14 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart that December. "Hangman Jury," released as a promotional single in tandem with the album on Aug. and reestablished Aerosmith as world-conquering rock behemoths. The damage from the lawsuit paled in comparison to the success of Permanent Vacation, which sold 5 million copies in the U.S. Listen to Lead Belly Perform 'Linin' Track' Lead Belly's version of "Linin' Track" was posthumously released in 1989, and his estate subsequently sued Aerosmith for copyright infringement over "Hangman Jury." While Tyler incorrectly believed the song to be in the public domain, Lead Belly (born Huddie Ledbetter) had claimed authorship of "Linin' Track" several decades earlier, explained Vallance, who helped the reformed Toxic Twins get the song over the finish line. Tyler's lyrics - particularly the " Oh, boy, don't you line the track-a-lack-a" chorus - were inspired by "Linin' Track," a traditional folk song covered by several blues artists, including Taj Mahal and Lead Belly. The excitement and drive were built in, not supplied by a bottle or a drug." I kept telling myself that, as a sober kid, I had loved music. "The music for 'Hangman' reflected the rapport I'd always felt for Taj Mahal's deep-rooted blues," Perry wrote in Rocks. With its blustery harmonica, swampy guitar licks and ominous, back-porch storytelling about a man who shoots his (allegedly) adulterous wife, "Hangman Jury" consciously evoked the old blues greats Perry and Steven Tyler had been raised on - perhaps to a fault.