December 16, 2020 – 9:30 AM – 1 Comment. When you hear a great song, you can think of where you were when you first heard it, the sounds, the smells. Ask 20 people what the best song of all time is, and you’ll probably get 20 different answers. McCartney described it as “one of the most instinctive songs I’ve ever written.” The melody came to him in a dream while he was staying at his then-girlfriend Jane Asher’s house. 17. I know you’re not happy, but you’ll be OK.'”, He later changed “Jules” to “Jude” — a name inspired by Jud from the musical “Oklahoma!”. This song show his promise to be stay put faithful to his first Vivian as well as wife. Presley later said, “It was the most ridiculous appearance I ever did and I regret ever doing it.” But “Hound Dog” was his best-selling single, as well as one of the best-selling singles of all time. In 2013, Rolling Stone readers voted it the fifth best Hendrix song. NME includes it in their 100 Best Songs of the 1960s, writing, “Taking in a timeless sense of youthful disaffection via a countercultural, Mod lens, Pete Townshend’s age-defying ditty distilled what it feels like to be young, energised and in the prime of life into 3:18 minutes of bristling hedonism.”, Claiming the 16th spot on the Ranker community’s list of the best songs, The Doors’ “Light My Fire” was released in 1967 on the band’s eponymous album. The reaction of the audience was enthusiastic, and “What’d I Say” went on to become Charles’ first top 10 pop single. As soon as you start, you get that magic feeling, an extra feeling. “The things Phil was doing were crazy and exhausting,” said Larry Levine, Spector’s engineer. 1 hit in the U.S. and stayed in the U.K. top 50 for a total of 21 weeks. 10 of our Top Ten best Songs of All time is a Single of the f Cash’s very famous song “I walk the line by Johnny Cash”. “It didn’t sound anything like the finished record until Bill said, ‘You go like this,'” Richards said in 2004. Instead of succumbing to temptation, Townshend reportedly went back to his hotel room alone and wrote a prayer, beginning with the words, “When my fist clenches, crack it open.” These words later appeared as lyrics in “Behind Blue Eyes.”. 33 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Singles Chart; it became the band’s third No. As an edited single, it spent three weeks at No. According to Rolling Stone, “He woke up and grabbed a guitar and a cassette machine. Redding finished writing and recording the song with guitarist Steve Cropper a few months later in Memphis, only days before Redding was killed when his private plane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. So check out our top picks for the 50 best love songs of all time… 14 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and Ranker voters place it at No. Want more Rolling Stone? Written and first recorded by Otis Redding in 1965, it was soul singer Aretha Franklin who turned “Respect” into an anthem for female empowerment two years later. A great song has all the key elements — melody; emotion; a strong statement that becomes part of the lexicon; and great production. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Reportedly, Harrison wrote “Here Comes the Sun” at the home of his friend Eric Clapton, where he had gone in order to avoid attending a meeting at the band’s Apple Corps organization. For a song that Keith Richards wrote in 20 minutes, “Gimme Shelter” made a big impression. It’s been covered by everyone from The Jimi Hendrix Experience to Green Day. “Blowin’ in the Wind” has been variously described as “Dylan’s first important composition,” the most famous protest song ever, an anthem of the civil rights movement and the song Dylan is best known for, so it’s perhaps a surprise that this song didn’t chart for Bob Dylan. It’s a firm favorite amongst Beatles fans, and as of January 2020, it’s the most streamed of all their songs in the U.K. Often described as David Bowie’s farewell to the glam rock movement he helped spearhead, the 1974 release “Rebel Rebel” is about a boy who rebels against his parents by wearing makeup and women’s clothes. In 2011, Rolling Stone ranked it first on its list of The Beatles’ greatest songs, and according to Acclaimed Music, it’s the third most celebrated song in popular music history. “A dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can’t see but you can feel. “I must have sung that 500,000 times,” Turner told. Marvin Gaye’s politically-charged 1971 release “What’s Going On,” inspired by police brutality in California, was initially rejected as uncommercial but later reached No. “Respect” earned her two Grammy Awards in 1968 for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987. It was originally written for the rock opera “Lifehouse,” the intended follow-up to the hugely successful “Tommy” musical of 1969, but “Lifehouse” was abandoned before it got on its feet. 1 hit single in the U.S. and sixth in the U.K. Rolling Stone readers ranked “Paint It Black” as the band’s third-greatest single, after “Gimme Shelter” and “Sympathy for the Devil.” In 2004, Keith Richards said that what made “Paint It Black” great was Bill Wyman on the organ. A great song doesn’t attempt to be anything — it just is. However, he did include the forbidden line, and it was their first and last performance on the show. At one point in Townshend’s songwriting he merged the two, and the result was “Baba O’Riley,” which was released as a single in 1971. Around the world, “La Bamba” is one of the best-known songs from the early rock ‘n’ roll era. Notably, it got them an invite to perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but on the condition that Morrison didn’t sing the line, “girl, we couldn’t get much higher.”. lang, Joey Ramone, and Nick Cave and Shane MacGowan. Other artists who’ve covered the song include Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua, The Flaming Lips, Tony Bennett (who was reportedly offered the song before Armstrong and turned it down) and k.d. BMI named “Imagine” one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century (it’s been covered by Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Elton John and many others, and since 2005 has preceded the New Year’s Time Square Ball drops in New York City), and it’s ranked No. ... 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time … And we had, ‘Oh you-u-u/ got that something…’ And Paul hits this chord, and I turn to him and say, ‘That’s it!’ I said, ‘Do that again!’ In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that — both playing into each other’s noses.”, Rolling Stone credits Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit “Johnny B. Goode” as “the first rock & roll hit about rock & roll stardom” and “the greatest rock & roll song about the democracy of fame in pop music.”. Like there’s no hiding place and get on board, and images of that sort. Eric Clapton was so moved by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi’s 12th-century book, “The Story of Layla and Majnun” that he wrote “Layla,” which is often hailed as one of the best rock songs of all time. 100 Best Christmas Songs of All Time to Get You in the Holiday Spirit . Otis Redding wrote the lyrics to what’s possibly his best-known song while he was literally sitting on the dock of the bay — or at least, sitting on a rented houseboat in Sausalito, California, after the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967. 9 on the R&B chart —  it was one of the biggest anthems of the civil rights movement. 1 on the Billboard charts. Rolling Stone ranks Bob Dylan’s 1965 release “Like a Rolling Stone” the greatest song of all time, writing, “No other pop song has so thoroughly challenged and transformed the commercial laws and artistic conventions of its time, for all time.”. “All Along the Watchtower” was written by Bob Dylan, but it’s the version by The Jimi Hendrix Experience that the Ranker community ranks the fourth best song of all time. Famously, Presley serenaded a basset hound (wearing a top hat) on TV’s “Steve Allen Show” later that year. It ranks at No. It may also have one of the most misheard lines in rock history — for future reference, Hendrix sings “Excuse me while I kiss the sky,” not “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”. 1 in the U.S., and it reached No. ^[III] Released as a double A-side single along with "Top of the World". It’s also a hit with Ranker voters, who put it at No. Here is a list of the top 20 best English Pop songs of all time. “And I said the same thing to the girls, I said, ‘Whatever I say, just repeat it, I don’t care what it is.'”. 16 (on the Billboard Rock Songs). It was also ranked third on BMI’s list of the Top 100 Songs of the Century and was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners. In 1980, John Lennon said the song was written “eyeball to eyeball” with McCartney. The Los Lobos cover of Mexican folk song “La Bamba,” which was the title track of the 1987 film starring Lou Diamond Phillips as rock ‘n’ roll star Ritchie Valens, is the most famous version of the song. At the time, it was the most expensive single ever recorded, with a studio bill of $50,000. “I guess it’s one girl, a girl I knew at the time.” The band’s label, Elektra Records, deleted the word “high” from the line “she gets high,” in anticipation of a drug reference affecting the chance of radio airplay. The list was subsequently updated in 2010. Ultimately, it all worked out — Clapton and Boyd eventually got together and were married for almost 10 years. ... 25 Best Dance Pop Songs of All Time. Top 100 Best Pop Songs Of 2012. Written by Ray Davies for The Kinks’ third single, “You Really Got Me” reached No. The third track on U2’s 1991 album “Achtung Baby,” “One” was actually a spin-off from their second single “Mysterious Ways.” According to Rolling Stone, the Edge suggested two ideas for the bridge and Bono liked one of them so much, he wrote a whole new set of lyrics. “I was drenched with sweat. During their 50th anniversary tour in 2012, the Rolling Stones sang this song with Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige and Florence Welch. Top 100 hip-hop songs: We asked 33 artists and experts – from Rick Rubin to Big Boi, Mike D to Chuck D – to vote for their favorites. “On the tape,” he said later, “you can hear me drop the pick, and the rest is snoring.”. Neil Young, U2 and Eddie Vedder are a few of the many other artists who have covered the song. Notes: ^[I] According to Sony Music Entertainment Japan, "To Love You More" sold 1.5 million copies in the country. Nonetheless, it remains one of Dylan’s most well-known and influential songs, and has been covered by a slew of artists, including Nina Simone, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen. “Hound Dog” was a hit for R&B singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton before Elvis Presley sang it, but it’s Presley’s version that ranks No. And there was no one there to help us.”. 126 on the U.S. charts, but it remains one of their best-known and most-loved tracks. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was the first posthumous single to reach No. 6 and No. That’s genius.”. It’s not that kind of a song.'”. It was also the, Producer Phil Spector considers Ike and Tina Turner’s 1966 release of “River Deep – Mountain High” to be his best work, and plenty of people agree. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was first recorded by The Righteous Brothers in 1964 and reached the top of the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. However, this ended up being a bonus; he embraced the unique sound and added even more interest by wrapping a piece of wax paper around the strings of his guitar. When it was released in the U.K. in 1965, it reached No. https://bestlifeonline.com/cover-songs-better-than-original 1 10 years later. 31 and climbed to No. “We were in Jane Asher’s house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. I must have been in a very deep mood of that type of religious inspiration when I wrote that song.”, If it had been up to John Lennon, “In My Life,” the Beatles’ 1965 single from the album “Rubber Soul,” would get a place on all the “best of” lists — at least from the band’s back catalog. 1 on the U.K. singles chart in 1964. 8, respectively. This song didn’t just change Marley’s life; he gave a songwriting credit to his childhood friend Vincent “Tata” Ford, which helped Ford keep his Kingston soup kitchen afloat. “People Get Ready” is The Impressions’ best-known hit. “I remember when we got the chord that made the song,” he recalled. 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In a 1980 interview with Playboy, John Lennon said the song “Help!” — released as a single in July 1965, at the height of Beatlemania — had hidden depths that even he wasn’t aware of when he wrote it. 33 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and it was. No. However, in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger said the song was an idea he got from French writing. Rolling Stone describes it as “an exquisite plea for peace on Earth” and ranks it fourth on their list of the greatest songs of all time. And the same thing happened with people,” Wilson said. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the star’s most successful Motown songs. In the U.S., it peaked at No. That song had everything — different melodies, opera, R&B, rock — and it explored all of those different genres in an authentic way, where it felt natural. Maybe you start here: it’s the boldest, weirdest song she’s ever made, a trap-marching band monster sturdy enough to bear all of that cultural weight. Lennon described it as “my first real, major piece of work,” adding that “up until then it had all been glib and throwaway.”. Rolling Stone’s definitive list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Listen to the Best New Love Songs of 2021 (So Far) T. Swift, MGK & More Artists Giving Us the Feels. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” deemed by Rolling Stone to be the second-best song of all time, gave The Rolling Stones their first U.S. No. In fact, all re-issues of the track had the word “high” deleted until the 1990s. It ranks No. Producer Phil Spector considers Ike and Tina Turner’s 1966 release of “River Deep – Mountain High” to be his best work, and plenty of people agree. “Behind Blue Eyes,” recorded in 1971, was reportedly inspired by Pete Townshend being tempted by a groupie at a Who concert in Denver the previous year. UK DJ/producer Mark Knight has curated an unranked list of the top tech house tracks of all-time for Billboard Dance, selecting a mix of old school classics and exciting new music. (The sound of crashing waves on the backing track are all real.) It didn’t do well on its first release, reaching only No. Clapton drew additional inspiration from his own life and his then-unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend and fellow musician George Harrison. Think of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” by Queen. “Subconsciously, I was crying out for help. “One” may be a wedding favorite, but that wasn’t what the band had in mind. More From Best Songs of All Time. alltime, Aretha Franklin, Beastie Boys, Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Rihanna, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Strokes. According to Rolling Stone, the band’s 17-year-old guitarist Dave Davies used a razor on his amp’s speaker cone to create the unforgettable sound on the riff at the heart of the track. Romantic songs from 2014, 2015 and old romantic songs for him and for her in English. 100 best songs of all time. “I just took a couple of lines and expanded on it,” he said. 3 in the U.K. Often, the most tumultuous times spawn great creativity, and this was certainly true for Paul McCartney in 1968. Written by Bob Dylan as the title track of his 1964 album, “The Times They Are a-Changin” became an anthem for change. ^[II] Originally released in 1984, reissued in 1993. It ranks at No. Whatever gets you pumped, TIME lists some of the best workout songs of all time. Sign up for our newsletter. AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long (Live At River Plate, December 2009) Mayfield himself said of the song, “That was taken from my church or from the upbringing of messages from the church. 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