| Eat the Rich | |
| Type: | single |
| B-Side: | Head First |
| Artist: | Aerosmith |
| Album: | Get a Grip |
| Released: | June 1993[1] |
| Length: | 4:10 |
| Label: | Geffen |
| Producer: | Bruce Fairbairn |
| Prev Title: | Livin' on the Edge |
| Prev Year: | 1993 |
| Next Title: | Fever |
| Next Year: | 1993 |
"Eat the Rich" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Jim Vallance and was released in June 1993 by Geffen Records as the second single from the band's eleventh album, Get a Grip (1993). The song had success on US rock radio, peaking at number five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In the UK it peaked at number 34,[2] and in Canada, it peaked at number 45. The band's next four singles and correlating videos garnered more mainstream success for the album.
The song quickly became a fan favorite and drew a rousing reaction from crowds when it was used as the band's opening song on the Get a Grip Tour. The band has played the song several times on the Route of All Evil Tour, despite being generally limited to a 13-song setlist.
The song was featured on the band's 1994 Geffen Records-era greatest hits album Big Ones as well as the first song on the live double-album A Little South of Sanity.
On Get a Grip, the song is preceded by a 23-second track called "Intro" which features heavy bass, rapid, quasi-tribal drumming, a reversed chorus of "Eat the Rich", rapid-fire lyrics by Tyler, and a sample of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" right at the end, before "Eat the Rich" starts. "Intro" also features a line from "F.I.N.E.*," a song from their previous album, Pump.
The music video features footage of the band recording parts of the song in the studio, as well as odd-ball occurrences such as eyeballs, bones, and other things which may suggest the cannibalistic overtone of the song. The video was directed by Greg Vernon and featured acting from A&R icon John Kalodner and comedian Anthony Clark.
In addition to "Amazing," "Eat the Rich" is featured on Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4 video game opening. It was one of the looped songs on Revolution X, Aerosmith's game by Midway Games but it was heard for a short time after playing.
Foghat released a cover of "Honey Hush", back in 1974, with a similar intro guitar riff as the main riff in "Eat the Rich."
| Chart (1993) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 45 | |
| UK Singles Chart (OCC) | 34 | |
| UK Airplay (Music Week)[3] | 28 |