This Memorial Day Weekend, the Home of Rock and Roll conducted its annual countdown of the top 500 songs of all time. The countdown also coincided with the 45th anniversary of the first time WPDH signed on the air as a rock station in the Hudson Valley. This year's #1 pick caused quite a stir. Here's the full list for anyone who wants to see where their favorite song wound up on the ultimate list.
kiss 500 greatest rock songs ever
"Kiss" is widely considered one of Prince's finest songs. In 2016, Paste ranked the song number two on their list of the 50 greatest Prince songs,[17] and in 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Prince songs.[18]
The song alternates between two distinct rhythms: a fast-paced 44 rock beat, panned entirely to the left channel; and a half-speed quiet storm-inspired percussion section. The guitar and horns break in the middle of the track musically references the themes to Dragnet and Peter Gunn (two songs the Art of Noise covered with much commercial success) as well as their own breakthrough hit, "Close (to the Edit)" and "Paranoimia", their 1986 collaboration with Max Headroom. Jones changes the lyric line of "Women, Not Girls rule my world" to "Women and Girls, rule my world."
American author, music journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus, writing for Rolling Stone magazine at the time of its release, praised the song, stating that the band has "never done anything better".[3] "Gimme Shelter" has placed in various positions on many "best of/greatest" lists including that of Rolling Stone magazine.[8] In 2021 "Gimme Shelter" was ranked at number 13 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[9]
Greil Marcus, writing for Rolling Stone magazine at the time of the "Gimme Shelter"'s release, stated that "[t]he Stones have never done anything better".[41] Pitchfork placed it at number 12 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[42] Ultimate Classic Rock put the song at number one on their Top 100 Rolling Stones songs[43] and number three on their Top 100 Classic Rock Songs.[44]
It had to be this, right? Being "banned in guitar shops" doesn't alter the fact that this epic from Zep's fourth album is undeniably better than any other song because it somehow manages to cram pretty much every single rock genre into one sprawling eight minute slice of brilliance, not to mention that Jimmy Page solo...
When it comes to rock lore, where do you start with this song? From its original birth in the fabled Bron-Yr-Aur cottage, to accusations of backwards Satanic messages, to copyright lawsuits, to the famous Gibson doubleneck guitar, it's rightly gone down in legend as the greatest rock song ever.
Easily the most subversively ingenious song to ever reach number 1 in the UK charts. The fact that it did it TWICE nearly 20 years apart was just showing off. This song, above all others, summed up exactly what Queen were, whilst changing rock music forever.
Free Bird*. Lynyrd Skynyrd. The ultimate expression of Southern rock. Perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay Free Bird is that when that fade starts to happen about 30 seconds before the end you simply don't want it to end. It's like five minutes of foreplay followed by an almighty explosion of duelling guitar solos and Southern rock brilliance.
A staple of rock radio since the moment it was released in 1970, All Right Now is an unceremoniously joyous record that simply screams sunshine and happier times. Not to mention that pretty much every human on the planet can probably sing the chorus, even if they have never heard of Free.
The Who's defining moment closed their greatest album. Eight and a bit minutes of incendiary guitars, synthesisers, drums and vocals combining to provide one of the most euphoric rock songs of all time.
Written in minutes and with a riff born out of a guitar warm up exercise, this song most definitely had inauspicious beginnings. It remains the greatest example of why rock ballads don't have to suck.
Emerging from an event so catastrophic that it would have destroyed lesser bands, AC/DC's highest placing song in this poll is the greatest tribute they could have paid to their former singer, Bon Scott - celebratory, wild and a killer riff that never gets old
The closest thing to a pop song that Zeppelin ever did - three and a half minutes of raw rock fire-power which does exactly what it says on the tin. It also has the greatest drum intro to any song EVER.
The song which put Rush into the UK singles might have been a loveletter to great radio but it was also a prophetic warning about the commercialism creeping into the medium. While the song is the band's biggest single, it's no less complex or arresting than the rest of their work - musically prodigious and melodically profound, it's everything that rock should be.
If anyone ever asks you to "explain rock music" then - without saying anything - dig out your copy of Highway To Hell, turn the volume up loud and press play. That moment when the drums first kick in remains one of the most thrilling in the history of music.
1.The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead (1986). Rough Trade.What distinguishes it as the greatest ever made? For one thing, timelessness. It is a state-of-the-nation address which seems impervious to the passage of years. Morrissey and Marr compliment each other perfectly. It is one of those select few albums which seem to transcend its influences, working them into something singular and new.
Stairway to Heaven was the most popular song released by Led Zeppelin. The vocalist Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page contributed a lot towards the song. This is identified as one of the best rock songs of all time. Also, the song Stairway to Heaven is made out of three different sections. In each of the sections, the volume and tempo are increasing progressively. The song begins with a slow tempo and proceeds to a higher tempo, which makes it a unique and a one of a kind masterpiece.
These 70 or so songs may not be the be-all and end-all of Jewish contributions to popular music in the rock era, or even the best of those. But they do serve convincingly to suggest that contribution was significant and influential, as well as provide fodder for plenty of well-meaning, good-natured argument and debate.
1956: (18 songs) LaVern BAKER: Jim Dandy (1956) Johnny CASH: I Walk the Line (1956) Bill DOGGETT: Honky Tonk (1956) Fats DOMINO: Blueberry Hill (1956) Lonnie DONEGAN: Rock Island Line (1956) The FIVE SATINS: In The Still Of The Nite (1956) The INK SPOTS: If I Didn't Care (1956) Little Willie JOHN: Fever (1956) Frankie LYMON and The Teenagers: I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent(1956) Frankie LYMON and The Teenagers: Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1956) Carl PERKINS: Blue Suede Shoes (1956) Carl PERKINS: Matchbox (1956) Elvis PRESLEY: Heartbreak Hotel (1956) Elvis PRESLEY: Love Me Tender (1956) Little RICHARD: Good Golly, Miss Molly (1956) Little RICHARD: Tutti Frutti (1956) Otis RUSH: I Can't Quit You Baby (1956) Gene VINCENT & His Blue Caps: Be-Bop-A-Lula (1956)
1966: (33 songs) The BEACH BOYS: God Only Knows (1966) The BEACH BOYS: Good Vibrations (1966) The BOBBY FULLER FOUR: I Fought The Law (1966) The BYRDS: Eight Miles High (1966) The COUNT FIVE: Psychotic Reaction (1966) DONOVAN: Sunshine Superman (1966) The FOUR TOPS: Reach Out I'll Be There (1966) The HOLLIES: Bus Stop (1966) Tommy JAMES And The Shondells: Hanky Panky (1966) B.B. KING: Sweet Little Angel (c. 1966) The KINKS: A Well Respected Man (1966) The LEFT BANKE: Walk Away Renee (1966) The MAMAS AND THE PAPAS: California Dreamin' (1966) The MIRACLES: Going To A Go-Go (1966) The MONKEES: I'm A Believer (1966) The MONKEES: Last Train To Clarksville (1966) Aaron NEVILLE: Tell It Like It Is (1966) ? AND THE MYSTERIANS: 96 Tears (1966) Otis REDDING: Shake (1966) Otis REDDING: Try A Little Tenderness (1966) Mitch RYDER & Detroit Wheels: Devil With A Blue Dress On/GoodGolly Miss Molly ('66) The SHADOWS OF KNIGHT: Gloria (1966) Percy SLEDGE: When A Man Loves A Woman (1966) The STANDELLS: Dirty Water (1966) The SUPREMES: You Can't Hurry Love (1966) The TEMPTATIONS: Ain't Too Proud To Beg (1966) TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: Pressure Drop (c. 1966) The TROGGS: Wild Thing (1966) IKE & TINA TURNER: River Deep, Mountain High (1966) Jackie WILSON: [Your Love Keeps Lifting Me] Higher and Higher(1966) Stevie WONDER: Uptight (Everything's Airight) (1966) The YARDBIRDS: Shapes Of Things (1966) The YOUNG RASCALS: Good Lovin' (1966)
1967: (26 songs) The BEATLES: A Day in the Life (1967) The BEATLES: Strawberry Fields Forever (1967) The BOX TOPS: The Letter (1967) BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD: For What It's Worth [Stop, Hey What's ThatSound] (1967) The DOORS: Light My Fire (1967) The DOORS: The End (1967) Aretha FRANKLIN: Chain Of Fools (1967) Aretha FRANKLIN: I Never Loved A Man [the Way I Love You] (1967) Aretha FRANKLIN: Respect (1967) Etta JAMES: Tell Mama (1967) JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: Somebody to Love (1967) JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: White Rabbit (1967) Albert KING: Born Under A Bad Sign (1967) MOBY GRAPE: Omaha (c. 1967) Van MORRISON: Brown Eyed Girl (1967) The MOTHERS OF INVENTION: Brown Shoes Don't Make It (1967) PINK FLOYD: See Emily Play (1967) PROCOL HARUM: A Whiter Shade Of Pale (1967) SAM & DAVE: Soul Man (1967) The SEEDS: Pushin' Too Hard (1967) SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: Dance To The Music (1967) SPENCER DAVIS GROUP: Gimme Some Lovin' (1967) TRAFFIC: Dear Mr. Fantasy (1967) VELVET UNDERGROUND: Heroin (1967) VELVET UNDERGROUND: White Light / White Heat (1967) The YOUNG RASCALS: Groovin' (1967) 2ff7e9595c
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