“Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the first single from the Permanent Vacation album in 1987. It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #41 on the Hot Dance Club Play charts, and #4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was written by songwriter Desmond Child, lead guitarist Joe Perry and lead singer Steven Tyler, and is 4:24 long.
The song, which originally started out as “Cruisin’ for a Lady”, talks about a male with an effeminate appearance who is mistaken for a female. There is a story that the song was inspired by the glam look of the members of Mötley Crüe and their constant usage of the word “dude”. Steven Tyler says in the book Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith, “Then one day we met Mötley Crüe, and they’re all going, ‘Dude!’ Dude this and Dude that, everything was Dude. ‘Dude (Looks Like a Lady)’ came out of that session.”
Joe Perry came up with the chorus riff, and Tyler came up with the chorus refrain.
In his recent book, The Heroin Diaries, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe claims that the song was specifically inspired by Vince Neil, singer with Mötley Crüe.
The video for Dude (Looks Like a Lady) features the band performing live onstage as well as random moments of characters portraying transvestites, including a cameo appearance by A&R man John Kalodner dressed up in a wedding dress at one point. This is a joke based on the fact that Kalodner always dresses in white.
There are also some provocative sexual performances, both by lead singer Steven Tyler as well as an attractive female who has her skirt partially lifted to reveal an Aerosmith “wings” tattoo on her buttocks.
“Dude” picked up two MTV Video Music Award nominations in 1988 (the first for the band). It was nominated for Best Group Video and Best Stage Performance, but failed to gain the wins. The band made up for it eventually, winning over 10 “moon-men” and 4 Grammys in the 1990s.
The song has long been a staple on both rock radio and in concert, as the band has regularly rotated it into their setlists over the years.
The song has been featured on a number of subsequent compilations by Aerosmith including Big Ones, O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, Devil’s Got a New Disguise and the live album A Little South of Sanity.
According to Tyler, this is one of the two Aerosmith songs he is not very fond of performing on stage. The other song is “Angel”.
The song is notable for its inclusion as being part of an on-screen dance and air guitar sequence in Mrs. Doubtfire, along with being on the soundtrack for the 1993 film, starring Robin Williams and Sally Field.
It was also performed live by the band in the 1993 comedy film Wayne’s World 2 starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. The live version was featured on the soundtrack along with a live version of the band’s 1993 hit “Shut Up and Dance”.
In The Simpsons episode There’s Something About Marrying,”Veronica” is singing the song while Marge was spying on her shaving.
The song is performed by Julia Sweeney in It’s Pat!.
The song has been spoofed in the Design Notes of Dragon Fable because of the recent bug that results in female char’s transforming in to male char’s when equipped the ranger armor. Artix ( creator of Artix Entertainment) said the song should be Lady looks like a Dude
The song is used in the Aerosmith-themed Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Shakira performed the song live to honor Aerosmith during the band’s MTV Icon.
The song was played at Philadelphia Flyers home games when Jaromir Jagr appeared for the visiting team.
In The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode, Billy Gets an ‘A’, Grim makes a reference to the song when he sees Billy’s dad as a woman in an alternate universe by saying “Dude looks like a lady!”.
Noel Fielding refers to it as a song for his androgynous attire in art college.