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In the last few days, Rolling Stone Magazine has updated their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The list originally appeared in 2004. I found this to be very interesting, as well as the Wikipedia page entry for this list.
These factoids are interesting. Some of the remakes are ranked higher than the original? The Greatful Dead really have NO songs in the top 500 of all time? And should Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan really be #1? I mean... it's a good song and all, but really, the GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME???
From Wikipedia:
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004,[1] a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The song list was chosen based on votes by 172 musicians, critics, and music-industry figures. The magazine published an updated list in June 2010.[2]
Top 10 Songs
# Song Artist Country of origin Release
1 Like a Rolling Stone Bob Dylan United States 1965
2 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction The Rolling Stones United Kingdom 1965
3 Imagine John Lennon United Kingdom 1971
4 What's Going On Marvin Gaye United States 1971
5 Respect Aretha Franklin United States 1965
6 Good Vibrations The Beach Boys United States 1966
7 Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry United States 1958
8 Hey Jude The Beatles United Kingdom 1968
9 Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana United States 1991
10 What'd I Say Ray Charles United States 1959
Statistics
The list is almost entirely composed of North American and British artists. Of the 500 songs, 352 are from the United States and 117 from the United Kingdom; they are followed by Ireland with 12 entries, Canada with 10, Jamaica with 7 (most of them by Bob Marley or Jimmy Cliff), Australia with three (AC/DC with two) and a lone song from Sweden (by ABBA).
The list includes just one song not in English -- "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens (345).
The updated list features 18 songs from the 21st century -- "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (100), "Crazy in Love" by Beyonce (118.), "Moment of Surrender" by U2 (160), "99 Problems" by Jay-Z (172), "Hey Ya!" by Outkast (182), "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse (194), "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (236), "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West (273), "Stan" by Eminem (296), "Umbrella" by Rihanna (412), "American Idiot" by Green Day (432), "In Da Club" by 50 Cent (448.), "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliot (466), "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z (467), "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (482), "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake (484), "Clocks" by Coldplay (490), "Time to Pretend" by MGMT (493), "Ignition (remix)" by R. Kelly (494); and only two songs from the 1940s -- "Rollin' Stone" by Muddy Waters (459) and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (111).
The number of songs from each of the decades represented is as follows:
Decade Number of Songs Percentage of total tracks
40's 2 0.4%
50's 71 14.2%
60's 204 40.8%
70's 142 28.4%
80's 57 11.4%
90's 21 4.2%
00's 3 0.6%
With 23 songs on the list, The Beatles are the most-represented musical act. John Lennon is the only artist to place multiple songs in the top 10 (as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist; though "Hey Jude" was written mainly by Paul McCartney). The Beatles are followed by The Rolling Stones (14); Bob Dylan (12); Elvis Presley (11); The Beach Boys and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (7); Chuck Berry, U2, James Brown, Prince, Led Zeppelin, and Sly & the Family Stone (6); and The Clash, The Who, The Drifters, Elton John, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard (5).
Three songs appear on the list twice, being performed by different artists. "Mr. Tambourine Man" performed by Bob Dylan and The Byrds (the former's at #106, the latter's at #79), "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins (Perkins' version at 95th, Presley's at 423rd) and "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and Run-DMC (the originial 1975 recording at #336, the 1986 cover at #287).
The shortest tracks are "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran at 1:45, "[Great Balls Of Fire]" (#96) by Jerry Lee Lewis and "Rave On" (#154) by Buddy Holly, both with a duration of one minute and fifty seconds.
The longest tracks are "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang at 14:37, "The End" by The Doors at 11:44, "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan at 11:23, and "Marquee Moon" by Television at 10:47.
Notable artists omitted from the list include the Grateful Dead, the band most closely associated with Rolling Stone magazine in its early years in San Francisco.
Top 10 Songs
# Song Artist Country of origin Release
1 Like a Rolling Stone Bob Dylan United States 1965
2 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction The Rolling Stones United Kingdom 1965
3 Imagine John Lennon United Kingdom 1971
4 What's Going On Marvin Gaye United States 1971
5 Respect Aretha Franklin United States 1965
6 Good Vibrations The Beach Boys United States 1966
7 Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry United States 1958
8 Hey Jude The Beatles United Kingdom 1968
9 Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana United States 1991
10 What'd I Say Ray Charles United States 1959
Statistics
The list is almost entirely composed of North American and British artists. Of the 500 songs, 352 are from the United States and 117 from the United Kingdom; they are followed by Ireland with 12 entries, Canada with 10, Jamaica with 7 (most of them by Bob Marley or Jimmy Cliff), Australia with three (AC/DC with two) and a lone song from Sweden (by ABBA).
The list includes just one song not in English -- "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens (345).
The updated list features 18 songs from the 21st century -- "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (100), "Crazy in Love" by Beyonce (118.), "Moment of Surrender" by U2 (160), "99 Problems" by Jay-Z (172), "Hey Ya!" by Outkast (182), "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse (194), "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (236), "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West (273), "Stan" by Eminem (296), "Umbrella" by Rihanna (412), "American Idiot" by Green Day (432), "In Da Club" by 50 Cent (448.), "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliot (466), "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z (467), "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (482), "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake (484), "Clocks" by Coldplay (490), "Time to Pretend" by MGMT (493), "Ignition (remix)" by R. Kelly (494); and only two songs from the 1940s -- "Rollin' Stone" by Muddy Waters (459) and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (111).
The number of songs from each of the decades represented is as follows:
Decade Number of Songs Percentage of total tracks
40's 2 0.4%
50's 71 14.2%
60's 204 40.8%
70's 142 28.4%
80's 57 11.4%
90's 21 4.2%
00's 3 0.6%
With 23 songs on the list, The Beatles are the most-represented musical act. John Lennon is the only artist to place multiple songs in the top 10 (as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist; though "Hey Jude" was written mainly by Paul McCartney). The Beatles are followed by The Rolling Stones (14); Bob Dylan (12); Elvis Presley (11); The Beach Boys and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (7); Chuck Berry, U2, James Brown, Prince, Led Zeppelin, and Sly & the Family Stone (6); and The Clash, The Who, The Drifters, Elton John, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard (5).
Three songs appear on the list twice, being performed by different artists. "Mr. Tambourine Man" performed by Bob Dylan and The Byrds (the former's at #106, the latter's at #79), "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins (Perkins' version at 95th, Presley's at 423rd) and "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and Run-DMC (the originial 1975 recording at #336, the 1986 cover at #287).
The shortest tracks are "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran at 1:45, "[Great Balls Of Fire]" (#96) by Jerry Lee Lewis and "Rave On" (#154) by Buddy Holly, both with a duration of one minute and fifty seconds.
The longest tracks are "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang at 14:37, "The End" by The Doors at 11:44, "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan at 11:23, and "Marquee Moon" by Television at 10:47.
Notable artists omitted from the list include the Grateful Dead, the band most closely associated with Rolling Stone magazine in its early years in San Francisco.
unk:
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