Rolling Stone mag (and other venues) has assembled a list of the greatest 100 to 500 rock & roll artists and their songs in order of importance. Not happy with many of the choices made by the editors of the magazine, I have compiled my own list of the ten greatest rock & roll songs of all time. Of course, you are free to disagree and present your own.
My choices are:
1. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley. Undeniably the King. His influence in rock history is immense and legendary. So much so it spurred John Lennon to say “before Elvis, there was nothing.”
2. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles. Innovators, highly creative, irreverent, controversial. Composing songs that ran the gamut from simple ballads to psychedelic abstractions. Their influence and impact on rock is incalculable.
3. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones. The self-styled World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band created a #1 hit which placed them forever high in the pantheon of rock’s immortals seemingly forever.
4. Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin. The haunting lyrics, folk-baroque acoustics leading to a screaming heavy metal jam makes this a classic to be imitated but never surpassed.
5. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry. Archetypical rocker who welded blues, country and rock into a style that has influenced virtually all musicians of rock.
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys. No other all-American group could compete toe-to-toe with the British imports, and in one brilliant outpouring of inspiration recorded a song which was the height of creativity, harmony, innovation and experimentation.
7. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. His music was relevant and influential before relevance and influence became catch words. Highly imitated, he reinvented the singer-songwriter genre.
8. Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley and His Comets. Hitting No. 1 a year before Elvis, this record has sold over 22 million copies worldwide and helped to make Bill Haley one of the first inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
9. Light My Fire, The Doors. Controversial, dark, obsessed, profound—these are the hallmarks that made The Doors famous and Jim Morrison a cult figure whose continued interest in and popularity still grows.
10. Thriller, Michael Jackson. Not rock per se, but highly influential as a recording artist, immensely talented singer, song writer, dancer and producer—omnipresent, much imitated, reviled by some and loved by others.
My choices are:
1. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley. Undeniably the King. His influence in rock history is immense and legendary. So much so it spurred John Lennon to say “before Elvis, there was nothing.”
2. Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles. Innovators, highly creative, irreverent, controversial. Composing songs that ran the gamut from simple ballads to psychedelic abstractions. Their influence and impact on rock is incalculable.
3. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones. The self-styled World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band created a #1 hit which placed them forever high in the pantheon of rock’s immortals seemingly forever.
4. Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin. The haunting lyrics, folk-baroque acoustics leading to a screaming heavy metal jam makes this a classic to be imitated but never surpassed.
5. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry. Archetypical rocker who welded blues, country and rock into a style that has influenced virtually all musicians of rock.
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys. No other all-American group could compete toe-to-toe with the British imports, and in one brilliant outpouring of inspiration recorded a song which was the height of creativity, harmony, innovation and experimentation.
7. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. His music was relevant and influential before relevance and influence became catch words. Highly imitated, he reinvented the singer-songwriter genre.
8. Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley and His Comets. Hitting No. 1 a year before Elvis, this record has sold over 22 million copies worldwide and helped to make Bill Haley one of the first inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
9. Light My Fire, The Doors. Controversial, dark, obsessed, profound—these are the hallmarks that made The Doors famous and Jim Morrison a cult figure whose continued interest in and popularity still grows.
10. Thriller, Michael Jackson. Not rock per se, but highly influential as a recording artist, immensely talented singer, song writer, dancer and producer—omnipresent, much imitated, reviled by some and loved by others.