Description from Amazon.com: “Find out more about those tunes that have given us such pleasure. Uncover the real background – the fascinating and fun tidbits that give new meaning to your musical memory. Did you know that the woman who composed ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ told Elvis, ‘You need a million-seller, and I'm going to write it for you’? See what inspired James Taylor’s ‘Fire and Rain,’ what personal incidents lay behind Alanis Morrisette’s ‘You Oughta Know,’ and what 60s pop hit George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’ imitates note for note. Examine the oblique references to the Vietnam War that Jimmy Webb slipped into the Glen Campbell-recorded ‘Galveston.’ And though Don McLean refuses to explain the lyrics of ‘American Pie,’ he will slyly admit that the song means ‘I don’t have to work if I don’t want to.’ Other songs examined include: ‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ ‘Every Breath You Take,’ "Hotel California,’ ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ ‘House of the Rising Sun,’ ‘Biko,’ and lots, lots more. The special treasury of photos of album covers, song release dates, and chart positions will be a music lover's dream.”
Note: this list has been reordered alphabetically by artist so numbers do NOT reflect the songs’ rankings.
Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.
1. Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (1991)
2. Tori Amos “Me and a Gun” (1991)
3. The Animals “The House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
4. Band Aid “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (1984)
5. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
6. The Beatles “Yesterday” (1965)
7. The Beatles “All You Need Is Love” (1967)
8. Chuck Berry “Sweet Little Sixteen” (1958)
9. Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg “Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)” (1969)
10. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
11. Body Count “Cop Killer” (1992)
12. Boomtown Rats “I Don’t Like Mondays” (1979)
13. David Bowie “Space Oddity” (1969)
14. Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” (1978)
15. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)
16. Glen Campbell “Galveston” (1969)
17. Mary Chapin Carpenter “He Thinks He'll Keep Her” (1992)
18. The Clash “1977” (1977)
19. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
20. Eddie Cochran “Summertime Blues” (1958)
21. Leonard Cohen “Suzanne” (1967)
22. Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come” (1965)
23. Elvis Costello “Shipbuilding” (1983)
24. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Ohio” (1970)
25. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1971)
26. Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing” (1978)
27. Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963)
28. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976)
29. The Everly Brothers “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (1958)
30. Roberta Flack “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1973)
31. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (1983)
32. Peter Gabriel “Biko” (1980)
33. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)
34. Gerry & The Pacemakers “Ferry Cross the Mersey” (1965)
35. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel “White Lines (Don't Do It)” (1983)
36. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988)
37. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
38. George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (1970)
39. Buddy Holly and The Crickets “That’ll Be the Day” (1957)
40. John Lee Hooker “Crawlin’ King Snake” (1949)
41. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” (1971)
42. Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (1997)
43. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
44. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
45. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
46. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
47. John Lennon “Just Like Starting Over” (1980)
48. Little Feat “Willin’” (1978)
49. Lynyrd Skynrd “Free Bird” (1973)
50. Matthews’ Southern Comfort “Woodstock” (1970)
51. Barry McGuire “Eve of Destruction” (1965)
52. Scott McKenzie “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” (1967)
53. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
54. Ralph McTell “Streets of London” (1969)
55. Meat Loaf “Bat Out of Hell” (1977)
56. Metallica “Enter Sandman” (1991)
57. George Michael “Careless Whisper” (1984)
58. The Miracles “The Tears of a Clown” (1967)
59. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” (1995)
60. Van Morrison “Astral Weeks” (1968)
61. Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes” (1972)
62. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)
63. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
64. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
65. Roy Orbison “(Oh) Pretty Woman” (1964)
66. Pearl Jam “Jeremy” (1991)
67. Carl Perkins “Blue Suede Shoes” (1956)
68. Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” (1979)
69. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
70. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
71. Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
72. Procol Harum “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)
73. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
74. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
75. Queen with David Bowie “Under Pressure” (1981)
76. Radiohead “Creep” (1993)
77. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” (1992)
78. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
79. The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1965)
80. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
81. Neil Sedaka “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (fast version)” (1962)
82. Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
83. The Shirelles “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (1960)
84. Simon & Garfunkel “Homeward Bound” (1966)
85. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
86. Simple Minds “Belfast Child” (1989)
87. Percy Sledge “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1966)
88. The Specials “Ghost Town” (1981)
89. The Specials “Nelson Mandela” (1984)
90. Bruce Springsteen “Born in the U.S.A.” (1984)
91. Bruce Springsteen “Streets of Philadelphia” (1994)
92. John Stewart “Armstrong” (1969)
93. Sting “They Dance Alone” (1987)
94. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970)
95. U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983)
96. Dionne Warwick “Walk on By” (1964)
97. Wet Wet Wet “Love Is All Around” (1994)
98. The Who “My Generation” (1965)
99. Stevie Wonder “Happy Birthday” (1981)
100. Neil Young “My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)” (1979)
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First posted 4/6/2023; last updated 4/12/2023.
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