This post has been a long time coming. I've finally compiled my list of greatest rock songs ever. I was having difficulties deciding on the length of this list simply because there are so many great songs. But I finally decided 15 was the limit. These songs are generally well-known and widely regarded as among the best ever, but there are some probably only I would put on this list. Some of these songs you may never have heard of, though that's unlikely. Some of them are old songs that you forgot you loved. Mostly, they are staples of rockdom that changed and progressed the world of rock and roll. The Top 5 are in order, the rest are pretty random (it's just too hard to decide). So without further ado, here they are, my list of the 15 Greatest Rock Songs Ever:
1) Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
This song asks you why you judge people the way you do. It asks you why you're better than the bum begging on the street corner. It makes you consider what you would do if you were in his shoes. It warns you about how quickly you could find yourself in that situation. It does all that with a great tune and catchy lyrics. "How does it feel, to be without a home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?" This is the greatest rock song ever.
2) Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
This song is really three songs in one. It starts out as a beautiful acoustic, flute driven melody. Then it continues to morph until it becomes a marauding hard rock masterpiece. No word on what the hell the lyrics mean, but that's really not important in this journey - just sit back and feel the musical intensity grow. This is the second greatest rock song ever.
3) Bittersweet Symphony - the Verve
This song is the only one in the Top 5 written after 1971. The symphonic rock and the ingenius lyrics suck the listener into bliss and understanding. It rocks the listener into a blessed lull that is only broken once the next track comes on. If psychedelic rock was aimed at elevating the listener to a higher plane of consciousness and understanding, this is the song that acheived that goal. This is the third greatest rock song ever.
4) Crossroads - Cream (my personal favourite)
The mythological beginnings of rock and roll are found in this song. It was written by Robert Johnson about his experience selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads. It was made into a rock masterpiece by Eric Clapton's legendary guitar solos. If you know this Cream masterpiece, you know it as a live performance (they never released a studio version of the song), and you know the magic of Clapton, Baker and Bruce. This is the fourth greatest rock song ever.
5) American Pie - Don McLean
This song is one of folk rock's pinnacles. Don McLean laments the progression of rock and roll from the early greats like Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper through the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. "A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile, and I knew if I had my chance, I could make those people dance, and maybe they'd be happy for awhile." Don McLean did make those people dance, and so did Madonna decades later. While I can't get behind the Madonna cover, it shows how timeless this song is. It is a musical history lesson that sucks listeners in and makes them want to dance. This is the fifth greatest rock song ever.
The next ten, in no particular order:
Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry
- announced the arrival of rock and roll
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
- unsurpassed love ballad, whoever it was written for, whatever it means
Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) - Neil Young and Crazy Horse
- grunge rock before there was grunge rock
Long Black Veil - the Band
- a love song that doesn't sound like a love song, tortured yet beautiful
American Woman - the Guess Who
- made American women dance to a song disparaging them (actually the woman was America, not a woman, but you know what I mean)
Won't Get Fooled Again - the Who
- among the greatest epic songs and greatest protest songs
Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young
- Americans sing this to praise America, Neil Young wrote it about the decay of American society - no one ever said Americans were smart
If I Had $1000000 - Barenaked Ladies
- Come on, admit it, you love it too, don't be so pretentious
Jeremy - Pearl Jam
- you thought grunge was nothing more than musical self-deprecation until you heard this one
Someone Who is Cool - the Odds
- maybe you don't remember this one (I know you don't remember the band) but this made a mockery of fake individualism
Isn't it curious how there are five Canadian artists and six Canadian songs among my Top 15. What can I say? Canadians make the best rock in the world. What's perhaps even more curious is that there are no Beatles songs and no Rolling Stones songs, even though I've previously named those as the two greatest bands in rock history.
I bet some of those you never expected. I bet a few of those you've never heard of (but should get to know). I bet there are a bunch I missed. I will admit that some of them are mostly personal favourites that I don't really expect most people to rate so highly, but that's the subjective beauty of music. They all mean something to me, they all have a reason I love them. Just like your favourites all have a reason why they're your favourites.
So what songs did I miss?
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