April 2012

With a menacing vibe from the first notes, we know for sure that "the storm threatens" on the powerful and haunting "Gimme Shelter" of the Rolling Stones. It's 'Apocalypse Now' in just over four minutes.The opening track from the band's…

Led Zeppelin got the penultimate spot on our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs list with “Kashmir,” an epic and majestic masterpiece that refuses to recognize that rock music should have impassable boundaries. The mighty British band is, quite…

It's a lesser statistic, but somehow it speaks louder: AC / DC's “Back in Black” received the RIAA's Master Ringtone Sales Award (Gold and Platinum) in 2006 and achieved 2x Platinum status in 2007.It's a classic rock Top 100 song that's so…

Released in 1975, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" has to be one of the strangest songs to become not only a hit, but pretty much a part of our daily lives. Everything about it is miles away from your average success record. Written by singer…

But if you've been to one of the band's concerts in recent years, it can be pretty easy to see why “Everybody Wants Some !!” gets the green light on dozens of other extremely worthy candidates.What about their biggest hit, “Jump? Great,…

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Roger Waters are almost as famous for their feuds as they are for their music - and although they were band mates for nearly two decades, their personality clashes prevented a true collaboration for many of…

To say Black Sabbath's second album, "Paranoid," is influential is like saying the Beatles were a "really good band." The 1970 LP essentially set the template for heavy metal, with the trifecta of "War Pigs", "Iron Man" and the superlative…

If The Who's Pete Townshend had pulled it off, the album that carried the band's classic anthem "Baba O' Riley" (often mistakenly called "Teenage Wasteland" after the song's famous chorus) would have sounded entirely different.Townshend…

In 1969, America was waist deep in chaos, politically and emotionally. In just two and a half minutes, Creedence Clearwater Revival spewed out enough venom via "Fortunate Son" to disarm, or at least disorient the enemy. "Fortunate Son" was…

Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Sweet Home Alabama” still carries the southern rock flag high thirty-eight years later. Released in the summer of 1974, "Second Helping", produced by legendary Al Kooper, was the band's second effort, and its release from…

With Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" earning a well-deserved spot on our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs list, keyboardist Jonathan Cain told us the story of the track's origins, which he created with guitarist Neal. Schon and singer Steve…

In early 1974, Bruce Springsteen's career was on hold. Although his first two albums were to critical acclaim, he has struggled to find an audience outside of the Northeast Corridor where his live shows stun crowds every night. Knowing…

Released in April 1971, 'LA Woman' was The Doors' last album starring Jim Morrison. Within three months of its release, the singer would be dead. As sad as her loss is, talk about going out on a high note! The track bills itself as one of…

It's awfully easy to think of a rock musical landscape without Ozzy Osbourne's towering presence. Instead, and seemingly against its own efforts, we have the mighty 'mad train' that explodes through football stadiums across the country on…

We can't say for sure the last time we heard “La Grange,” ZZ Top's ubiquitous musical calling card. But if it wasn't today, it was probably yesterday, and it could have come to us from a hundred different sources. It might be hard to…

'Hotel California' might very well be the Eagles' best-known song - but if you ask a dozen people what the lyrics mean, you'll quickly find that this entry in our countdown of the 100 best classic rock songs has at least as many…

When John Lennon joined his fellow Beatles on August 20, 1969 for what was to be their last recording session as a band, how could he know that his greatest work awaited him?It may be a sacrilege. But consider: while Paul McCartney's…

It would be a shame if future generations would remember Ted Nugent more for his odd personality and controversial political and hunting views than for his music. Thanks to songs like "Stranglehold", however, that probably won't happen.In…

By the time Bob Seger wrote the song that ranked 22nd on our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs list, he knew all too well the trials and tribulations of being a touring musician. To Seger's credit, few other songs from 'life on the road' can match…

Tom Petty's 1989 album "Full Moon Fever" was the first time in his career that he had released a record without his longtime band, the Heartbreakers. Yet even though Petty's name alone graced the record's cover, the rest of the…

Can you imagine if the Eric Clapton / Pattie Boyd / George Harrison love triangle that inspired the unmistakable Derek and Dominoes 'Layla' masterpiece played in today's media landscape? Would TMZ have caught kissing the Beatles ex-wife…

David Bowie's "Space Oddity" has firmly established itself in our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs, in part because its title character, Major Tom, has aged exceptionally well, considering everything he's been through. Now in his 40s, he's gone…

In the years leading up to the release of their classic self-titled record in 1991, Metallica achieved massive success on their own terms. "Enter Sandman" opened the door to something even bigger. Teaming up with producer Bob Rock for the…

In the fall of America's Bicentennial celebration of 1976, Boston burst onto the airwaves with their debut LP. His first track, "More Than A Feeling" fits perfectly into our list of the 100 best classic rock songs.With a unique yet…

Although they've only been together for two years, the impact that British power trio Cream has had on the world is truly remarkable. No song illustrates this better than "Sunshine of Your Love", which mixes hard rock with psychedelic…

"She packed my bags last night, before the flight ..."Elton John's "Rocket Man" isn't the first classic rock song about a lonely guy drifting through space. Hell, this might not even be the best, although some debate over the merits of…

"Sultans Of Swing" was the first single from Dire Straits. Let it soak in - the bluesy, fully formed melody was the first song many heard from the British act.However, her appeal was evident long before she reached No. 4 on the Billboard…

For Heart, the arrival in May 1977 of their second album, "Little Queen", should have been an unqualified triumph. The Pacific Northwest group had become superstars in Canada and the United States over the previous year with their first…

Four years after Frank Zappa realized Alice Cooper had something special, signing them to his record label, the title track from the band's 1972 album "School's Out" sent the band to the top of the class. 40 years later, it still easily…

In 1980, more than a decade into their career, Judas Priest was ready to take on the world. With the release of their sixth album, the classic 'British Steel', and the single 'Livin After Midnight', they were really delivering the…

Rush takes their well-deserved place in our list of the 100 best classic rock songs with a track that allowed the group to innovate artistically once again.The one-of-a-kind sonic boom synthesizer "Tom Sawyer" intro launches the first side…

You can almost feel the warm breeze blowing as the summery sounds of wind chimes lead to acoustic guitar and fiddle as the next track in our countdown to the top 100 classic rock songs, "Black Water," opens. Doobie Brothers. The tune was…

'Roxanne' was hardly a success for the police. In fact, the song didn't even make the UK charts after its release in April 1978. And when "Roxanne" finally resonated with listeners after its re-release in 1979, it barely reached the Top 40…

Before their stint in Bad Company, Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke had already fulfilled some rock and roll fantasies with Free.Their signature number 'All Right Now', which deservedly occupies a place in our countdown to the 100 best…

What do five guys from Manitoba, Canada sing about an "American woman"? Regardless of their original motivations, this classic song from those Canucks placed Guess Who on our list of the 100 best classic rock songs.From the record of the…

Technically, we could have introduced Walsh four times in our countdown. Although only his name appears on the cover, this song is actually from the second album of his post-James Gang project, Barnstorm.Seemingly inspired by the longtime…

Five months later the Beatles had disbanded and, with Preston's version not attracting much attention, Harrison picked up the number and recorded it for his first solo album "All Things Must Pass".Although he didn't want a single to be…

"Photograph" was a smash hit for the Sheffield, UK-based band in 1983, helping launch the band and their album "Pyromania" into the rock stratosphere, and frontman Joe Elliott needed no a thousand words to convey his message.The lyrics…

Web search reveals pompatus is a newly coined "neologism" or "term, word, or phrase, which may be entering common usage, but has yet to be accepted. in everyday language ".If you are waiting for the pompatus to be accepted in everyday…

If you were a betting man (or woman), you probably knew full well that Foghat's "Slow Ride" would earn a spot on our list of the 100 best classic rock songs.“Slow Ride” is a slab of over eight minutes from the 1975 Foghat album “Fool For…

Somewhere right now, Billy Joel's "Piano Man" is playing.It's on a jukebox, and it's in the produce section of your local grocery store. It's on your radio; it's in your head. It's a key part of the sonic wallpaper that surrounds us…

"Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)" was the third single from Stevie Nicks' debut solo album, "Bella Donna" from 1981. And the story behind this entry in our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs is that of musical tradition.The name…

The Motley Crue logo and imagery were already etched in the notebooks of every teenage hard rock and metal fan before the 1985 release of their third album "Theatre of Pain".However, the massive success of the album's up-and-coming ballad…

It's one of the few songs he wrote during his solo career, but neither Rod Stewart nor his label thought much of 'Maggie May' at first, relegating her to B-side status on 'Reason to Believe 'Single. Fortunately for Rod, the mainstream had…

Foreigner's 'Juke Box Hero' cover, from their 1981 hit album '4', immediately pulls you into an unfolding rock and roll fantasy and lets you relive the experience of being a music fan in the 80s.A real guitar wasn't a necessary piece of the…

“Somebody To Love” was first recorded by an obscure Bay Area band called Great Society, which featured Grace Slick on vocals and her brother, Darby, on guitar. (The latter also wrote the song, which was then called "Someone To Love.")But…

With "Born To Be Wild", Steppenwolf delivered not only a timeless rock anthem and road biker soundtrack, but also one of the most iconic songs of an era, and a clear choice to include on our list. of the 100 best classic rock songs.The song…

From the dramatic fade, classic-style guitar riff, thundering bass to that earth-shaking climax, Yes' "Roundabout" is a masterpiece and one of the best tracks in progressive rock. never recorded. The title track of the band's fourth album,…

When summer rolls around, or when you want to pretend it's here, there's no better song to revisit (and blow up in the car at full volume) than "Jack & Diane". Released while John Mellencamp was still recording as John Cougar, it…

Their lead singer and guitarist has performed with the Lemon Pipers, of 'Green Tambourine' fame. The rest of the band never even played on this very quirky entry on our list of the 100 best classic rock songs. Welcome to the crazy,…