top 5 rock and roll songs ever

[Bluzmann57]

This is kind of in reply to the disco post somewhere in the lounge. And politics played no part in my selections. Era does because the '70's is my era and I hated disco. 1- Stairway to Heaven. there is no argument here. Led Zeppelin was, is, and always will be the greatest rock 'n roll band this planet has ever produced. Free Bird- Yeah yeah I know Lynyrd Skynyrd isn't PC, but quite honestly, I don't care. We all have a Free Bird inside us. It's time to fly. Johnny B. Good- Charles Edward Anderson Berry revolutionized music and it seems like every bar band everywhere covers this song. Voodoo Chile- Hendrix revolutionized guitar playing and this may be the quintessential Hendrix tune. Whammer Jammer- I doubt this will make anybody's top 5 or ten or 50 list but I loved the J. Geils band. If they made me get up off my rear and dance, they really had something. Besides, I am an amateur harmonica player.

[BOSSHOG]

1. I beg to differ, imagine that

1 - Gimme Shelter, Rolling Stones

2 - Pink Houses, John Mellencamp

3 - Gimme all Your Loving - ZZ Top

4 - Jail House Rock - The King

5 - Stones in My Passway - Robert Johnson
(This one's a bone for bluzmann57)

No one could possibly disagree with this list, could they??

[Bluzmann57]

3. Fine selections all

Except for Stones in My Passway. Robert Johnson was a GREAT musician and some folks consider him the father of all rock. But I was focusing on what most of us consider rosk and roll. Electric Guitars and LOUD music. Long live Rock and Roll. As I sit here and listen to Sonny Landreth. Hmmm...

[BOSSHOG]

4. OK BLUZMANN

Let me substitute

BACK IN BLACK (ACDC) FOR ROBERT JOHNSON. HOWEVER, I THREW JOHNSON IN AS A TRIBUTE TO YOUR HANDLE.

ELECTRIC GUITAR AND LOUD MUSIC? I THINK AC/DC MIGHT MAKE THE CUT.

[Bluzmann57]

7. OK OK

It was just my personal list! Yeah AC/DC makes the friggin' list. Lighten up Mississippi! Bosshog. Sounds pretty Dukes of Hazzard to me.More '70s crap TV there. I am actually sitting here listening to a Blues Foundation CD now. I am a member and recommend membership for everybody. Just wanted to get a subject that people would reply to with personal opinions and I guess it worked.

[BOSSHOG]

10. ok ok ok

How bout "I don't want our loving to die" by the Hurd, 1967 featuring Peter Frampton as Vocalist. No dukes of hazzard in devonshire then. Or "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac, or "I don't know why I love you" by Stevie Wonder or "Jim Dandy to the Rescue" by Black Oak Arkansas - Back to Hazardland? BOA was awesome live but that was back in '77.

[Bluzmann57]

13. BOA!

The very first rock concert I ever went to was Black Oak Arkansas in 1973 at a local High School. And I mean High school.lol. Anyway, I have had a personal soft spot for those rednecks ever since then.Guys don't usually forget that, the first car and the first ... well if I have to explain then you might not understand.

[MoonGod]

2. Music is a very personal thing...

... so expecting a truly universal list is kinda like expecting the truth out of the Bush admin.

I couldn't possibly pick 5 songs, personally. I doubt I could even limit my fave Pink Floyd songs to 5...

I know when a local radio station used to do an annual Top 100 of all time (based on call-in votes), songs that regularly topped the list included:

Beatles - Hey Jude, Day in the Life
Eagles - Hotel California
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (and some other song, but I forget which)
Rolling Stones - ...don't remember what, but always something up there...
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall - Part 2, Comfortably Numb
Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze

edit to add Hendrix

[KDLarsen]

5. In my opinion..

.. in no particular order - these tracks kicks rear end at live sets:
Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark
Metallica - One (either that or Enter Sandman)
Black Sabbath - Crazy Train
AC/DC - Thunderstruck
The Doors - Light my Fire (you can say what you want, nobody beats the Lizard King)

[TlalocW]

6. Please! Here's the real dope!

5. Popcorn - Hot Butter
4. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
3. I Started a Joke - The Bee Gees
2. Come On, Get Happy - The Partridge Family
1. Escape (the Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

TlalocW

[RememberJohn]

9. At one time or another, I like each and every one of those...

... hey, I saw David Cassidy live last night!

[RememberJohn]

8. In no particular order...

1. Satisfaction - Stones
2. That's Alright, mamma - Elvis
3. Rock Around The Clock - Haley/Comets
4. More Than A Feeling - Boston
5a. Eruption/You Really Got Me - Van Halen
5b. You Really Got Me - The Kinks

[mac56]

11. here's mine

1. She Loves You - Beatles
2. Satisfaction - Stones
3. Like A Rolling Stone - Dylan
4. Hound Dog - Elvis
5. Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis

[ilpostino]

12. Is my...gen...gen...generation showing?

Like a Rolling Stone--Dylan
Tom Thumb's Blues--Dylan
All Along the Watchtower--Dylan
Hurricane (live)--Dylan
What's a Sweetheart Like you doing in a Dump like DU?--Dylan

Okay, okay, if I must
Like a Rolling Stone--Dylan
Hey Jude--Beatles
Don't Be Cruel--Elvis
Runaround Sue--Dion
Satisfaction--Stones

[Xandor]

14. Let's not forget...

Leader of the Laundromat
Jolly Green Giant
Surfin' Bird
Flying Purple People Eater
My Friend the Witch Doctor

*grin*

[ForrestGump]

21. You missed

Sunshine Day - Brady Bunch
Tiptoe Through The Tulips - Tiny Tim
Yummy Yummy Yummy - Ohio Express
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - Middle Of The Road
Mr Tambourine Man- William Shatner

Oh...BEST songs? Well, I do kind of like someof those ones (though "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" will make your eyes and ears bleed), but they're not the best. I don't know if I can pick just five, if you're talking the best and most influential, but I'll try:

1. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
2. Mystery Train - Elvis Presley
3. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
4. A Big Hunk O' Love - Elvis Presley
5. Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley

Hmmm....I see a pattern here. I'll go for a bit more diversity, but it's still just the tip of a huge iceberg

1. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
2. Hello Goodbye - The Beatles
3. Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
4. I Feel Good - James Brown TIED WITH Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
5. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence

....and about 1000 more

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

15. Louie Louie

[indepat]

16. I listened to every word of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone?" today for

the first time ever. Surely it has got to be in the top five or so.

[RememberJohn]

18. Very influential song to be sure...

... but you can actually understand those words? :)

[mac56]

25. The lyrics are actually quite easy to follow -

and more than that, Dylan's delivery conveys the rest of the message.

[ilpostino]

31. Like a star spangled banner

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

[ilpostino]

28. Donation

This brings tears to my eyes. I'm giving money to DU.

[Master Gracey]

17. Just knocked this off...

None of my lists stay permanent, but here's my current top 10 (in no particular order, and some might not even be considered rock):

The Kinks - Do You Remember Walter
Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays
The Who - Dr Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (UK Version)
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Blockheads
Syd Barrett - Late Night
Faith and the Muse - Rise and Forget
King Crimson - Moonchild
Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time?
The Jam - The Modern World
Tenpole Tudor - Let The Four Winds Blow

[RememberJohn]

19. Now I know the topic of this thread didn't specify, so I'm asking...

... do you feel these are truly the best of the best, the most influential, or do they have a special meaning to you?

[Master Gracey]

20. Put a check in...

All of the above. But that list can change at least 100 times a day depending on my moods or what album I'm currently listening to.

And I know the topic said 5 songs, but music is my life. The fact that I could keep that list under 50 song is an amazing feat, and it pained me to leave off certain songs (songs that might have been on that list had anything been any different about today). I don't take music lightly.

[ilpostino]

29. Damn Good Question

There are bests and there are favs.
Bests reveal our aesthetics
Favs reveal our emotions

[KFC]

30. The Modern World

Awesome choice. The Jam's best song.

[dawg]

36. I love the vocal portion of Moonchild ...

but that long ambient section - zzzzzzzzzz!

[Master Gracey]

37. Moonchild

You aren't kidding!! The lyrics are amazing, but I hardly ever listen to that instrumental unless I'm in the right mood for it (which is if I'm listening to the album from start to finish).

[Bridget Burke]

22. My Quik Pix

1) You're Gonna Miss Me (13th Floor Elevators)

2) She's About a Mover (Sir Douglas Quintet)

3) American Music (The Blasters)

4) Our Last Date (Los Lobos)

5) For Your Love (The Yardbirds)

The finest works by the most seminal artists of their generation(s)? Nah, they've got a good beat & you can dance to them.

Notes:
(1 & 2) Yes, I'm from Texas
(3 & 4) Rock & roll getting back to the roots
(5) To represent the Brits--Beatles, Stones, etc. were/are faves, but hearing this tune on the Fear & Loathing soundtrack reminded me how much I liked it.

"The Boy from New York City" was playing at Kroger's today & I almost danced down the aisles--the girl groups were So Fine.

& Gillian Welch's "I Want to Sing that Rock & Roll" just played on cable music--does that count?

[Old and In the Way]

23. Well, those that know me will guess....

Not Fade Away, Ging Down the Road Feeling Bad

Really, I know no other R&R tune that comes close to this.

But I'm probably biased.......

Other Stuff

"Ballin the Jack"
"Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" (various, Bromberg)
"Six Days on the Road" FBB
"Big River" Grateful Dead
"Women Are Smarter" Dead

Did I mention that the Dead were the best R&R Band of all time?

[Bossy Monkey]

24. You should really listen to more old Skynyrd records

At least while Ronnie was alive they were a totally left-wing band.

[Old and In the Way]

26. Saw them on Austin City Limits a few weeks ago.

They appear to be a RW band from my perspective. The lead singer was holding the American Flag like it was a hankie or something....

[Darth_Ole]

27. My top five are all Simon & Garfunkel songs.

But that's more like folk-rock, I guess.

God, I love those guys. It's so sad how they broke up.

[Bossy Monkey]

32. Ronnie's been dead for 20 years, I guess

After I posted I remembered "Gimme Back My Bullets," but that was probably more drug and alcohol induced than any political statement. A lot of people think "Sweet Home Alabama" is a conservative song, but then there's "In Birmingham, they love the gov'nor/now we all did what we could do..." The more left-wing (or at least open-minded) stuff includes "Saturday Night Special" and "Ballad of Curtis Lowe." I don't know or care what the clowns posing as Lynyrd Skynyrd currently are doing or saying.

[Old and In the Way]

34. Don't get me wrong....

I really, really liked early Skynard. But the current reincarnation seems to be living in the past, but using some odd current political prisms to tell their music today.

[Ready4Change]

33. Bohemian Rhapsody

For me, I've got to place that tops. I doubt anyone who loves rock can resist head banging at the appropriate moment.

My other four are arguable, and I change my mind constantly. Right now:
Springsten Born to Run"
Pink Floyd "We Don't Need No Education"
Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner"
B-52s "Rock Lobster"

[NashVegas]

35. What Is Wrong With You People?!?

Not even one "Sweet Jane."

*sigh*

[mitchum]

38. I define "rockandroll" and "rock" music differently

Top 5 rockandroll songs
"Johnny B Goode" Chuck Berry (American myth)
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" Jerry Lee Lewis (who am I to argue with John Lennon?)
"Good Rockin' Tonight:" Elvis Presley (arguably the most rocking of all the Sun Sessions)
"Tutti Frutti" Little Richard (wild and filthy)
"Little Queenie" Chuck Berry (because he's Chuck Berry)

[ChillEB]

39. Okay, this is impossible, but I'll try...

1) Achilles Last Stand - Led Zeppelin
2) Whiskey Bottle - Uncle Tupelo
3) Bad - U2
4) Pictures of You - The Cure
5) O! My Soul - Big Star

[DemoTex]

40. "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Rock 'N Roll"

John Baldry (UK) and the LZs "Stairway to Heaven".