The music world, especially rock, has strived to document the passing of each musician and moving song, and the records of this careful cataloguing can be browsed in the millions upon millions of pages of magazines and publications. There was once a time, before the appearance of MTV, that specialists in the subject would sit down and critique each sound wave created. Their ears pressed to the radio, they would voice their opinions in the most renowned and respected printed media in the world.
The Rolling Stone is one of these iconic platforms, a magazine that has sustained its glory for countless years and amassed a heady amount of followers. As the digital world razes the traditional media, Rolling Stone has prevailed and continues to be an authority in the music medium.
In its 2004 edition it picked 500 songs and labelled them as the best of all time, let us look at its suggestions and see what hidden gems we find tucked within. At first glance, it is obvious this list is not exhaustive and it is quite subjective because we can’t wrap our head around the fact that Smokey Robinson and The Miracles with”Shop Around” occupies 550th place, while “Brown Sugar” of The Rolling Stones is 394. That can’t be right, can it? Well, at least they are profiled in such prestigious list, but why is it at the bottom of mankind’s historical trajectory?
It is equally shocking that above The Stones by only two numbers (493), we find “Time To Pretend” from MGMT. While we agree that this soundtrack was the hymn of a generation, can we really say that it is better than Jagger’s band? Unbelievable. At 444, we find Elvis Presley with “Love Me Tender” and on the 400th place we discover the unforgettable “Baby I Need Your Loving” by The Four Stops. The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” is nestled at 349. It is a bit disturbing that Eminem is sharing a spot with David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, and Jefferson Airplane with the ranking 296.
As we approach the 200s we see that it gets better, we can see Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, The New York Dolls, Archie Bell & The Drells, Blondie, Radiohead, M.I.A, and New Order. Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” nails the 141st place, reminding us of the memorable moment when Robert Plant travelled to Morocco. U2’s “With Or Without You” is nestled at 132, showing the vocal quality and ethereal quitar playing of Bono’s band. Simon & Garfunkel wins the 106th place with “The Boxer,” taking us back to melancholy sounds and of the greatest tributes to the city that never sleeps, New York.
Finally, we reach 100 and we still find this list has plenty of surprises ahead:
100. ‘Crazy’ by Gnarls Barkley
99. ‘Fortunate Son’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival98. ‘Love and Happiness’ by Al Green97. ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ by Chuck Berry96. ‘Great Balls of Fire’ by Jerry Lee Lewis95. ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ by Carl Perkins
94. ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ by Little Richard93. ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ by U292. ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by Ramones91. ‘Suspicious Minds’ by Elvis Presley90. ‘In the Still of the Night’ by The Five Satins
89. ‘California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and the Papas88. ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations87. ‘Ring of Fire’ by Johnny Cash86. ‘Thunder Road’ by Bruce Springsteen85. ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QEDb3xzdec
84. ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police83. ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’ by The Beatles82. ‘Blueberry Hill’ by Fats Domino81. ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye80. ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks
79. ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ by The Byrds78. ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’ by James Brown77. ‘Mystery Train’ by Elvis Presley76. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ by The Beatles75. ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin
At this stage, the list becomes more consistent, although we cannot help criticize the fact that the same songs were profiled but only with different interpreters. For instance “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Mr Tambourine Man” boast more than one version and both were performed by Elvis, Perkins, Bob Dylan, and The Byrds. Plowing through this list, we can see Smokey Robinson and Martha Reeves entering the spotlight.
50. ‘The Tracks of My Tears’ of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles49. ‘Hotel California’ of The Eagles48. ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ of Simon and Garfunkel47. ‘All Along the Watchtower’ of The Jimi Hendrix Experience46. ‘Heroes’ of David Bowie45. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ of Elvis Presley
44. ‘Georgia on My Mind’ of Ray Charles43. ‘Tutti-Frutti’ of Little Richard42. ‘Waterloo Sunset’ of The Kinks41. ‘The Weight’ of The Band40. ‘Dancing in the Street’ of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
It is important to point out that this song wasn’t updated until 2011 and since then no one has bothered to restructure it. The past decade has been completely put to one side, and the focus is solely on the twentieth century. The Beatles and Elvis Presley are dotted several times across the list and we cannot forget U2 that occupies 36th place with “One” and Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” snatching 30th place. The Clash with “London Calling” at number 13. As we approach the coveted 10 places we see “A Change is Gonna Come” from Sam Cooke and “My Generation” by The Who. Here are the top ten songs that changed the music world:
10. ‘What’d I Say’ by Ray Charles
9. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana
8. ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles
7. ‘Johnny B. Goode’ by Chuck Berry
6. ‘Good Vibrations’ by The Beach Boys
5. ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin
4. ‘What’s Going On’ by Marvin Gaye
3. ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon
2. ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones
1. ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ by Bob Dylan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sftw5k_JRs
The vocal transformations of Ray Charles with gospel, the exacerbated farewell to grunge in the 1990s, The Beatles’ song that changed America, the firey riffs of Chuck Berry, and the joys and laments of R&B are shoved into this list of 500 songs. As you browse through the countless songs and musicians, you recall the time when peace and euphoria could be reached through the power of music. We are taken back to a time where the powerful voice of a single person could move the masses and where dreams were at a touching distance.