Hound Dog – Big Mama Thornton

Forget Elvis’s mega-hit three years later. Big Mama Thornton’s 1953 cut of Lieber and Stoller’s "Hound Dog" is the definitive version. There’s no doubt Thornton has experienced the tears, sexual frustration, two-timing and general tongue-wagging that inspires this tune. She delivers the song with an assurance that it’s over this time, with no second chances. However, there’s another level here where she might just take him back, a parallel we all experience, self-inflicted pain for the promise of a bit of pleasure.

The interlocking drums and bass provides a funky underpinning for Thornton to bark and almost rap the words while the guitar sound is so raw it sounds as if the strings could literally cut your fingers. On top of that, it sounds as if the song was recorded in a juke joint in Mississippi just after midnight. The crowd is warmed up and now they’re reaching their wild peak. Buttons are popping, ties loosening, dresses are starting to hike up. It’s all in the grooves. The crowd, like a mirror, starts to send back the same feelings and frustrations to Big Mama Thornton. This is the most important element, the jubilation and release after the heartache and suffering, which is why rhythm and blues has and always will be relevant.

Available on Hound Dog : The Peacock Recordings – MCA

Chuck Berry – Maybelline

There can’t be a list of cool songs without a tune about souped-up cars, racing and general teenage tomfoolery. Chuck Berry’s Maybelline, a torrential rocker with a country backbeat, may be the best on the subject. This would have been one of the first songs young John and Paul, Mick and Keith and Bob would’ve heard through transistor radios in the 50’s, all of whom later listed Berry’s visual lyrics and sing-along rock as a major influence.

Berry uses bad grammar, misused, and missing words to great effect. Check out "As I was motivating over the hill." This surely means driving and speeding up, but he doesn’t say that, he says, "motivating." Genius. Berry paints a picture of cars "bumper to bumper, side to side", overheating engines and rainwater up under the hood so vividly, you’ll swear you’re in the driver’s seat.
The music, a driving force of drums, bass and Berry’s guitar, actually sounds like a big, American-made, V8 Ford. As the song progresses, his delivery rises with anticipation until he finally catches the Cadillac and Maybelline at the top of the hill. Along the way we get a perfect glimpse of excitement and youth with a steady, better hang on to yourself, backbeat.

Available on The Great Twenty-Eight – MCA

Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bob Dylan

There’s an immediacy to Dylan’s proto-rap, purely American lyrics and the rapid-fire delivery that spells out impending doom. The first time I heard it I pictured a helicopter touching down in some Vietnamese jungle with all hell about to break loose. That may have something to do with Hollywood or an overactive imagination, but something is definitely going on here because the song is still as relevant today as it was in 1965.

Several of the one-liners are a part of our present-day vernacular, i.e.; "You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," "Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift." With this song, Dylan is at the start and the peak of his two-year middle-finger salute to the establishment and what America has become. He’s no longer protesting or finger pointing. There’s an intellectual distance underneath this rant, which gives the song a sort of elusive coolness. While Bob hated being called "the voice of his generation," he was leaving it to the rest to sort out.

The arrangement is arguably the start of punk-rock. The guitars, drums and bass play with an abandon unheard of since the days of early rock and roll. No longer folk-rock, this was something way more left-field, more cynical, more relevant and ultimately, much cooler.

Available on Bringing it All Back Home – Columbia

Gloria – Them

There’s something about this song that conjures up seedy, late-night joints with crowds of people grinding, smoking cigarettes, praying they’ll get lucky. With a tough, snarling vocal over a searing guitar and relentless drumming, "Gloria" oozes grit and sexuality. A young Van Morrison sounds absolutely menacing and nasty on this 1965 cut. It leaves the Shadows of the Night’s version from the same year, a hit in the U.S., sounding limp and inexperienced.

With the vocal hook, "G-L-O-R..ah-I..iii, G-L-O-R-I-A" leading into the youthful exuberance of the chorus, we hear utter confidence and a trick still used by modern pop songsmiths. There’s also a great organ sliding around the song’s riff providing a jazzy feel to the song’s otherwise rock treatment. Recorded by countless artists and a staple of every bar-band in America, "Gloria’s" youthful rock crosses all boundaries. With this song playing, anything is possible.

Available on Them featuring Van Morrison - Polydor


Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan describes his 1966 No. 1 hit, "Like a Rolling Stone," as a "piece of vomit." Like an earlier equally vitriolic single, "Positively 4th Street," it was one of his put-down songs. These were attacks so vicious, so right-on, it leaves the princesses, diplomats and hangers-on with nothing to say and nowhere to go but back to their lonely steeples, chrome horses, Village apartments, trust-funds, habits, etc.

The song has hit me on many different levels, one of which was the receiving end. I’d never heard it as anything other than a put-down of all the pretentious characters Dylan was running into in his amphetamine-fuelled, hyper-creative storm of mid-60’s hip, New York. This particular listen one afternoon in my cramped studio apartment left me in a vulnerable state. Suddenly, I realize I’m some sort of rolling stone, far from home, away from friends, possibly going positively nowhere. What feelings a powerful piece of music can bring on.

From the first crack of the drums and the gallant piano opening to the wild crescendos between choruses and verses, we’re taken to lows and highs and all points in between. The playing is loose but focused, each guitar lick delicate but powerful, the organ adding tension and release beneath. And then the voice. Better yet, the all-knowing anger and confident swagger in the voice, with a hint of indifference so common in this period of his work. He seems to be separating himself from the target of his attack, purging so to speak. Vomiting may be the best description.

With "Like a Rolling Stone," we’re treated to possibly the most concise examination of human behavior, stunted maturity, anger, and eventual helplessness ever packed into a pop song. That is why it is the coolest pop song ever.

Available on Highway 61 Revisited - Columbia

Monkey Man – The Rolling Stones

"Monkey Man" is cool for a number of reasons. Like many Rolling Stones’ songs, it has a great opening; a hypnotic mix of sharp piano notes, funky bass, a volley of nasty jazz chords all building to arguably the coolest riff Keith Richards ever slashed out.

Mick Jagger’s lyrics are a typical rock and roll collision of decadence, both sexually and chemically. However, in the hands of Jagger this subject gets a healthy dose of wit and camp posturing that makes the tired subject work. They just don’t write lines like "I’m a cold Italian pizza, I could use a lemon squeezer," anymore. The song reads like an invitation to a seedy lifestyle of dangerous sex, drugs and general debauchery. While this is hardly eye raising by today’s standards, in 1968 is was frightening.

Musically, it rocks harder than anything on the rest of the album, "Let it Bleed," which includes the scary "Gimme Shelter" and good-time, party rocker, "Live With Me." Although the song is noticeably anchored by solid, in the pocket drumming, prodding bass and a great guitar riff, there’s something else in the grooves too. There’s an underlying current of nastiness and doom, which has to be something recorded on tape, although you’d be hard pressed to put your finger on it.

Is it some sort of distortion on a guitar? The mix of the track? Or could it be that character, Lucifer, the Stone’s so often mentioned in this period? The death of 18-year-old, Meredith Hunter, at the hands of Hell’s Angels at the infamous Altamont disaster, assured this attraction to the dark side would be a feature of their late-60’s work. No more would Jagger drop the devil’s name like an old friend, but with "Monkey Man" Jagger plays out all of his fantasies, which includes yelping like a monkey in the fade-out of the song. Great stuff.

Available on Let it Bleed – ABKCO

Sweet Jane – Velvet Underground

"Sweet Jane" has a very weird opening for a pop song, a whirling mix of cascading guitar lines and drumming hopelessly following along that segues to the coolest guitar riff ever. Reed once said of this five-note rhythm hook, "I still, to this day, love to play that lick. You can make up lyrics to that lick all day long." He’s right. It’s absolutely infectious and if you ever do start playing it on a guitar, it’s hard to stop.

"Sweet Jane," like a great piece of literature, has an opening line to die for: "Standing on the corner, suitcase in my hand. Jack is in his corset, Janie’s in her vest, and me, I’m in a rock and roll band." It sets up a story with rebellion, youth and music at its core. Throughout the song we’re treated to lyrical pearls like "Ridin in a stutz bear cat, Jim", "women, never really faint," "villains always blink their eyes" and "children are the only one’s who blush" all injected with "oohs," "ahs" and a playful "just watch me now."

The chorus is an exuberant explosion that’s impossible not to sing along with. In fact, the verses, built around the mentioned lick, are impossible not to sing along with. Later, we’re treated to an unexpected bridge about "heavenly wine and roses," that segues into a la-la-la vocal hook that none other than David Bowie snatches for "Starman" a few years later.

This is everything a great pop song should be: catchy, fun, youthful and edgy. It’s an absolute crime it received only limited airplay. However, as the saying goes, "Everyone who heard the Velvet Underground started a band." This is a revelation even more impressive.

Available on Loaded – Rhino

Queen Bitch – David Bowie

This is a song from David Bowie’s maturing singer/songwriter album, "Hunky Dory," a collection of songs so easy to fall in love with. "Queen Bitch" is sort of a tribute to the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol’s underworld of hip-New York.

Kicking off with a three-chord twelve-string guitar riff, we get a rock solid groove where any lyric will sound undeniably cool. With Bowie, we get both. Of course, there’s the underlying vein of androgyny and confused sexuality. When describing a certain "she" as "so swishy in her satin and tat, in her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat," but adding, "Oh God I could do better than that," you believe Bowie could.

His knowledge of her "pushing ahead of the dames," and the way she works her "night walking games" lends street credibility, which is always cool. Bowie also writes a great line in "If she says that she can do it, she can do it. She don’t make false claims," but his playful delivery is even better.

There’s an undeniable strut at the song’s core fully realized in the 2004 film, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." In the ending scene we see Bill Murray triumphantly gliding away to the groove of "Queen Bitch."

Like the best songs, it’s over and done with in a little over three minutes, leaving you a bit dazed but reaching for the repeat button. By the way, the rest of the album is equally engaging.

Available on Hunky Dory – Virgin

The Boss – James Brown

With a count-off of "1-2 Get down!" we’re immediately placed in the middle of a groove so solid, so funky, you won’t be able to sit still. To use an old r’n’b expression, your backbone will slip.

"The Boss" is a song from the soundtrack to "Black Caesar," a blaxploitation film from 1973. This standout track is anchored by fantastic playing from Brown’s period band, the JBs. Effortless, funky drumming on the second beat is anchored by a simple but perfect bass line and two different guitar parts. The first, a staccato guitar strum drives the song while the second, a simple and repetitive riff, perfectly suits a pimp’s strut.
"The Boss" is a song about crime, the spoils of that success and the never-ending fear that comes with that life. Nothing sums up this dichotomy better than, "Paid the cost to be the boss." This says so much about what he’s done to get to where he is today. He’s done god knows what to god knows who and he doesn’t quite know what to think about it. There is remorse, but there’s also resignation in his voice. A self-made man never questions his place, only the way he got there.

We also get bragging and self-mythologizing so prevalent later in hip-hop with, "Look at me. You know what you see? A bad mutha." This is surely part of a façade this character must display in his career field not only to succeed, but also to survive. This is a sobering thought but still sounds extremely cool when barked on top of a funky groove. Not many can deliver that line with a straight face; with James Brown, you can believe it too.

Available on Black Caesar - Polydor

Taxman – The Beatles

A slow British accent counts "1-2-3-4," a cough in the background and then "1-2-3-4!" and we’re off with "Taxman," the coolest song in the Beatles’ illustrious catalogue. Immediately we’re hit with that loping, funk bass line and a distorted, slashing guitar. Take notice Franz Ferdinand fans. The modern rock sound, or what some have labeled skinny-tie funk, is born.

This is not the Beatles’ best song. It’s not even the best song on the album. However, it doesn’t get any cooler than this. Writer George Harrison employs what came to be known as the "Hendrix chord," a D7+9, that tears up anything in its path. Later, dig the blistering guitar solo mixed with backward guitars as scary and inventive as any in their canon.

The lyrics, inspired mainly by the lads entering a higher tax bracket, are relatable to anyone who receives a paycheck only to see money already spent for you. Harrison delivers the words with what has to be a straight face and a cold stare.

John and Paul back up with perfect harmonies and when you listen closely, name check tax-raising, British politicians of the time. Ringo, of course, is as reliable and creative as ever. Very few groups can pack so much creativity and information into two minutes and thirty seconds.

A cold song of social relevance, "Taxman" kicks off what many call their best record with angular menace and scathing wit. Rarely has there been an image as vivid and cold as "my advice for those who die, declare the pennies on your eyes."

Available on Revolver - Capitol

Comments

Cool! Written by Guest on 2006-12-30 20:52:11 Very Cool

Written by Guest on 2007-01-22 08:55:38 wirting a list like this begs everyone in the world to disagree with you - but nice shot.

wtf Written by Guest on 2007-05-04 04:47:54 what about lenny kravitz??

boring......... Written by Guest on 2007-05-26 19:47:24 all those are BORING

Written by Guest on 2007-05-30 13:53:35 you missed out these..    green onions- booker t & the mgs  cocaine- eric clapton  money- pink floyd  peaches- stranglers  get carter theme- roy budd

ehh sorry Written by Guest on 2007-06-10 05:05:28 no one can ever just list the greatest songs of all time. you might be able to do the top ten of each genre, but there are too many genres and too many good songs to even get close to your goal, although it was a valiant effort. better luck next tme...

GEM Written by Guest on 2007-06-13 22:16:10 Not feeling it! Too many missed to give you credit...

bob Written by Guest on 2007-07-30 14:18:39 you all suck balls led zepplin rule !!!

Turn The Page? Written by Guest on 2007-11-24 17:33:23

Yea right, tell me another one Written by Guest on 2008-01-30 14:25:41 How Bob Dylan ever achieved any ounce of fame has baffled me for forty years. A mumbling un-coherent guy whos writing is nonsensical. The work that is of any substance is done better by cover artists.

Written by Guest on 2008-02-18 10:13:59 pathetic

Hmmm Written by Guest on 2008-02-20 14:03:56 Lemony To Say The Least

rehhhhhafdgheasfrdgh Written by Guest on 2008-04-07 19:35:21 i dont like this kind og music except for the beatles.

BORING Written by Guest on 2008-06-07 19:45:46 these songs suk    wheres vanessa amrossi and rhianna

rock ruler Written by Guest on 2008-07-07 11:22:54 ooo what the fucking hell is that.. guys that musik sucks.. there´s nothing of guns n roses or ac dc or nirvana...but good try

Written by Guest on 2008-08-08 17:44:18 Decent list but how can have a coolest song of all time list without "Row, row, row your boat" ??

shit Written by Guest on 2008-10-14 15:28:54 thats a crap list. where the fuck did you come up with that shit! ask my great granddad?!

what ever Written by Guest on 2008-11-10 00:55:49 ohh comeone you can do better then thoose shitty songs  god help us u gays have to suck balls dont yah

stupid... Written by Guest on 2008-11-13 18:48:03 pretty good bands... you just picked out some stupid songs

amy Written by Guest on 2008-11-24 02:52:31

El Davo Written by Guest on 2008-11-25 13:43:28 Cool for you maybe...

Written by Guest on 2009-01-18 23:25:29 LED ZEPPELIN + PINK FLOYD + JIMI HENDRIX + GRATEFUL DEAD + GRATEFUL DEAD + GRATEFUL DEAD = BestBestBestBestBest ever.

Coool ...? Written by Guest on 2009-01-20 12:58:07 Tbf.. these song's are cool but they're just all from like the 19th century babee ! x

Written by Guest on 2009-01-20 13:00:24 Lolss But babee don't worry We can still listen to songs from the 19th century.  No one says we cant tbf...X

these all suck nut sack Written by Guest on 2009-01-28 23:27:03 these songs are crap

cool songs Written by Guest on 2009-01-31 17:56:59 this is a pretty decent list except for Gloria

Written by Guest on 2009-02-06 20:03:35 those are gayy.

Written by Guest on 2009-02-07 12:48:35 I hate some of theys songs and....

Upset Written by Guest on 2009-02-07 12:51:16 I'm upset

fly Written by Guest on 2009-03-10 04:37:08 no doubt about it all these songs are very cool.. there may be cooler, but all of these are cool nonetheless..                      fuck led zeppelin

love it! Written by Guest on 2009-03-20 19:28:24 i like this list, id simply vomit if anyone actually thought rihanna,lenny kravitz or god forbid nirvana even held a chance on that list id throw up.

these songs Written by Guest on 2009-04-06 05:01:50 these songs are suck !

jeeeeeeeezzzzzz...... Written by Guest on 2009-04-16 07:54:12 r u kiddin me??!

freaky... Written by Guest on 2009-04-18 03:43:02 u asshole ... how dare u keep these songs in hit list...r u psychopath .... idiot... fuckoff ..with ur list .....

Idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Written by Guest on 2009-05-15 14:59:04

What? Written by Guest on 2009-05-15 15:48:29 please pick f ucking good songs.. if its top 10 songs all time please pick some songs made now.. not a 100 years ago lol..

just no Written by Guest on 2009-05-19 18:09:01

boring Written by Guest on 2009-05-28 09:23:42 this list sucks. If you had to play this playlist at a party no one would think you were cool. They would think you're old & boooring.

Written by Guest on 2009-07-10 09:05:19

your mom Written by Guest on 2009-08-25 19:31:49 im upset

your mom Written by Guest on 2009-08-25 19:39:43 get songs like kiss me thru the phone or like nine in the aferternoon or like kid songs if u know kids like rock and roll who cares if u a big we like to hear music to not just u guys theres other people listen to music tooooooo u should put kid songs /like boom boom pow or knock u down something like that kids dont want to think about olddy songs they will think about that when they are older/

tee hee Written by Guest on 2009-08-25 19:41:18 tee hee123456789

A MSSGE 4 THE ASSWHOLE.!! Written by Guest on 2009-09-28 07:04:59 fucking bastard ....if u dont know wht 2 choose than just ask it from ur mom ..she'll be more smart than ya .........get lost with ur list ASSWHOLE ..!!

hopeless subject Written by Guest on 2010-02-07 22:12:27 you can't just ramble off "THECOOLEST SONGS"! I will say this tho... There are many cool songs in the modern scene (ex. the horrors), but most of them are derived from music that has already "happened" Also, I acknpwledge music is subjective, but If you don't like mid-sixtes Dylan (when he was young, or don't get early led zeppelin yr fucking hopeless

flynn Written by Guest on 2010-09-29 03:14:06 Great Tracks,   But  I'm substituting "monkey man" with "sympathy for the devil"

Written by Guest on 2010-12-21 12:08:22 What the hell

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooo Written by Guest on 2010-12-31 04:17:21 damn you itoit fuck

hmmmmmnnnnn........ well ok. Written by Guest on 2011-05-05 19:30:59 Seems that you forgot number one.......... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PGzC6_WMw

Written by Guest on 2011-06-05 17:33:46 any list that involves bob dylan is okay by me :L these songs arent something to be played at a party.... but still are very cool.. good effort

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