10 Failed Songs That Became Cult Classics
5. Dream On - Aerosmith
Rock music as we know it would be in a different place if Aerosmith hadn't released "Dream On." While the rest of the band's output is based in blues rock, this experiment with classical music from Steven Tyler gave the world the first real power ballad, which would be seen in the hard rock world for generations to come. It's hard to imagine pop music without this song, but upon release, the public responded with a bunch of blank faces.
Originally part of the band's debut record, the single that would go on to define Aerosmith's career was sidestepped by rock radio as just another generic rock and roll offering. This could have down to timing though, as Aerosmith's label had a bigger interest in new recruit Bruce Springsteen than these Bad Boys out of Boston.
The band still had some road work to do, but once they cracked the charts with Toys in the Attic, they re-released "Dream On" to rock radio, where it slowly starting gaining traction until it became their biggest song. There's a lot of slip-ups that afflict rock music from time to time, but if this piece of rock music went under the radar, a whole new genre of music probably wouldn't have had a prayer.