Who Inspired Aerosmith's 'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)' Revealed

One of the songwriters of Aerosmith's hit "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" has revealed that the signature line of the song was inspired by former Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil.

Desmond Child recently recalled co-writing the hit song during an interview with People (via UCR). The songwriter said, "They played me a backwards guitar loop that sounded like a boogie blues harmonica and Steven began singing 'Cruisin' for the ladies, da-dap da-dap… cruisin' for the ladies' and asked me what I thought. The first words out of my mouth were, 'I think that really sucks. It sounds like a bad Van Halen cast-off they wouldn't even put on the worst record of their enemy.'"

He then said that frontman Steven Tyler "sheepishly admitted that he had mistaken blonde mullet-topped Vince Neil of the band Motley Crue for a hot chick from behind at a bar and started to sing 'Dude looks like a lady.' I lit up and said, 'Now THAT'S a hit song title!'

[Guitarist Joe Perry] finally spoke up and flatly said, 'But we don't know what means.' I said, 'I know what that means,' and talked them into the premise of an average guy who 'cruised into a bar on the shore' and falls head over heels in love with the curvaceous stripper on stage, only to later find out that 'she' was a 'he'… but goes for it anyway."

Aerosmith MP3s, CDs, DVDs and more Aerosmith T-shirts and Posters More Aerosmith News Share this article Related Stories Aerosmith In The Studio For 50th Anniversary Wife Of Aerosmith's Joey Kramer Dead At 55 (2022 In Review) Aerosmith's Steven Tyler Entered Rehab (2022 In Review) Aerosmith's Joey Kramer Sat Out Las Vegas Residency Shows (2022 In Review) Aerosmith's Recently Discovered 1971 Recordings Set For Wide Release (2022 In Review)