Nobody's Fault

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler's lyrics were inspired by a fear of earthquakes, which were big news in the '70s. In 1971, a quake hit San Fernando, California, killing 65 people, and another in 1972 took the lives of about 5,000 people in Nicaragua. The 1974 Charlton Heston movie Earthquake continued to stoke fear, as did reports that a fault line in New Jersey ran through a nuclear power plant. "Fault" refers to both the fault line and the idea that it's our fault as a civilization for ignoring the threat of earthquakes.

Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford wrote this song along with Steven Tyler. Whitford worked on the song with their producer, Jack Douglas, who was living with the band in the "Wherehouse," which was the rehearsal space outside of Boston where they also recorded much of the Rocks album using a mobile unit. Whitford, who played both rhythm and lead guitar on the track, came up with the lick, which Douglas recorded. He and Douglas then spent a lot of time trying out different ideas to come up with the track.

This song was never a hit, but many musicians have cited it as a favorite. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash said in Rolling Stone magazine, April 21, 2005: "The key to Rocks is the first two songs: 'Back In The Saddle' and 'Last Child.' That combination just ripped my head off. But my favorite song on the record has always been 'Nobody's Fault,' which is the second song on the B-side. Aerosmith had an aggressive, psychotic, drugged-out vibe, but at the same time they had a Stones-y blues thing going on. There was just nothing cooler than Aerosmith coming out of America at that point."