The 50 Greatest Singles in Rock and Roll

[Kensterberg]

fuzznuts said:

Don't you mean "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"?

Wasn't released as a single. Concert fave ... live video clip distributed later (to make up for the fact that Bruce refused to make conventional videos until Born in the U.S.A. - there's nothing from The River, and only a black and white concept clip for Atlantic City consisting of nothing but views of the town, a great video but hardly MTV fodder), but not a single. Considering that The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle came out during the age of singles, I'd be extremely reluctant to give Rosie a pass.

It may be one of Bruce's best known early songs, but Rosalita was never a single.

Now, Born to Run, on the other hand ... ;D

[Kensterberg]

Does anyone know (off the top of their head) if the Band ever released The Weight as a single? I'm pretty sure they did, but I'm not positive ... I was awfully young in '68, ya know!

[Dr. Drum]

Ken, from "The Band" website. B/W "I Shall Be Released", September 1968.

[Kensterberg]

Danke shoen, mein freund.

Or somethin' like that ... backed with "I Shall Be Released" huh? That just moved up a whole bunch of slots ... a whole bunch ...

[tuneschick]

I wish this thing was done, because I'm feeling an overwhelming urge to rework my list. I can't even go back and look at it because I know I'll just end up deleting and trying to start over.

[Galactus]

Shit, now I wanna go back and put The Weight on mine...

[tuneschick]

I put it at #28 - but after listening to it several times this morning, it really should have been much higher.

[Galactus]

Haha...The Weight was already on mine...duh!

[Kensterberg]

I'll have mine finished up some time this weekend. I suspect that balloting will be open for at least another one to two weeks ... or whenever Melon and I decide we've got enough to make this thing worth totalling up. I found the list of the hundred greatest songs in rock I'd done for the old RS boards, and used that as a start for this list. But I've made a lot of changes ... aside from the obvious deletion of album tracks.

Anyway, I'd encourage both of you (and anyone, really) to revisit your previously posted lists, since you've still got plenty of time in which to update 'em.

And for just a quick look at my own list ... here's a very tentative Top Twenty ... sure to change before I post the whole thing ...

1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Born to Run.
2. The Beatles, Hey Jude b/w Revolution.
3. Bob Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone.
4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Refugee.
5. U2, With or Without You.
6. The Clash, White Man in Hammersmith Palais.
7. The Band, The Weight b/w I Shall Be Released.
8. Jerry Lee Lewis, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.
9. Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit.
10. The Rolling Stones, Jumping Jack Flash.
11. The Sex Pistols, God Save the Queen.
12. David Bowie, “Heroes.”
13. The Who, I Can See For Miles
14. The Cure, Just Like Heaven.
15. Elvis Presley, Suspicious Minds.
16. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Radio Radio.
17. Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, Wooly Bully.
18. U2, Pride (in the name of love).
19. Jefferson Airplane, Somebody to Love.
20. Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fortunate Son.

[tuneschick]

Nice top 20... except for that damn Wooly Bully.

(kidding!!! of course)

Radio Radio seems to be charting fairly high on a number of lists... should be interesting to see where it ends up on the final list.

... and I really don't think it's a good idea for me to revisit my list. Though I might - just to sneak in and include Red Rubber Ball. It's ridiculous how much I adore that simple little song.

[Kensterberg]

I was originally going to put Wooly Bully at number two, just to spite those folks who named Louie, Louie as the greatest single in rock. To my ears, there isn't a hell of a lot of difference between the two, and I really do LIKE Wooly Bully a lot more.

But when I was faced with all these other tracks ... I can't say with a straight face that Wooly Bully is a better single than With or Without You, for example. Or Jumpin' Jack Flash ... So that became sort of a barometer: is this a "greater" single than Wooly Bully? It's actually been a rather useful metric for the chart thus far, so I encourage everyone to use it. Nothing beats standardization, right?

BTW, I'm listening to The Band in its entirety right now ... what a great friggin' album. The Band would rank as one of the greats if this LP were the only thing they'd ever done. Absolutely essential for anyone who loves (North) American music.

NP: Up on Cripple Creek

[Galactus]

Born To Run!

[tuneschick]

I've realized that I really need to get some Springsteen in my collection. For a couple that have close to 2,000 albums, we don't have anything by Springsteen except the live 75-85 box, which I bought on vinyl for $8 and have never listened to in its entirety.

So should I just start with the "Essential" compilation that's out now?

[Kensterberg]

Yeah, the Essential set is as good a place to start as any. While fans can quibble about song selection all day, it's a good overview of Bruce's career. And if you can still get the 3 cd set, that last disc of rarities is worth every penny.

Since you've got the live box, you could listen to that and use favorites from it to pick out one (or more) of his early period albums to get. Or just go and buy Born to Run, Darkness, The River, and Nebraska.

Hell, everyone really should own those four anyway.

[JACkory]

Buy Tunnel of Love PLEASE! Maybe it's not representative of Springsteen's over-all output, but every honest-to-goodness music lover should have it.

I've never been much of a singles connisseur, but if I were, Dave Edmunds "I Hear You Knockin'" would be very close to the top spot.