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Greatest rock song of all time
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Howard – it’s a Gretsch. Cochran had it modified with a P-90 dogear pickup. Gretsch is still making an Eddie Cochran Signature model in the same configuration.
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My favorite early Beatles hit would be “I Want To Hold Your Hand”. Love that intro riff that sound like a car starting as some one pointed out in the forum a while back.
Yes, nice one there Angelo. He shares some similarity to Elvis style. Like that red Gretsch!
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Speaking of Elvis Presley, I think some Elvis would be in the Greatest Rock Song of All Time list. He did some heart string pulling ballads that definitely stands the test of time. One of those that come to mind is “Can’t Help Falling In Love”.
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Of course I like Rock a billy style from Elvis to Brain Setzer but “Twenty flight rock” is because of that
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2UfXlnBAcE
McCartney into the Quarryman then the Beatles then the MLTS….
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Wow Angelo, that puts Twenty Flight Rock into proper context. It played a very important role in Rock history that John hearing Paul play it impressed John enough to notice Paul when they first met. It’s certainly a testament to the greatness of that song and abilities of Eddie Cochrane for a young Paul McCartney to go to the trouble to memorize the lyrics to that song.
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In the same vein I think I should mention Beach Boys “God Only Knows” as one of the greatest. It was #10 in the “Best Songs of All Time According to Critics and Fans” listing article in June 2019. It was one of Paul McCartney’s favorite songs. I didn’t quite appreciate it’s greatness until I heard Mona and Lisa’s version.
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Nice video Angelo. I hadn’t seen that one before. Thanks for sharing. Very enlightening on Sir Paul’s earliest influences and his first meeting with John Lennon. We are so fortunate they met up when they did and can thank Eddie Cochran for helping Paul become a member of the Beatles by knowing all the words to “Twenty flight rock”. In this video, Paul was quite wise to not attempt the guitar solo!
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I will just give my choice for the greatest song, Layla by Derek and the Dominos, and this is also my favorite album of all time as well.
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Excellent pick there Paul. Great single and album.
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Paul. Yes who doesnt know this iconic sound. A great one indeed!
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Yuppers… Just an insane infinity and beyond in what everyone considers their all time ultimate faves…. You just can’t exactly put a definite number count…. Unless in rare cases where only a very rare few are the only ones that hold meaning dearly and no others will do, otherwise… It’s a Wild Wild Song World out there… (Was trying to tune it to, ‘It’ s A Wild World’song… Lol)…. So, I say it’s an ever revolving infinite open song door concept… Songs come and go, as moods and life situations do…. Everyone has their Life Songs…. Fine tune tweak to matter… ???
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OK.…..in looking at this again I also believe there is a big difference between the 10 best songs and my 10 favorite songs of all time. For example, the 10 best songs would include A Day In The Life, but it would not make my top ten favorite list. I remember when I first heard A Day In The Life in 1967 I had no idea what I had just heard…..it was constructed in such an innovative way that many in the music business felt like giving up……David Crosby and Brian Wilson come to mind. But, it is not in my top 10 favorite list because to me it lacks in song meaning. I tend to like songs that have a message, but this song includes a car wreck, 10,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire, and with a middle of getting ready to go somewhere through being in the upper deck of a bus.
So, to pick the greatest songs would include songs that changed music during the period from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s. This would have to include artists like Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers, the Beatles, and other innovators.
1) Elvis: This one is hard to pick because Elvis was initially popular before I was aware of music. I was two years old when he first hit it big. But, from what I remember one candidate could be “Jailhouse Rock”………. the song is pure RnR and has a pretty good hook in the beginning of it. Personally I think I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You is pure genius……the first line says it all……”Wise men say only fools rush in” is a line that is good for all time.
2) Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode…..enough said. Maybe No Particular Place to Go…..but Johnny B. Good has been covered by so many. His only #1 hit was in the early 1970s and was My Ding-A-Ling…….go figure.
3) Buddy Holly: Hard to pick on this one……Not Fade Away or Words of Love….hard to choose between the two.
4) Roy Orbison: Probably Pretty Woman…….classic guitar intro. But, many of his earlier songs were innovative, too.
5) Everly Brothers: Hard to pick one here, too. They gave us how to harmonize. Likely “All I Have to Do Is Dream.” Other two possibles: Cathy’s Clown and Wake Up Little Suzy.
6) a. Early Beatles: Now you know I like She Loves You….to me the perfect Beatles song. But, the song with the most impact was I Want To Hold Your Hand. They would not come to the US until they had a #1 song over here and it was IWTHYH. After that they were on Ed Sullivan and the US went crazy.
b. Middle Beatles: A Day In The Life based on what I said above.
7) Late 1960s/early 1970s gospel-like folk rock/anthem songs. It seems like during this time period many were doing more complicated songs which had elements of gospel folk-rock elements. Let It Be and Hey Jude by the Beatles and Bridge Over Troubled Waters are examples of this approach. So, from this I would choose Bridge. It was a huge hit in 1970.
8) Oh…….I forgot about Dylan. He had many changes during his career just in the 1960s. If I had to pick one that had the most impact from him, it would have to be Like A Rolling Stone. But, his Blonde on Blonde, other songs on Highway 61, and Nashville Skyline showed a shift from him to rock/country or maybe even country-rock and, heaven forbid, going electric. Alternate: Blowin’ In The Wind…..it was his first popular song……
9) Singer-songwriters of early 1970s. Dylan was the first really big singer-songwriter and he kinda built on what Woody Guthrie did earlier. But, in the early 1970s the singer-songwriter genre really increased, e.g., James Taylor, Paul Simon as solo, each Beatle as solo, Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot (though he was around in the middle 1960s), Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Carol King, and many more. It is difficult to pick one song from all of these artists. My choice is Fire and Rain by JT. It showed a shift in a way by the songs being more introspective and autobiographical.
10) Rock Opus-type songs: These songs were long but, in some cases, moved back to the 3 movement technique comparable to classical songs. The songs were longer than 3 minutes. Songs in this category would include: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, Bohemian Rhapsody. I have my favorite(s) from these 4, i.e., Judy Blue Eyes and Hotel California……..but the one with the most impact and innovation was Bohemian Rhapsody.
OK.….so there is my top ten on the greatest songs in the RnR period. I have missed so many good artists/songs in this, e.g., Laura Nyro, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimi Hendrix, Yesterday and many other songs by the Beatles. But, I tried to pick the songs and artists that caused changes or were the most innovative during the time period. My disclaimer from earlier still applies……..not all of these are in my favorite list…..and I tried to be as objective as possible.
So, there is my list of the 10 “greatest” songs and like all lists it is somewhat subjective and likely wrong. But, it’s my 2 cents worth.
Mike
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Thanks Mike for such a thoughtful list from a very diverse group of artists. Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Beatles, Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan, Simon Garfunkle, James Taylor, Queen. I’m not too familiar with some like James Taylor or Buddy Holly as much, but I think you covered the music expanse very well to compile your top 10 Greatest of All Time. A very respectable list indeed.
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Thanks Jung, I try… I love a variety of songs, different genres and eras…. Lol… Mike does have a plethora of variety in his choices too ?
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Thanks for the comments Jung and Jackie. In my day job I am a professor at some universities and I teach in an analytical field. At times when answering a question or discussing something I go into analytical overdrive. My response above was one of those times………sometimes I can be verbose and overly analytical……it’s a left brain thing. Sorry for all the analysis. Mike.
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