300-201 | 1000greatestsongs

The song was written during a break in a poker game at a music industry convention in Nashville. As Penn told writer Robert Gordon, the duo “were always wanting to come up with the best cheatin’ song—ever.”Now seen as a southern-soul classic, “The Dark End of the Street” was one of several minor hits for
Carr. - Will Fulford-Jones

British Invasion

Chips Moman / Dan Penn

James Carr

The Dark End of the Street (1967)

299

Some reports suggest the group wanted to cover The Collegians’ single “Zoom Zoom Zoom” of 1958; Stu Phillips disliked the song but liked the bomp-baba-bomp bass riff, and got the singers to marry it to the much-loved Rodgers and Hart standard “Blue Moon.” Within weeks, this daffy, dynamic piece of doo-wop fluff had topped the Billboard Hot 100. - Will Fulford-Jones

Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers

The Marcels

Blue Moon (1961)

298

Pop/Rock / R&B

Early R&B / Doo Wop

Al Green

The song sets Green’s sinewy, slightly strained falsetto against a chiming guitar, bass, and insistent
drumbeat cushioned by wordless backing vocals, the whole punctuated by abrupt unison interruptions
from The Memphis Horn Section. As Green laments his loneliness, the song builds to an anguished climax. It was a peerless piece of music. - Simon Adams

Al Green

Tired of Being Alone (1971)

297

One of the most popular of all the sports rock anthems started life as a demo by Chip Taylor. The tune was brought to international acclaim by a group called the Troggs. As a song, "Wild Thing" is little more than the same three-chord progression as "Louie Louie" with a deadpan vocal that belies its sexual message. The Troggs' hit version features the unlikely use of an ocarina in the middle for the instrumental solo. - Cub Koda

Chip Taylor

The Troggs

Wild Thing (1966)

296

It's often acknowledged as a rock'n'roll classic. It's also the archetypal rock'n'roll song of conflict between the outlaw and the law."I Fought the Law" establishes an exciting, dramatic atmosphere right from the outset with low heavy drum rolls. The tone of the record is actually pretty upbeat and celebratory. - Richie Unterberger

Garage Rock

Sonny Curtis

Here is a rare case where Bernie Taupin's lyrics compliment perfectly an exceptional Elton John melody. And it may just be for the basic reason that Taupin keeps it simple. The result is a near-perfect song, with an aching melody, sentiment, and performance."Your Song"'s self-consciousness as a song written as a gift for a loved one. - Bill Janovitz

Elton John

Your Song (1970)

294

Singer/Songwriter / Soft Rock

Benjamin Nelson / Lover Patterson / George Treadwell

"There Goes My Baby" was a landmark record in rock and soul music, as one of the first big hits to effectively use orchestration and strings, yet remain identifiably a pop-rock song. What made it sound somehow different than most doo wop songs, though, was the thundering low tympani drum underscoring the voices. - Richie Unterberger

The Drifters

There Goes My Baby (1959)

293

Brill Building Pop / Doo Wop

Michael Brown / Bob Calilli / Tony Sansome

The rock era's quintessential expression of unrequited love, the exquisite "Walk Away Renee" was the biggest hit of the Left Banke. Left Banke mastermind Michael Brown composed the song when he was just 16. Its combination of angelic harmonies, chamber-like string arrangements, and harpsichord-driven melody boasting uncommon complexity and drama. - Jason Ankeny

The Left Banke

Walk Away Renee (1966)

292

Baroque Pop / Sunshine Pop

Hank Ballard

“The Twist” is a foundational dance-craze record. It had different goals to accomplish than most pop songs. It didn’t have to tell a story or speak to the vagaries of young love or pile harmonies on top of each other in arresting ways. It just had to pound hard and communicate excitement. It had to get people out on the floor. “The Twist” did exactly what it was supposed to do. - Tom Breihan

Chubby Checker

The Twist (1960)

291

Pop/Rock / R&B

Bono / Adam Clayton / The Edge / Larry Mullen, Jr.

"With or Without You" has Bono unleashing all his vocal power, moving from a soft, subtle intro and middle to an explosive burst of unyielding energy toward the end.The Edge's astute but assertive guitar work creates a momentous rhythm that builds ever so slightly. Bono's poetic deftness, when examined closely, reveals that "With or Without You" isn't a love song at all, but one tinted with the enlightening effects of soul searching. - Mike DeGagne

U2

With or Without You (1987)

290

Contemporary Pop/Rock

Alex Kapranos / Nick McCarthy

Franz Ferdinand had a way with equally sharp lyrics and hooks, and the "Take Me Out" single took their sound to dramatic new heights. "Take Me Out" remains unmatched for sheer drama; with its relentless stomp and lyrics. It's deliciously unclear whether it's about meeting a date or a firing squad. - Heather Phares

Franz Ferdinand

Take Me Out (2004)

289

Indie Rock

Kenny Gamble / Leon Huff

"If You Don't Know Me By Now" is an all-time landmark of Philly soul. The Blue Notes discovered a new singer with a baritone range: a dynamic young drummer turned frontman named Teddy Pendergrass. Right from the first line he intones, the passion, vulnerability, and off-the-beat phrasing mark him as R&B's next great singer. It's a distinctly adult love song. - Steve Huey

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes

If You Don't Know Me By Now (1972)

288

Despite decades of slams, get-lows, and hip-hop hoorays, no dumb-out arena anthem has proven as sublimely Pavlovian as House of Pain’s indomitable cattle prod “Jump Around.”“It’s the kind of shit you can put a lampshade on your head and act an idiot to,” accurately observes Danny Boy, the crew’s resident agitated synapse. “It’s our generation’s ‘Louie Louie.'” - Christopher R. Weingarten

Lawrence Muggerud / Erik Schrody

House of Pain

Jump Around (1992)

287

East Coast Rap

Mario Caldato, Jr. / Michael Diamond / Adam Horovitz

Suddenly the Beastie Boys, once dismissed by radio programmers as too hip for the masses, were dominating the airwaves like never before. “Intergalactic,” was racking up radio airplay at a dizzying array of formats within the fragmented world of radio. A hit at modern rock and college radio, where the Beasties have always been embraced, the song was storming the charts. - Eric Boehlert

Beastie Boys

Intergalactic (1998)

286

Electronic / Rap

Hip Hop

Kim Deal

Kim writes pop to her own recipe. On “Cannonball,” that means off-kilter hooks discovered while goofing around in the studio, shrieks of feedback, choruses yelled through harmonicas, false endings, and eerily hummed harmonies.The lyrics seem similarly lackadaisical, although Kim has since claimed that the song was an elaborate mockery of the writings of the Marquis de Sade. - Stevie Chick

The Breeders

Cannonball (1993)

285

Alternative Pop/Rock

Marshall Mathers / Labi Siffre / Andre Young

After Dr. Dre heard his freestyle sound on a local Los Angeles radio station Eminem became Dr. Dre's prodigy. "My Name Is" was the No. 1 video on MTV and one of the most requested songs on rock and urban radio stations. Since the language on this song would make any one's mom take the CD and burn it, stations play the edited version of "My Name Is."None the less, more Eminem will emerge as 1999's best new rap artist. - Amanda Nusbaum

Eminem

My Name Is (1999)

284

Such a classic, it’s easy to overlook how weird and disturbing it sounded when it first hit MTV in time for Christmas 1998 — so flamboyantly artificial, so post-Mentos inhuman. TLC later claimed they turned down the song. Can you imagine a worldly-wise adult like T-Boz selling a teen-psycho line like “When I’m not with you, I lose my mind”? No way. Only Britney. - Rob Sheffield

Hardcore Rap / Pop-Rap

Max Martin

Britney Spears

...Baby One More Time (1999)

283

The ultimate diva anthem. Equal parts dancefloor juggernaut and Broadway show-stopper, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" remains the disco era's definitive expression of feminine empowerment, a gloriously over-the-top celebration of strength, independence, and finger-wagging defiance in the face of heartbreak and loss. - Jason Ankeny

Dance-Pop

Dino Fekaris / Freddie Perren

Gloria Gaynor

I Will Survive (1977)

282

It certainly seems to be about two dysfunctional people torn between emotional need and deep-seated hatred.The song makes clear the man is as much to blame as the woman for this state of affairs, and the chorus even parodies his weakness.The song married its often morbid images with a slow, deliberate melody. - Mark Deming

Disco

Kurt Cobain

Nirvana

Heart Shaped Box (1993)

281

Alternative Rock / Grunge

David Alexander / Ron Asheton / Scott Asheton / James Osterberg / Iggy Pop

It was this ode to canine carnality that really let the dogs out into rock ’n’ roll. The Stooges shunned late-Sixties hippie-dippy love-song tropes for a rude mating ritual about the agony and the ecstasy of adolescent sex. Vocalist Iggy delivers a snotty-nosed sermon about subservient, screwed-up love. It reflects Iggy’s
obsession with the brutish minimalism of the blues. - MK

The Stooges

I Wanna Be Your Dog (1969)

280

“Shout,” the song they fashioned, became a standard and—eventually—a huge seller, in spite of modest chart performances. Is a thrilling party record, built around an invigorating call-and-response interplay that defied
anyone not to get involved. - Matthew Horton

Garage Rock

O'Kelly Isley / Ronald Isley / Rudolph Isley

The Isley Brothers

Shout (1959)

279

Bono / Adam Clayton / The Edge / Larry Mullen, Jr.

The song was deeply inspired by American gospel music. Supposedly the album version was very different from the first attempt, when the song was called "Under the Weather": "The original was more loose, almost Jamaican..." The Edge said.This song was U2's second straight number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. - JT Griffith

U2

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (1987)

278

It not only astounded listeners, who’d never, ever, heard anything like it before, but it also set the singer a near- impossible bar to scramble over with every subsequent release. A haunting and ethereal reinvention of Emily Bronte’s windswept, heather-ripped moors love story, delivered in an octave shattering span.Bush’s trademark vocal punch always pushed through, as the song’s variegated streams of emotion demanded. - Amy Hanson

Alternative Pop/Rock

Kate Bush

Kate Bush

Wuthering Heights (1978)

277

The funky, hooky beat and the repetitive lyrics made it seem like a hip love song. Honoring Asha Bhosle, the great Indian film music singer, the boys in Cornershop managed to make the whole of Indo-British culture seem cool. "Brimful of Asha" shows a band that had grown to the point where such sampling no longer seemed random or messy, but deliciously full and chaotic. - Stacia Proefrock

Art Pop

Tjinder Singh

Cornershop

Brimful of Asha (1997)

276

The song became punk’s curtain-raiser as the opening track on Patti Smith’s debut album, Horses. The song is divided in two, with Smith’s “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” segueing into “the Van Morrison version.”Smith’s earlier part has an opening line that few of the punk poets would ever match: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” - David Hutcheon

Indie Rock

Patti Smith / Van Morrison

Patti Smith

Gloria (1975)

275

Proto-Punk

Snoop Dogg / Calvin Broadus

It was "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang," the first single that really put Snoop Doggy Dogg in the public eye.This song was perhaps the archetypal G-funk single. It blended Parliament/Funkadelic beats and lyrics that celebrated life on the streets and the amoral toughness it took to survive there. Coupled with his inventive rhymes, Snoop's distinctive style made him a superstar before he'd even released a recording of his own. - Steve Huey

Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

Nuthin' But a "G" Thang (1992)

274

Peebles told Memphis Flyer, “One night we were at the house getting ready to go to a concert . . . and
it was just pouring down with rain, and thunder was cracking. All of a sudden I popped up and said,
‘Man, I can’t stand the rain.’ And Don [Bryant] looked at me and said, ‘Ooh, that’s a good song title!’” The song was written that evening, and a hit was made. - David Crawford

G-Funk / Gangsta Rap

Ann Peebles / Don Bryant / Donald Bryant / Bernard Miller

Ann Peebles

I Can't Stand the Rain (1973)

273

The Everlys' characteristic ebullient harmonies paced the insistent chorus, their vocal lines rejoined by especially emphatic, somewhat bluesy, guitar licks.The tune's lyrics, in contrast to the immediately memorable melody and arrangement, sound a tad corny these days. - Richie Unterberger

Boudleaux Bryant / Felice Bryant

The Everly Brothers

Wake Up Little Susie (1957)

272

Country

Country-Pop / Rockabilly

Lamont Dozier / Brian Holland / Eddie Holland

Heat Wave established the full-throated, up tempo sound that would become the group’s trademark. Is at its core unambitious commercially popular dance music, but it’s some of the best dance music of the mid-sixties and its still fun to listen to many years out of its generational context. - Richard Gilliam

Martha & the Vandellas

Heat Wave (1963)

271

"'Pride' is the best song we've ever written," said Bono in a 1984 interview, and perhaps to date it was. Nearly 20 years later, it would still hold pride of place in U2's live set and was considered a modern rock classic.The freedom-fighting anthem is alternately gentle and powerful from verse to chorus, but the soundscape is unrelenting. - Denise Sullivan

Bono / Adam Clayton / The Edge / Larry Mullen, Jr.

U2

Pride (In the Name of Love) (1984)

270

So what can one say about what has been called the greatest American folk song ever written? Perhaps you could bring up the fact that the success of "This Land Is Your Land,"was drenched in an irony that made even the then-dying Guthrie wretch. Many would be surprised to learn that it was written as a protest song and bitter parody of "God Bless America". - Barry Weber

Alternative/Indie Rock

Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie

This Land Is Your Land (1944)

269

Folk

Traditional Folk

Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart

"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" was an able showcase for Larry Graham's innovative bass-playing skills.The band gleamed a lot of their inspiration from their concerts and their own individual influences. Graham was a huge fan of guitarist Freddie Stone, which may explain some of the nimbleness in his playing.The track's groove influenced Janet Jackson's 1989 gold single "Rhythm Nation." - Ed Hogan

Sly & the Family Stone

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (1970)

268

The lyrics track the course of a relationship, but from scattered viewpoints—a songwriting style that grew from Dylan’s fascination with Cubism.The song, then, becomes a collage of shards. Emotionally, it creates a seesaw effect. Musically, this same motion is reflected in chords that pull apart and then resolve. - Sophie Harris

Funk / Psychedelic Soul

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Tangled Up in Blue (1975)

267

Lyrically, it was one of songwriter John Fogerty's strongest and most uncompromising statements. It's more of a screed against the privileged in general, using and subscribing to patriotism while sending others to do the dirty work of fighting. The guitar riffs are effective enough, starting with the slightly devious, curling one that opens the track. - Richie Unterberger

Singer/Songwriter

John Fogerty

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Fortunate Son (1969)

266

An atypically romantic song for Springsteen at the time, nevertheless, the tinkling piano intro is unmistakably his. The universal theme that lovers are often separated throughout the days but the nighttime, whether in dreams or in reality, is reserved for them is what gives the song its strong, anthemic quality. - Denise Sullivan

Hard Rock

Patti Smith / Bruce Springsteen

Patti Smith

Because the Night (1978)

265

Greenwich and Barry’s own recollection is that they’d simply run out of words to fit the tune, so they ad-libbed in the hope that something better would present itself. When it didn’t, they relied on the listener’s imagination to fill in the blanks. Which, of course, it did. Dolores Brooks treatment of “Da Doo Ron Ron”, so vastly different to Love’s knock-out assault, enchanted Spector from the moment he even imagined it. - Dave Thompson

Album Rock

Jeff Barry / Ellie Greenwich / Phil Spector

The Crystals

Da Doo Ron Ron (1963)

264

"Gimme Shelter" is the Rolling Stones song most apt to be called apocalyptic.The eerie, high, wordless vocals and dramatic piano that preface the verse add to the feeling that something dreadful is approaching.The words, are ambivalent and ambiguous. The Stones took the unusual step of having some of the backup vocals,sung by African-American session singer Merry Clayton. - Richie Unterberger

Girl Groups

Mick Jagger / Keith Richards

The Rolling Stones

Gimme Shelter (1968)

263

It's near impossible to mention Deep Purple's 1972 classic "Smoke on the Water" and not immediately think of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's trademark guitar riff. The song's lyrics contain a true story. Strangely, the band was not impressed initially with the song, and it was not issued as a single in the U.S. - Greg Prato

Album Rock

Deep Purple

Smoke on the Water (1972)

262

Ritchie Blackmore / Ian Gillan / Roger Glover / Jon Lord / Ian Paice

The Beastie Boys were now just as likely to rock your world with punkfunk guitar noise as with two turntables and a microphone.“Sabotage” took
shape when Adam Yauch dreamed up its dramatic, stop-start dynamic. The final track was completed only
two weeks before the album was submitted to their parent label. - Stevie Chick

Hard Rock

MCA / Mike D / Ad-Rock

Beastie Boys

Sabotage (1994)

261

Alternative Rap / Rap-Rock

Henry Cosby / Sylvia Moy / Stevie Wonder

During a brainstorming session, Wonder pulled out a few lines of a song he was working on. All the singer/songwriter had was the line "everything's alright, uptight." Clarence Paul, seeing the beginnings of a hit song. The dynamic "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" parked at number one R&B for five weeks and made it to number three pop in early 1966. - Ed Hogan

Stevie Wonder

Uptight (Everything's Alright) (1966)

260

First sketched out by Berlin in early 1940, “White Christmas” appeared in 1942, sung by Bing Crosby
in the movie Holiday Inn. With U.S. involvement in World War II escalating, the song’s sentimentality
struck a chord with listeners parted from loved ones. Five years after the original hit, Crosby was asked to re-record “White Christmas” because of the
degradation of the original master plate. - Will Fulford-Jones

Pop-Soul

Irving Berlin

Bing Crosby

White Christmas (1942)

259

Vocal

Christmas / Traditional Pop

Gene Pitney

"He's a Rebel," was the record that elevated Spector from one of many middling hitmakers into an industry phenomenon. As has since been revealed, as on many Crystals tracks, the vocalists were not the Crystals, and the lead singer was non-Crystal Darlene Love.The arrangement was unusually dense for the period, with two bass players and two guitarists. - Richie Unterberger

The Crystals

He's a Rebel (1962)

258

R&B / Pop

Girl Groups

Stig Anderson / Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus

"Dancing Queen" helped ABBA achieve another massive international hit by bending the group's signature blend of pop hooks and European influences to the popular disco sound of the day. It also benefits from a sophisticated melody that builds from languid yet seductive verses to a dramatic chorus. The result is a song whose sincerity and sheer musicality have allowed it to outlast the disco boom and become a standard of dance-pop. - Donald A. Guarisco

ABBA

Dancing Queen (1976)

257

It is fitting that “Sunshine of Your Love” should be so fêted all these years later, therefore, because it too
epitomizes this synthesis of new and old. It is both simple and complex. However, the song evolved into a riff-storm of enormous power. Like all the best compositions, the lyrics do not have to make grammatical sense.“Sunshine of Your Love” was, and remains, a statement encapsulating both the vibe of its era and the talents of its creators. - Joel McIver

Euro-Pop

Pete Brown / Jack Bruce / Eric Clapton

Cream

Sunshine of Your Love (1967)

256

“If these two people could swap places,” Bush declared, “if the man could become the woman and the woman the man...perhaps they could understand the feelings of that other person in a truer way.” The galloping drums were programmed by Bush’s then-partner, Del Palmer.Bush compromised, so as not to sabotage the album, and the results were conclusive: now she was pioneering and commercially successful. - Gerry Kiernan

Blues-Rock

Kate Bush

Kate Bush

Running up That Hill (1985)

255

Alternative Pop / Art-Pop

Beyoncé / Shawn Carter / Rich Harrison / Eugene Record

“The song talks about how, when you’re in falling in love, you do things that are out of character and you
don’t really care...” Beyoncé told writer Dennis Hensley. At first, she dismissed the distinctive horn riffs, sampled from a 1970 Chi-Lites single, as too retro. Nevertheless, Rich Harrison two hours later, he had written the verses and the hook. - Olivia McLearon

Beyoncé & Jay-Z

Crazy in Love (2003)

254

Pop / R&B

Urban

Hank Williams

A mournful tale of loneliness, the song contains some of the most evocative lines Williams ever wrote. He married the lyric to a melody that is equally simple and graceful, resulting in the kind of song that sounds like it was never written.That quality is the reason why the song has been performed by all kinds of musicians. Williams pulled off a neat trick writing a song that's undeniably personal, yet universal enough to make it convincing - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hank Williams

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (1949)

253

Country

Traditional Country

Jeff Barry / Ellie Greenwich / George "Shadow" Morton

The quintessential girl group record, for better or worse.Teen melodrama at its most piquant, the song embraces so many hallmarks of the genre that it teeters on the verge of self-parody but pulls back from the brink on the strength of Shadow Morton's wonderfully cinematic production. - Jason Ankeny

The Shangri-Las

Leader of the Pack (1964)

252

Recorded after the album's UK release and subsequently added to American pressings, that finally cracked the top 10. During a halcyon year, and preceding ruinous legal wranglings with Silvertone Records, this single would prove to be the Stone Roses' crowning achievement, and it was also among the career highs of producer/engineer John Leckie. - Richard Buskin

Girl Groups

Ian Brown / John Squire

The Stone Roses

Fools Gold (1989)

251

Madchester / Alternative/Indie Rock

Fred Foster / Kris Kristofferson

Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" was a defining performance that remains her signature song. It unites hippie-ish ideals of personal and romantic freedom with the wanderlust of Jack Kerouac's On the Road and a rootsy musical backdrop that links those concepts with the essence of America. Joplin's shuffling, driving blues-rock version became the definitive one. - Steve Huey

Janis Joplin

Me and Bobby McGee (1971)

250

With “Israelites,” Desmond Dekker became the first Jamaican artist to achieve truly international
popularity. More importantly, the record paved the way for other ska and reggae acts to follow. Dekker’s words not only included some obscure cultural references, but were also delivered in an accent impenetrable to most non-Jamaicans. - Marcus Weeks

Album Rock

Desmond Dekker

Desmond Dekker & the Aces

Israelites (1968)

249

Reggae

Ska

Paul Weller

"Going Underground" captured both the punk energy of the band's nascent releases while also maintaining commercial appeal. The thundering drum and crunching guitar intro is an instantly arresting launch pad for social disgust Weller wrote into the song's lyrics. It is the sort of visceral performance that had long made them a favorite on the live circuit. - AllMusic

The Jam

Going Underground (1980)

248

Alternative Rock / New Wave

Van Morrison

Very few rock & roll songs rival the sexual excitement and anticipation of Van Morrison's "Gloria." The song became a garage rock anthem. Them never varies from the three chords, utilizing only dynamic changes to heighten the tension. Van Morrison's thin growl is hardly recognizable if compared to his later solo singing. - Bill Janovitz

Them

Gloria (1965)

247

British Invasion / Garage Rock

Mike Love / Brian Wilson

“I Get Around” sounds a lot like the group’s early surf-music singles, but it’s a progression, too. The lyrics aren’t surf-specific. Instead, they’re a timeless flex.Is a song about being really fucking good at being a teenager. The harmonies pile all over each other with dizzy aplomb, and there’s real momentum in that twanged-out guitar and those feverish handclaps. - Tom Breihan

The Beach Boys

I Get Around (1964)

246

Called simply the “la la la” song by Kylie Minogue herself, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” was the
hypnotic anthem that turned the Australian pop princess into a bona fide music icon. The song’s
infectious hooks were the ideal match for Minogue’s sex-kitten delivery.The futuristic video was as captivating as the song. - Eloise Parker

Rob Davis / Cathy Dennis

Kylie Minogue

Can't Get You Out of My Head (2001)

245

"Blowin' in the Wind" transformed Bob Dylan from hipster folky to cultural sensation. Dylan makes a complex song sound deceptively simple.Though it's masked in naturalistic thinking, "Blowin' in the Wind" is an encapsulation of Eastern thinking within abstract songwriting that made the charts and became one of the most famous standards of the rock era. - John Bush

Dance-Pop

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Blowin' in the Wind (1963)

244

Folk

Singer/Songwriter

Prince

Frequent Prince collaborator Susan Rogers says Sundays had a profound effect on the artist. It was on such a quiet Sunday that Prince came up with one of his best-loved and most far-reaching songs. Working with programmer Todd Harriman, Prince created almost all of the music using the groundbreaking Fairlight Synthesizer. The social commentary tone of the lyrics resonated with the public. - Ed Hogan

Prince

Sign 'O' the Times (1987)

243

It was “Yakety Yak” that secured the band’s legacy as a primary architect of rock ‘n’ roll.The Coasters found immediate success by spinning what their mentors called “playlets”. In the case of “Yakety Yak,” the playlet addressed the everyday dance between parent and
teen around the household chores.The Coasters’ doo-wop–inspired four-part vocal attack. - Jim Harrington

Contemporary Pop/Rock

Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller

The Coasters

Yakety Yak (1958)

242

America in the mid-'60s was a truly grand time and place to be alive; where else could five greasy-looking teenagers who sounded like they were still learning their instruments cut a record in someone's living room and not only see it win nationwide release, but hit number one on the Billboard singles charts? Rock & roll doesn't come much more gloriously dumb than "96 Tears". - Mark Deming

Early R&B / Rock & Roll

Rudy Martinez

? & the Mysterians

96 Tears (1966)

241

The tune was turned down in its originally R-rated lyrics form by Chess Records chief Leonard Chess before being rewritten by Ellas McDaniels for a second go-round."Bo Diddley" is fueled by what can only be called a jungle beat made up of intricate polyrhythms. Bo Diddley's simple beat has ended up becoming one of the most plagiarized rhythms in the history of 20th century popular music. - Cub Koda

Psychedelic/Garage

Ellas McDaniel

Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley (1955)

240

Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" started out as an anti-drug song.The title originally referred to the axiom "let's get on with life." The record caused a controversy because of its overtly sexual theme. While working on the lead vocals, Townsend had Gaye improvise lyrics over the chorus. The spontaneity comes through like a quickie. - Ed Hogan

Marvin Gaye / Edward Townsend

Marvin Gaye

Let's Get It On (1973)

239

“See Emily Play,” was 1967’s greatest British hit not to bear a Lennon/McCartney imprint.The song was originally named for an ambitious London show by the Floyd, Games for May, but Syd Barrett rechristened it “See Emily Play” after being inspired by the sight of a
“psychedelic schoolgirl.”a member of their audience at London’s UFO Club. Yet “hardly any special effects were used,” said keyboardist Rick Wright. - Bruno MacDonald

Smooth Soul

Syd Barrett

Pink Floyd

See Emily Play (1967)

238

Their sound was never more otherworldly than on the groundbreaking “Get Ur Freak On.” Elliott’s jolting, boastful rap over Timbaland’s aggressive bhangra beat shook the hip-hop scene into a new era of experimentation. The genre-defying exoticism triggered a landslide of reinterpretation. - Eloise Parker

British Psychedelia

Missy Elliott / Timothy Mosley

Missy Elliott

Get Ur Freak On (2001)

237

Smokey Robinson remarked on its circus feel, and this
triggered memories of the lonely clown who has to keep his audiences smiling.The Miracles recorded the result, releasing it on their 1967 LP, Make It Happen.Three years later, the long-forgotten song had been released as a single and hit No. 1. Detroit office was skeptical but took the cut, slowed it down, and overdubbed a drum track that gave the song more drive. - David Hutcheon

Pop-Rap / Urban

Henry Cosby / Smokey Robinson / Stevie Wonder

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

The Tears of a Clown (1967)

236

"Roadrunner" is a garage band classic, one of those exuberant rock & roll grooves that was a specialty of the Velvet Underground. It is a chant more than a song; an anthemic ode to the highway in the great rock & roll tradition. Much of the lyric of "Roadrunner" is concerned more with the way the words themselves sound than the actual meaning. - Bill Janovitz

Pop-Soul

Jonathan Richman

The Modern Lovers

Roadrunner (1976)

235

Berry and his band went through 35 takes of "Maybellene" before coming up with one that he liked. Berry's opening guitar run, cranked up to full volume, was joined by Willie Dixon's bass and Jasper Thomas's drums, while Johnnie Johnson pounded the ivories somewhere around the lyric. The tempo made "Maybellene" a solid piece of rock & roll when that was new. - Bruce Eder

Proto-Punk

Chuck Berry / Russell Fratto / Alan Freed

Chuck Berry

Maybellene (1955)

234

The band silenced all their doubters only a few months after Scott's untimely death, with the mega-hit Back in Black, which saw ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson taking Scott's place in the lineup.The song confirmed that the band was far from over, and that they'd returned stronger than ever. The song features one of AC/DC's most instantly recognizable guitar riffs. - Greg Prato

Brian Johnson / Angus Young / Malcolm Young

AC/DC

Back in Black (1980)

233

There's a Spectorian Wall-of-Sound flair to the production. The melody of the verses of "The Loco-motion" is catchy and singable. But it's made much more soulful.The possibilities for lyrical expression in a song about how to do a dance are limited, and Goffin-King wisely vary the pace with a bridge that slows down the rhythm with a clap-along rhythm.Originally Little Eva was intended only as the singer for the demo. - Richie Unterberger

Hard Rock

Gerry Goffin / Carole King

Little Eva

The Loco-Motion (1962)

232

Brill Building Pop / Girl Groups

Brian Burton / Thomas Callaway / Gian Piero Reverberi / Gianfranco Reverberi

“Crazy” was a force of nature that made the album and the band seem like afterthoughts. Listeners were swept away by its blend of modern beats and old-school soul.The vocals sounded appealingly
androgynous, which only heightened their evocativeness.With subtle production touches, such as warm string arrangements, and the best sing-along chorus in memory. - Jim Harrington

Gnarls Barkley

Crazy (2006)

231

Pop / R&B

Neo-Soul

Larry Beckett / Tim Buckley

Some cover versions become better known than the originals.This Mortal Coil’s version of Tim Buckley’s heartbreaking lament is one of them. “Song to the Siren” was intended as a B-side, but its perfect evocation of lovelorn imagery, with Fraser extracting even more melancholy melody than Buckley, saw it promoted to the A-side of the first Mortal Coil single. - Chris Bryans

This Mortal Coil

Song to the Siren (1984)

230

As a great song should, "Sound of Silence" starts with the microcosmic world of a relationship and the inability for two to communicate, and in the larger context of the tumultuous '60s takes on a greater significance.The lyric, while a bit sophomoric at times, showed the promise of a writer with talent that would develop over time.The duo harmonizes sweetly on the incredibly haunting melody. - Bill Janovitz

Dream Pop

Paul Simon

Simon & Garfunkel

The Sound of Silence (1966)

229

Folk

Folk-Rock

Sam Cooke / Clarence Paul / Ed Townsend

"You Send Me" skips along with the weightless, light touch of Nat King Cole, a giddy tune that captures the feeling of falling in love, with a breezy tune, a jazzy beat, and a few simple verses. "You Send Me" established Cooke's sweet, slightly hoarse voice and swinging style for the mass pop audience.The song has become a soul standard. - Bill Janovitz

Sam Cooke

You Send Me (1957)

228