"Kings and Queens" is a song performed by American

People of the United States

The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

 hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band Aerosmith

Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...

. It was written by Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...

, Brad Whitford

Brad Whitford

Bradford Ernest Whitford is the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith. He graduated Reading Memorial High School in 1970.-Career:...

, Tom Hamilton

Tom Hamilton (musician)

Thomas William "Tom" Hamilton is an American musician, best known as the bassist of hard rock band Aerosmith. He has co-written two of Aerosmith's hits, "Sweet Emotion" and "Janie's Got a Gun". Hamilton occasionally plays guitar and sings backing vocals Thomas William "Tom" Hamilton (born...

, Joey Kramer

Joey Kramer

Joseph Michael "Joey" Kramer is the drummer for the American hard rock band Aerosmith....

, and Jack Douglas

Jack Douglas (record producer)

Jack Douglas is an American record producer. He was born in New York City. Starting out as folk musician and performer, he worked on Robert Kennedy's senatorial campaign as a song-writer. Douglas then moved to England and joined a succession of bands before returning to New York to attend the...

, their producer, who helped the band write many of the songs on Draw the Line. The song first appeared on the album Draw the Line in December 1977 and was released as a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 on February 21, 1978. The song was also used as a B-side to Aerosmith's version of The Beatles' "Come Together," released to promote the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" film and soundtrack.

Lyrical meaning

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...

 explained the lyrics to "Kings and Queens" in the liner notes

Liner notes

Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

 to Pandora's Box

Pandora's Box (album)

-Disc two:-Disc three:-Recording locations:*Back in the Saddle- Recorded at the Wherehouse, Waltham, Mass. & Record Plant Studios, NYC, Feb-March 1976*Cheese Cake- Recorded at Media Sound and Record Plant Studios, NYC, May-Aug., 1979...

:

Charts

Chart (1978)	Peak position
Canada (RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... 100 Top Singles)	76
US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...  Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	70

In concert

The song was a staple of Aerosmith concerts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was included on the album Classics Live!. However, the band has rarely played it since. The band brought the song back into the setlist during shows in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 and Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

 in 2005 and 2006 on the Rockin' the Joint Tour

Rockin' the Joint Tour

The Rockin' the Joint Tour was a North American concert tour headlined by Aerosmith, that ran from 2005-2006. The tour was put on in support of their live album titled Rockin' the Joint which was released in the fall of 2005. The first leg ran from October 30 to February 24 hitting most major...

 and in São Paulo, Brazil and Sölvesborg, Sweden

Sölvesborg

Sölvesborg is a locality and the seat of Sölvesborg Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden with 7,883 inhabitants in 2005.Sölvesborg is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city...

 in 2010 on the Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour

Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour

The Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Aerosmith that took place during mid-2010. In late spring and early summer of 2010, the band performed in South America and Europe, respectively, marking their first concerts on those continents since 2007. During...

. However, the band tends to favor performing Draw the Lines other single, the title track

Draw the Line (song)

"Draw the Line" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, and was released in 1977 as the first single from the album Draw the Line. It peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100...

, which has become a live staple as of late.

Covers and other versions

The song was included on the album Aerosmith's Greatest Hits in 1980, and Greatest Hits 1973–1988 in 2004, however it was considerably edited, taking out many of the guitar parts. This version is sometimes heard on radio, although many rock stations do play the full version.

"Kings and Queens" is a master track in the game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. It was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, with a Wii version developed by Vicarious Visions, a PlayStation 2 version by Budcat Creations and with a PC and Mac version by Aspyr Media...

 and is unlocked upon beating the last song, "Train Kept A-Rollin".

The Aerosmith tribute band 'Draw the Line' can frequently be heard performing the song.