"Crazy" is a
power ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...
performed by American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...
band
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
and written by
Steven Tyler
Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...
,
Joe Perry, and
Desmond Child
John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.
His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's " I Was Made for Lo ...
. It was the final single from their massively successful 1993 album ''
Get a Grip
''Get a Grip'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released in April 1993 by Geffen Records. ''Get a Grip'' was the band's last studio album to be released by Geffen before they returned to Columbia Records.
''Get a Gr ...
'', released in May 1994. "Crazy" peaked at number 17 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, number three in Canada, and number one in Iceland for two weeks. In Finland and the United Kingdom, it was released as a
double-A side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
with "
Blind Man", reaching number eight in the former country and number 23 in the latter.
Composition
The song is set in
A major
A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...
, and follows the time signature. It was written earlier, around the same time as "
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...
," but the band felt it had to "spread out their ballads to retain their rock image."
Music video
The video for the song was directed by
Marty Callner
Marty Callner (born 1950 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American television director, who has made music videos, comedy specials, concert specials, and television shows, in a career spanning from 1977 to present day. He is the creator of HBO's '' H ...
and received heavy rotation on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. It was one of the most requested videos of 1994.
It featured the third appearance of
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller '' The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further prominence at age 16 as a ...
in the band's videos, and was the career debut of Steven's then 16-year-old daughter,
Liv Tyler. The decision to cast Liv in the video for "Crazy" was based on the video's creators having seen her in a
Pantene
Pantene () is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1945 by Hoffmann-La Roche, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient. It was purchased by Procter & ...
commercial. "I understand why people might have a problem with ''
he video's content'," she remarked. "But I have no problem with it, and Steven has no problem with it. And if other people have a problem with it, it's their problem."
The film-like video depicts Silverstone and Tyler as schoolgirls who skip class and run away, driving off in a 1993 black
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
GT convertible in a manner similar to the 1991 film ''
Thelma & Louise''.
The two use their good looks to take advantage of a service station clerk and, needing money, enter an amateur
pole-dancing competition. The video is edited to show the similarities in stage moves of Steven Tyler and daughter Liv. The girls win the dance competition, then spend the night in a motel. They continue their joyride the following day, where they encounter a young, sweaty and shirtless farmer (played by model Dean Kelly) aboard a tractor tilling land in the countryside. They persuade him to join them in their journey, where they all go
skinny dipping
Nude swimming is the practice of swimming without clothing, whether in natural bodies of water or in swimming pools. A colloquial term for nude swimming is '' skinny-dipping''.
In both British and American English, to swim means "to move thro ...
in a lake. The girls take off with his clothes and leave him behind at the lake. Naked, he chases after them, and rejoins them in the convertible. The final seconds of the video show the word "Crazy" spelled out in cursive in the cropland by the still-running tractor as the farmer runs towards it and the girls drive off.
Jason London makes a short cameo at the end in a
tag scene, reprising his character from the "
Amazing" video.
Director's cut
A longer
director's cut
A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...
of the video appears on the compilation ''
Big Ones You Can Look At''. This version features a few more provocative clips, and a longer, more risque version of the pole-dancing competition scene. It also removes the scene in which the girls abandon the farmer after skinny-dipping with him. Both versions of the video include an extra
reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
of the chorus which is not included on the album and radio versions.
Accolades
The song earned the band a
in 1994.
This was the band's second Grammy win for ''Get a Grip'' and third overall.
The video for "Crazy" was ranked number 23 in
VH1's Top 100 Music Videos of All Time.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Legacy
The song appeared on several compilations including ''
Big Ones
''Big Ones'' is a compilation album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 1, 1994 by Geffen Records. ''Big Ones'' featured 12 hits from the band's three consecutive multi-platinum albums, '' Permanent Vacation'' (1987), ''Pump'' ( ...
'', ''
A Little South of Sanity
''A Little South of Sanity'' is a live album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released on October 20, 1998, by Geffen Records. The two-disc album features recordings taken while the band was on the Nine Lives Tour, which began in 1997 and ...
'', ''
O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits'' and ''
Devil's Got a New Disguise''. Despite bringing much success for the band in the mid-1990s, Aerosmith rarely performed it on tour until it was added to international shows on their
2007 World Tour due to overwhelming demand from fans. It was covered in ''
Glee'' by
Jacob Artist
Jacob Artist (born October 17, 1992) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his roles as Jake Puckerman on the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee'' and as Brandon Fletcher on the ABC drama-thriller series '' Quanti ...
and
Melissa Benoist
Melissa Marie Benoist ( ; born October 4, 1988) is an American actress, singer and producer. Her first major role was Marley Rose on the Fox musical comedy drama '' Glee'' (2012–2014), where she was a series regular during the fifth season. ...
,
mashed up with
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...
' "
(You Drive Me) Crazy
"(You Drive Me) Crazy" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her debut studio album, '' ...Baby One More Time'' (1999). Written and produced by Max Martin, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger with additional writing by Jörgen Elofsson ...
".
References
{{Authority control
Aerosmith songs
1990s ballads
1993 songs
1994 singles
Blues rock songs
Geffen Records singles
Music videos directed by Marty Callner
Number-one singles in Iceland
Song recordings produced by Bruce Fairbairn
Songs written by Desmond Child
Songs written by Joe Perry (musician)
Songs written by Steven Tyler
Glam metal ballads
Glam metal songs