"Mama Kin" is a song by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

, which appeared on its debut self-titled album

Aerosmith (album)

Aerosmith is the eponymous debut album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in January 1973 by Columbia Records. The song "Walkin' the Dog" is a cover song originally performed by Rufus Thomas. Also featured on the album is "Dream On" which became an American top ten single when...

. The song was written by lead singer 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...

.

Song structure

The song comprises a basic guitar riff, with a strong rhythm backbeat which comes in between lyrics in the verse and throughout the bridge. There are also saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

s interspersed throughout the song.

Legacy

The song has also been a live staple of Aerosmith concerts throughout the band's career (including up to their most recent tour

Route of All Evil Tour

The Route of All Evil Tour was a North American concert tour co-headlined by American hard rock band Aerosmith and heavy metal/glam metal band Mötley Crüe that took the bands to 40 amphitheaters and arenas from September to December 2006...

 in 2009). Live versions of the song appeared on Live! Bootleg

Live! Bootleg

Live! Bootleg is a double live album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in 1978.While most of the performances were drawn from concerts in 1977 and 1978, the covers "I Ain't Got You" and "Mother Popcorn" were taken from a radio broadcast of a Boston performance on March 20, 1973.The...

, Classics Live, and A Little South of Sanity

A Little South of Sanity

-Personnel:*Tom Hamilton – bass*Joey Kramer – drums, percussion*Joe Perry – guitar, backing vocals, talkbox on "Sweet Emotion", pedal steel guitar on "Rag Doll"*Steven Tyler – lead vocals, percussion*Brad Whitford – guitar...

.

The song has also appeared on several Aerosmith compilations including Gems

Gems (album)

-Personnel:*Steven Tyler - lead vocals, harmonica, piano, producer*Brad Whitford - rhythm guitar*Joe Perry - lead guitar, backing vocals*Tom Hamilton - bass*Joey Kramer - drums, percussionAdditional musicians*Jimmy Crespo - lead guitar on "Jailbait"...

(1988), 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...

(1991), Pandora's Toys (1995), O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (2002) and Greatest Hits 1973–1988 (2004).

Noteworthy references to the song

• In the early 1990s, the band opened up a music club called the Mama Kin Music Hall in their hometown of Boston, Massachusetts - the club has since closed.

• Steven Tyler has a tattoo on his arm with the phrase "Ma' Kin." He got it when the band was writing its first album because he had so much confidence in the song. Tyler and Perry have both said that his arm was too thin to fit the whole title.

• Shinedown
  Shinedown
  Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
  
   references to "smokin' tea with Mama Kin" in their song "Cry for Help" on the Sound of Madness
  Sound of Madness
  "Sound of Madness" is the third single by the rock band Shinedown from their 2008 album The Sound of Madness and is also the album's title track, despite the exclusion of the word "the" in the song's title. The song was chosen to be the title track after some road testing on a short run of dates....
  
  album.

• The Swedish band Mama Kin are named after the song.

Guns N' Roses version

The song was covered by Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...

 in 1986 and released in the same year in their EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide. It was later re-released on their 1988 EP G N' R Lies

G N' R Lies

-Personnel:*W. Axl Rose - lead vocals, whistle on "Patience"*Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar, rhythm acoustic guitar on tracks 5-8, backing vocals*Slash - lead guitar, lead acoustic guitar on tracks 5-8...

. There's also a live version of Guns N' Roses performing the song along with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. This was from Guns N' Roses live from Paris pay per view special.

"Mama Kin" in other media

• Mama Kin is featured as a re-recorded track on the video 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...
  
  .
• The song is mentioned in song Cry for help by the American band Shinedown
  Shinedown
  Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
  
  .