Showing posts with label jeff beck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jeff beck. Show all posts

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Jeff Beck: Top 30 Songs

Jeff Beck

Top 30 Songs

Jeff Beck was born on June 24, 1944, in Wallington, Surrey, England. He died on January 10, 2023 at age 78. He is considered one of the best and most influential guitarists of all time, being credited with how his experimentation with feedback, distortion, and fuzz tone opened the door for psychedelic rock. All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine called him “as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix.”

He became well-known as a guitarist with the Yardbirds from 1965 to 1967 before forming his own group, The Jeff Beck Group, which lasted from 1967 to 1972. The next year he recorded an album with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, both of Vanilla Fudge. He then became a solo artist, largely recording instrumental albums.

He only released three solo albums in the 1980s, but in 1984 he worked with The Honeydrippers, a one-time supergroup which also featured Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Nile Rodgers. In the ‘90s, he played guitar on a number of projects, including Jon Bon Jovi’s solo album Blaze of Glory (1990), Roger Waters’ Amused to Death (1992), Kate Bush’s The Red Shoes (1993), and Paul Rodgers’ Muddy Water Blues (1993).

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992. He was inducted a second time as a solo artist in 2009. He won eight Grammys from 1985 to 2010.

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out the podcast Remembering Jeff Beck, 1944-2023, based on this list. Debut: January 18, 2023, at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards:

Top 30 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.)

DMDB Top 5%:

1. Shapes of Things (Yardbirds, 1966)
2. Heart Full of Soul (Yardbirds, 1965)

DMDB Top 10%:

3. Rockin’ at Midnight (The Honeydrippers, 1984)

DMDB Top 20%:

4. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (Yardbirds, 1966)
5. People Get Ready (with Rod Stewart, 1985)
6. Over Under Sideways Down (Yardbirds, 1966)
7. Beck’s Bolero (Jeff Beck Group, 1967)
8. I Ain’t Superstitious (Jeff Beck Group, 1968)
9. I’m a Man (Yardbirds, 1965)
10. Ol’ Man River (Jeff Beck Group, 1968)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

11. Down So Long (live with Sting from Live for Life, 1986)
12. Freeway Jam (1975)
13. ‘Cause We’ve Ended Up As Lovers (1975)
14. Hi-Ho Silver Lining (1967)
15. Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot) (Donovan with the Jeff Beck Group, 1969)
16. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) (Jeff Beck Group, 1969)
17. Tallyman (1967)
18. I’ve Been Drinking (Jeff Beck Group, 1968)
19. Manic Depression (with Seal, 1993)
20. She’s a Woman (1975)

21. Evil Hearted You (Yardbirds, 1965)
22. Love Is Blue (L'Amour Est Blue) (Jeff Beck Group, 1968)
23. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (1976)
24. Like a Rolling Stone (with Seal, 2012)
25. Going Down (Jeff Beck Group, 1972)
26. Gets Us All in the End (1985)
27. Still I’m Sad (Yardbirds, 1965)
28. Train Kept A-Rollin’ (Yardbirds, 1965)
29. A Day in the Life (1998)
30. Scatter Brain (1975)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 1/17/2023; last updated 1/19/2023.

 
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Wednesday, January 26, 2022

The Top 100 Guitarists of All Time

Guitarists:

Top 100

This list first surfaced on 5/29/10 in a response to a voter-based list released by Gibson.com. Barely two weeks went by when an update became necessary thanks to an LA Times Magazine article listing the 50 greatest guitarists of all time. The DMDB’s revised list of best guitarists was posted on the DMDB Facebook page.

In November 2011, Rolling Stone posted a new list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. As such, this post has been revised yet again to reflect the inclusion of that list. 34 lists have been compiled to create this aggregate list.

Click on names to see their entries in the Dave’s Music Database Music Makers Encyclopedia. The highlights – selected by browsing best-guitar-solo lists – link to videos.

See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories.

1. Jimi Hendrix Highlight: “Machine Gun”
2. Jimmy Page Highlight: “Stairway to Heaven” (with Led Zeppelin)
3. Eric Clapton Highlight: “Crossroads” (with Cream)
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan Highlight: “Texas Flood”
5. Eddie Van Halen Highlight: “Eruption” (with Van Halen)
6. B.B. King Highlight: “The Thrill Is Gone”
7. Jeff Beck Highlight: “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”
8. Angus Young Highlight: “You Shook Me All Night Long” (with AC/DC)
9. Chuck Berry Highlight: “Johnny B. Goode”
10. Duane Allman Highlight: “Dreams” (with the Allman Brothers Band)

11. Steve Vai Highlight: “For the Love of God”
12. David Gilmour Highlight: “Comfortably Numb” (with Pink Floyd)
13. Keith Richards Highlight: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (with the Rolling Stones)
14. Ritchie Blackmore Highlight: “Highway Star” (with Deep Purple)
15. Joe Satriani Highlight: “Surfing with the Alien”
16. Slash Highlight: “November Rain” (with Guns N’ Roses)
17. Randy Rhoads Highlight: “Crazy Train” (with Ozzy Osbourne)
18. Yngwie Malmsteen Highlight: “Black Star”
19. Tony Iommi Highlight: “War Pigs” (with Black Sabbath)
20. George Harrison Highlight: “And Your Bird Can Sing” (with The Beatles)

21. Pete Townshend Highlight: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (with the Who)
22. Steve Cropper
23. Santana Highlight: “Europa”
24. Frank Zappa Highlight: “Zoot Allures”
25. Brian May Highlight: “Bohemian Rhapsody” (with Queen)
26. Robert Johnson
27. Mark Knopfler Highlight: “Sultans of Swing” (with Dire Straits)
28. Neil Young Highlight: “Cortez the Killer”
29. Kirk Hammett Highlight: “One” (with Metallica)
30. Les Paul

31. Tom Morello Highlight: “Bulls on Parade” (with Rage Against the Machine)
32. The Edge
33. John Frusciante Highlight: “I Could Have Lied” (with Red Hot Chili Peppers)
34. Robert Fripp Highlight: “21st Century Schizoid Man” (with King Crimson)
35. John McLaughlin Highlight: “Dream” (with Mahavishnu Orchestra)
36. Jerry Garcia Highlight: “Truckin’” (with the Grateful Dead)
37. Ry Cooder
38. Chet Atkins
39. Prince
40. John Petrucci Highlight: “Under a Glass Moon” (with Dream Theater)

41. Alex Lifeson Highlight: “Working Man” (with Rush)
42. Steve Morse Highlight: “Punk Sandwich” (with Dixie Dregs)
43. Buddy Guy
44. Peter Green
45. Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott Highlight: “Floods” (with Pantera)
46. Kurt Cobain Highlight: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (with Nirvana)
47. Rory Gallagher
48. Richard Thompson
49. Bo Diddley
50. Django Reinhardt

51. Eric Johnson Highlight: “Cliffs of Dover”
52. Steve Howe Highlight: “Starship Trooper” (with Yes)
53. Scotty Moore
54. Joe Perry Highlight: “Walk This Way” (with Aerosmith)
55. Mick Taylor
56. Billy Gibbons Highlight: “Sharp Dressed Man” (with ZZ Top)
57. Buckethead Highlight: “Nottingham Lace”
58. Albert King
59. Gary Moore Highlight: “Still in Love with You” (with Thin Lizzy)
60. Freddie King

61. Phil Keaggy
62. Jack White
63. James Burton
64. T-Bone Walker
65. Mike Bloomfield
66. Marty Friedman Highlight: “Tornado of Souls (with Megadeth)
67. Wes Montgomery
68. Mick Ronson Highlight: “Moonage Daydream” (with David Bowie)
69. Eddie Hazel Highlight: “Maggot Brain” (with Funkadelic)
70. Michael Schenker Highlight: “Rock Bottom” (with UFO)

71. Dickey Betts Highlight: “Jessica” (with the Allman Brothers Band)
72. Jonny Greenwood Highlight: “Paranoid Android” (with Radiohead)
73. Charlie Christian Highlight: “Solo Flight” (with Benny Goodman)
74. Zakk Wylde Highlight: “No More Tears” (with Ozzy Osbourne)
75. Allan Holdsworth Highlight: “Devil take the Hindmost”
76. Joey Ramone
77. John Fahey
78. Link Wray
79. Johnny Marr
80. Warren Haynes

81. Johnny Winter Highlight: “Highway 61 Revisited”
82. Dick Dale Highlight: “Miserlou” (Dick Dale & the Del-Tones)
83. Glenn Tipton Highlight: “Beyond the Realms of Death” (with Judas Priest)
84. Derek Trucks
85. Roy Buchanan
86. Neal Schon Highlight: “Any Way You Want It” (with Journey)
87. Humbert Sumlin
88. Paul Gilbert Highlight: “Price You Gotta Pay” (with Mr. Big)
89. Adrian Smith Highlight: “Powerslave” (with Iron Maiden)
90. Ace Frehley Highlight: “Shock Me” (with Kiss)

91. Tom Verlaine
92. Leslie West
93. Robin Trower Highlight: “Bridge of Sighs”
94. Mike McCready Highlight: “Alive” (with Pearl Jam)
95. Dave Davies Highlight: “You Really Got Me” (with The Kinks)
96. Danny Gatton
97. Andres Segovia
98. Richie Sambora
99. Ron Asheton
100. Dave Murray Highlight: “2 Minutes to Midnight” (with Iron Maiden)

Resources/Related Links:

  • Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories

  • About.com’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos

  • AssociatedContent.com Top 10 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Dennis Lindsay (12/29/08)

  • BBC News Zeppelin voted ‘ideal supergroup’ (7/10/05)

    Roughly 3500 music fans were polled at Planet Rock Radio for best singer, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. The top 10 of each are listed.

  • Buzzle.com Greatest Guitar Players. By Batul Nafisa Baxamusa. (4/13/10)

    Unranked list of 10 with commentaries. Another 15 with no commentary. Looks like a webzine.

  • Buzzle.com Famous Jazz and Rock Guitarists. By Madhura P. (date?)

    Commentary on only 5 guitarists (although another 11 are listed) and all from the rock genre, not jazz.

  • Digital Dream Door 100 Greatest Rock Guitarists. Edited by Andreas Haukenes, Jeffrey P., George F., and gminer. (5/11/10)

    List has no commentaries, but links to Nutsie.com where you can hear songs.

  • Digital Dream Door 100 Greatest Guitarists (All Genres). Edited by George. (2/13/08)

    This is an all-genre list with no commentaries, but links to Nutsie.com where you can hear songs. List actually includes 200 guitarists.

  • Digital Dream Door’s 100 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos edited by Eric/Lew (5/15/05)

  • EduBook.com The Greatest Guitarists of All Time. By Phil Dotree. (10/24/09)

    Top 5 ranked list with commentaries.

  • Gibson.com Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. By various writers. (5/28/10)

    List was compiled by votes over a month’s time. The end result is a ranked list with multiple ties and commentaries written by various writers. As the site indicates, votes came from the Gibson.com readers’ poll as well as Paolo Bassotti, Dave Hunter, Jeff Cease (Black Crowes), James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges), Steve Mazur (Our Lady Peace), Martin Belmont (Graham Parker & The Rumour), and writers Ellen Barnes, Sean Dooley, Ted Drozdowski, Russell Hall, Arlen Roth, Andrew Vaughan, Aidin Vaziri, Bryan Wawzenek, Michael Wright.

  • Guitar World 30 on 30: The Greatest Guitarists Picked by the Greatest Guitarists. By multiple authors. (3/10)

    In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Guitar World asked 30 different guitarists to comment on a favorite guitarist of theirs.

  • LA Times‘s The 50 Greatest Guitarists Ever (6/10)

    Unranked list with no commentary but links to videos.

  • Mojo‘s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time (6/96)

    Link is for a ranked list which includes a recommended song or album and indicates the main guitar used by the guitarist.

  • MusicBanter.com 200 Greatest Guitarists in Rock. By Boo Boo. (6/05)

    List only. No commentary. Site looks like a fan-based billboard.

  • MusiciansFriend.com The 100 Greatest Guitarists Who Ever Lived. By Adam St. James. (year?)

    List is identified as being from Guitar.com and says the list is based on votes compiled at Guitar.com. A short bio notes that St. James has been the site’s editor and is an author of several instructional guitar books.

  • MyMusicLists.com Best Guitarists of All Time. (2006)

    Details of list are unclear. This appears to be a site in which fans can vote on favorites. The list includes 51 ranked guitarists, but does not indicate if ranking actually came from fan votes. There are brief comments from users.

  • PhilBrodieBand.com Greatest Guitarists. (2005)

    Page offers multiple lists (acoustic, blues, hard rock/heavy metal, jazz, R&B/soul, rock) which are identified as being from DigitalDreamDoor.com, but these same lists do not appear to be on that site. All lists are ranked without commentary. Most are top 100 lists, except for the hard rock/heavy metal and R&B/soul, which are top 30 lists.

  • RateItAll.com Best Guitarists of All Time. (Originated 1/19/04)

    This ranked list appears to be generated by voter ratings and reviews. Clicking on a guitarist’s name takes one to a page with voters’ comments. List is apparently ongoing with more comments and ratings being added.

  • RateYourMusic.com 25 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. By Fatman (10/12/06)

    Site allows users to generate lists. This ranked list offers brief commentaries.

  • Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. (2003?)

    This ranked list, with commentary, is difficult to navigate on the Rolling Stone site since each guitarist has a separate page. To just see the list, check out TheInsider.com.

  • Piero Scarufi, Greatest Rock Guitarists of All Times (1999)

    This is a list only with no commentary. For no explained reason, there are 53 guitarists in ranked list followed by another 100 names in no perceivable order.

  • Squidoo.com The Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. (year?)

    Ranked list with no commentary. List appears to have been generated by original author and then others could vote on it. Author and date not identified.

  • Time Magazine The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players. By Josh Tyrangiel (year?)

    Short list with only one-sentence commentaries.

  • The-Top-Tens.com Greatest Guitarists Ever. (year?)

    This top 100 ranked list offers brief comments from site visitors. List appears to be voter-generated.

  • TopTenz.net Top 10 Greatest Guitar Players. By Clarence F. (2008?)

    Top 10 ranked list with commentaries and video for each guitarist.

  • Total Guitarist Magazine The Top 100 Guitarists. (8/3/02)

    Top 100 ranked list with no commentary. Voted on by Total Guitar readers.

First posted 11/23/2011; last updated 1/25/2022.

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

How to Get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Check out these books by Dave Whitaker available through DavesMusicDatabase.com or Amazon.


Also check the Dave’s Music Database Facebook page for daily music-related posts.




Blog updated on 1/11/2012 to include images and links. Content untouched.
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Well, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced for 2009. As always, there’s a mix of unquestionable inductees (Metallica), those that are somewhat deserving, but debatable (Jeff Beck) and those that make you go “huh?” (Little Anthony? Bobby Womack? Run-D.M.C.?).

What always makes the latter category more dramatic is when you consider those acts who haven’t been inducted (Kiss, Genesis, Yes, Rush, Deep Purple, Bad Company, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop & The Stooges). So, here’s a little guide on how to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

1. Don’t be prog rock. Genesis, Yes, Rush, Jethro Tull – this means you. Apparently being a hugely influential and successful rock band is insignificant if you’ve ever done a thematic album, written a song longer than 8 minutes, and dared to integrate classical music into good ol’ rock and roll.

You aren’t likely to see The Rock Hall nominating committee wearing these.



2. Being an authentic rock and roll act is not required. Now that the Hall has caught up with the rap era, they’ve seen fit to induct Grandmaster Flash & Run-D.M.C. Do they belong in a rap hall of fame? No question. But rock and roll?

However, the nominating committee might wear these.



3. In fact, you may be better off being an R&B act. Now, no one should be signing any petitions to get the likes of Ray Charles, Fats Domino, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Sam Cook booted from the Hall. They are great examples of acts that have hugely influenced both R&B and rock. However, the Rock Hall seems to have taken it upon themselves to represent whatever R&B act they see fit, regardless of whether they have much to do with rock & roll or its development. Little Anthony & The Imperials? The Flamingos? The O’Jays?

The Rock Hall nominating committee practically has this mantra tattooed on their foreheads.



4. Being a blues pioneer is a huge plus. Actually, I don’t have a quibble with this one. Rock and roll is so rooted in the blues that you’d have to question the credibility of a Hall without B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, and Howlin’ Wolf.

You could definitely hear the Nom Com spout this mantra.



5. Last of all, don’t be Kiss. Look, when the weird kid in my junior high argued about how great Kiss was, it was easy to dismiss him. I’ve never been a fan of the band anyway. When you think of how huge they’ve been in rock and roll, however, it’s time to get a grip. Apparently, the Rock Hall is about politics and Kiss have rubbed them the wrong way. Perhaps the Hall could use a little reminder that the roots of rock and roll is all about rubbing people the wrong way. Get a clue and put in the act that most deserves it that isn’t in yet.

A face only a mother could love? Certainly the Rock Hall has no love for this face.



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Monday, September 24, 1984

Robert Plant helms the Honeydrippers on a retro-rock covers EP

Volume 1

The Honeydrippers

Released: September 24, 1984

Charted: October 20, 1984

Peak: 5 US, 56 UK, 11 CN, 13 AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, world: 1.3 (includes U.S.)

Genre: rock

Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. I Get a Thrill (Ruby Toombs)
  2. Sea of Love George Khoury, Phil Phillips) (10/13/84, 3 US, 3 CB, 4 RR, 1 AC, 11 AR, 56 UK, 1 CN, 5 AU)
  3. I Got a Woman (Ray Charles, Renald Richard)
  4. Young Boy Blues (Doc Pomus, Phil Spector)
  5. Rockin’ at Midnight (Roy Brown) (10/13/84, 25 US, 28 CB, 23 RR, 38 AC, 8 AR, 18 CN)

Total Running Time: 18:07

The Players:

  • Robert Plant (vocals)
  • Jimmy Page (guitar)
  • Jeff Beck (guitar)
  • Paul Shaffer (keyboards)
  • Nile Rodgers (guitar, co-producer)
  • Wayne Pedzwater (bass)
  • Dave Wecki, Keith “Bev” Smith (drums)

Rating:

2.929 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

About the Album:

Supergroups don’t get much bigger than this. Led Zeppelin fans were overjoyed to see Robert Plant and Jimmy Page reunite. In addition, Jeff Beck – who Page replaced in the Yardbirds – showed up as well to get classic rock guitar fans swooning. Nile Rodgers, formerly of Chic, leant his production talents as well. While initially associated with Chic and Sister Sledge and other disco acts, he had started branching out to other pop and rock acts like David Bowie, Duran Duran, and Madonna.

This EP of R&B covers came about at the request of Atlantic Records’ boss Ahmet Ertegun. With a couple of solo albums in the classic rock vein and his “monolithic Zeppelin” AMG only a few years behind him, this project surprised some of Plant’s fans. However, he’d “always harbored deep, abiding love for early rock & roll” AMG so this “unabashedly retro-rock project” AMG shouldn’t actually be that startling.

“Plant excelled on Rockin’ at Midnight but landed an accidental US hit when DJs began playing the band’s version of the 1959 smoochie Sea of Love.” Q The latter has “a certain sense of pastishe…in how…[it] is drenched in oceans of strings…but that’s part of the charm of the record.” AMG Some might find it “even campy, but there’s a genuine warth in Plant’s performance...and his…Honeydrippers…have a great time running through these handful of oldies.” AMG Plant has said it “is his personal favorite project that he ever recorded.” WK

Resources and Related Links:

Other Related DMDB Pages:

First posted 9/27/2010; last updated 5/20/2022.

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Monday, July 7, 1980

The Beginning and End of Led Zeppelin: July 7

Originally posted July 7, 2011.


Led Zeppelin


In an interesting twist, the birth of Led Zeppelin and its demise can both be tied to July 7. The first time around was in 1968. The Yardbirds broke up after playing a gig at Luton College of Technology in Bedfordshire, England. Although the band was only five years old, they had undergone significant changes. Jimmy Page was the band’s third lead guitarist, following Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. By 1968, manager Peter Grant pushed the band to be heavier and more experimental. Page embrace the direction, as he was intrigued with the psychedelic blues-rock of groups like Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

However, singer Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty, who’d been with the band throughout, wanted a more folk-influenced sound. By March 1968, they’d decided to leave the group, but Page and bassist Chris Dreja persuaded them to stick it out for another tour.


The Yardbirds, the Jimmy Page era


After the breakup, Page and Dreja reassembled a new lineup, originally called “The New Yardbirds”. Page wanted a singer named Terry Reid, but he was committed as an opening act for Cream’s 1968 U.S. tour and recommended Robert Plant, a then-unknown singer who Reid had seen perform. Plant brought along his childhood friend John Bonham for drums. After Dreja opted to pursue a career as a rock photographer, Page recruited bassist John Paul Jones, with whom he’d worked as a session musician. With Dreja holding the legal rights to the name “Yardbirds”, the new lineup was christened Led Zeppelin.

The name is credited to Keith Moon, drummer for The Who. He did not, however, make his famous “it’ll go over like a lead balloon (or zeppelin)” comment about the “New Yardbirds”. His was actually referring to a supergroup including Page, Moon, and Jones which gathered in 1966 to record “Beck’s Bolero” with Jeff Beck (with whom Page worked briefly in the Yardbirds) and pianist Nicky Hopkins.

Led Zeppelin released eight studio albums from 1969 to 1979. Three of them rank in the Dave’s Music Database list of the Top 100 Albums of All Time and four others the Top 1000 list. Seven of the albums topped the UK charts; six hit #1 stateside.

Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Click to see the DMDB page for ‘Led Zeppelin IV’


The group became a staple of classic rock by pushing albums over singles. They still had some very successful songs; “Whole Lotta Love” was a top five U.S. hit and “Stairway to Heaven” is a mainstay at the top of most classic rock station playlists. The latter song is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999.

Sadly, it came to an end in 1980. A concert on July 7 in Berlin was the last appearance of the four original members. On September 25, 1980, John “Bonzo” Bonham died of asphyxiation after drinking excessively and choking on his own vomit. The group officially disbanded by the end of the year.



Like their predecessor, Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As influential as the Yardbirds were considered, however, Led Zeppelin took things even further. They rank in the Dave’s Music Database list of the Top 100 Acts of All Time and also received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. With 111.5 million certified album sales in the U.S., they are the country’s second best-selling band of all time. W-L Rolling Stone magazine called them “the heaviest band of all time” and “unquestionably one of the most enduring rock bands in history.” W-L



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Monday, May 19, 1975

Aerosmith chart with “Sweet Emotion”

Sweet Emotion

Aerosmith

Writer(s): Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton (see lyrics here)

Released: May 19, 1975

First Charted: May 31, 1975

Peak: 36 US, 36 CB, 45 HR, 1 CL, 36 AR, 24 UK, 56 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 58.59 video, 264.84 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“Sweet Emotion” emerged on the last day of recording sessions for Aerosmith’s third album, Toys in the Attic. Producer Jack Douglas asked if anyone had any extra ideas and bassist Tom Hamilton revived a riff RS500 which may or may not have originated in his high school days. As he says, “That little period tends to kind of run together. It’s very possible.” UCR As Hamilton says, “by the end of the afternoon, I kinda showed everybody the parts, we were jamming on it, and refined it into the arrangement that became ‘Sweet Emotion.’” UCR

Hamilton credits legendary guitarist Jeff Beck as an inspiration, noting that when the band lived together in the early days, they listened to Beck’s Rough and Ready album. “It was a very cool, jazz-funk-rock type of album… I wanted to do something that evoked the feeling I got from it. I picked up a guitar and wrote some parts that went along with the bass parts, and just kept it in the back of my mind.” UCR

Hamilton explained that the band were on a tight budget in those days and after he, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Brad Whitford recorded their parts, they went home, not knowing what the words or even the title of the song would be. “It was just unbelievable,” Hamilton said, when he first heard “Sweet Emotion” with the lyrics upon his return to Boston a month and a half, two months later. UCR

“Steven Tyler's highly evocative but never fully revealing lyrics” UCR were paired with “that famously hypnotic yet somehow menacing opening bass riff” UCR and “Joe Perry’s voice-box recitation of the song title” RS500 to give the band its first top 40 hit a few months later, “paving the way for the next massive hit, ‘Walk This Way,’ and the successful re-release of the initially under-performing ballad ‘Dream On’ from Aerosmith's first album.” UCR “Sweet Emotion” became a rock staple and, in an impressive feat, hit Billboard magazine’s album-rock chart more than 15 years after its release. It ranked #1 on Ultimate Classic Rock’s 2013 list of the top 100 classic rock songs. UCR

Resources:

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First posted 2/9/2021; last updated 8/3/2022.

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Saturday, January 27, 1973

Stevie Wonder hit #1 with “Superstition”

Superstition

Stevie Wonder

Writer(s): Stevie Wonder (see lyrics here)

First Charted: November 11, 1972

Peak: 11 US, 12 CB, 2 GR, 12 HR, 38 AC, 13 RB, 4 CL, 11 UK, 6 CN, 95 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.2 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 238.51 video, 524.14 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Discrepancies abound regarding this song’s origin. One version says Wonder wrote it while at the drums, first playing the beat and then humming the melody. AMG Blues-rock guitarist Jeff Beck was planning a 1971 album with Motown MA but when the project was abandoned, MA Motown opted to release a version by Wonder. LW It became his first #1 hit in nearly a decade. RS500

Another account suggests that when Wonder began his Talking Book album, Beck was a principal collaborator TB and that “Superstition” grew out of the pair jamming in the studio TB with Beck coming up with the drum groove while Wonder crafted the distinctive riff on clarinet. TB In this more selfish version of the story, after initially offering the song to Beck, Wonder opted to keep it for himself as a single release to the dismay of Beck’s label. TB

Regardless of its origins, the song “was a rock/ funk crossover” AMG that furthered soul and pop music’s modern studio recording techniques MA via “early use of synthesized keyboards” DJ and “one of the most copied and influential riffs ever written.” LW When Beck finally released his own version on Beck, Bogart, Appice, it was a drum-driven rock song aided by Carmine Appice, AMG which was “nothing more than bluesy light jazz.” MA

After label-mate Marvin Gaye’s success with the themed album, What’s Going On, in 1971, he renogitiated his Motown contract for more royalties and artistic control. LW Wonder followed suit with the company’s most lucrative contract in their history and was guaranteed complete artistic control – at only 21 years old. LW

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Last updated 2/3/2023.

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