10 of the Top 50 Rock Songs of All Time
Everyone has a valid opinion on this subject and very few people if asked will refrain from responding. Rock music has so permeated the fabric of our beings that they become impossible to separate from our experience. Why a person would pick one song over another of the top 50 rock songs of all time is purely dependent on where they were and what they were doing when they first heard that song. Our nostalgia for past events in our life is inextricably intertwined with the songs that make up our lifes soundtrack.
I hereby propose the following list (unapologetically) of my very own for the 10 best of the top 50 rock songs of all time.
10. American Pie by Don McLean. Released in 1971 this is another one of the top 50 rock songs that everybody was singing when it first came out. This was one of the first times in history when over-saturation because of excessive radio play could not make you hate a song. To this day this is one of the most requested and played songs on classic rock radio formats.
9. Layla by Derek and the Dominoes from 1970. We just had never heard something so majestic as the multi-layered Layla when it first hit AM radio. Clapton proved he was the best guitar gunslinger in the world with the soaring sounds of this fantastic song.
8. Maggie May by Rod Stewart was a bittersweet melody that we all remember as being integrally mixed in with where we were when we first heard it. Whether it was at a high school dance with your first sweetheart or taking your first road trip with your pals, this song is similar to many others in the top 50 rock songs of all time in that it is unforgettable.
7. Proud Mary by Credence Clearwater Revival. Recorded in 1969 by John Fogerty and company, this song transcended rock and roll and became a symbol of our countrys music around the world.
6. Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf from 1968 ushered in an era of black lights and glow in the dark posters. This Fillmore West favorite band also hit the jackpot with Born to be Wild off the same album.
5. Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin. Drinking Wild Turkey straight from the bottle and doing massive amounts of drugs eventually led to Janis demise, but this southern style rocker is still one of the most challenging female vocal tunes ever to be recorded.
4. Baba ORiley by the Who. Its only teenage wasteland screams Roger Daltrey in this hard driving rock classic, easily one of the top 50 rock songs of our lifetime.
3. Honky Tonk Woman by the Rolling Stones. Written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger purportedly while they were on vacation in Brazil, this song still makes people dance from the opening cowbell licks to the signature guitar riffs.
2. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin by 1971. No Playing Stairway to Heaven was the sign at the Guitar Center in the movie Waynes World, but seriously, this song became the ultimate rock anthem. This song invented swaying crowds holding up lighters.
1. Hey Jude by the Beatles recorded in 1968 and released as a single on their Apple label. This is by far the greatest song ever recorded by the greatest band ever assembled (yes, even Ringo).