sing the song, she knew the rock band was the perfect fit. 

“I remember being at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, and sitting at the piano with [Tyler] and teaching him the song,” Warren remembers. “And just having chills all over my body as I heard the song come to life with his voice and knowing what it was going to be. It was an amazing experience. I’d written with Aerosmith before, and they’d never done the songs we wrote.”

Aerosmith singing “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” for Armageddon made the movie a family affair. Actress Liv Tyler is Steven Tyler’s daughter.

In 1998, Mark Chesnutt released a cover of “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”. The song became a No. 1 hit for Chesnutt, even though he deeply regrets recording the song.

Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage