All Time Greatest Rock Singles

Last post I told you about rock covers. This post I will talk to you about All Time Greatest Rock Singles.

Although the idea of music singles has a very long history dating back to the gramophone record in the late 1800's, to me a rock single is still the good old 7 inch 45 rpm records that were introduced in 1949. These discs were just slightly larger than today's CD's but carried a lot less music, usually only 1 song on the A side and another on the Flip side. Unlike music today, where singles are immediately available for download online, back in the day you either purchased the complete album, the single or wait for it air on the radio. While I was growing up, there was always someone in the neighborhood who had purchased a 45 or the complete LP and we would all get together and play the tunes. There was no rushing, we didn't expect everything right away, and information overload didn't exist. There were fewer selections of music for us to choose from, and in this way, we enjoyed our rock singles all the more.

Fast forward 30 years and I now see a music industry that is saturated with globs of music, to the poing of overkill. Rock Singles don't really mean all that much anymore, often because the music that we listen to on the radio is mostly industry generated crap, but also because the idea of a single is irrelevent, all the music and bands seem to have amalgamated into one big genre that it's often difficult to tell who wrote what, and the fact that the music is all online, ready to be downloaded from Napster or I-tunes makes the picture even fuzzier.

I've put together a list of my favorite rock singles, these are all in alphabetic, not chronological and not based on my most favorite to my least favorite rock singles. They're just there, from top to bottom. When I put this list together I was worried that I would miss some important song, or group, and if I remember I'll add them later. Enjoy my rock singles selection.

(Don't Fear) the Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult
(Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley and His Comets
A Day in the Life, The Beatles
Ain't It a Shame, Fats Domino
Alison, Elvis Costello
All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
All Apologies, Nirvana
All Shook Up, Elvis Presley
Anarchy in the U.K., The Sex Pistols
Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Band On The Run, Paul McCartney and Wings
Black Dog, Led Zeppelin
Black Hole Sun, Soundgarden
Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan
Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins
Blue Suede Shoes, Elvis Presley
Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Born to Be Wild, Steppenwolf
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Breakfast In America, Supertramp
Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison
Buddy Holly, Weezer
Bye Bye Love, The Everly Brothers
California Dreamin', The Mamas and The Papas
California Girls, The Beach Boys
Call Me, Blondie
Can't Help Falling in Love, Elvis Presley
Changes, David Bowie
Come As You Are, Nirvana
Come Together, The Beatles
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd
Crazy, Patsy Cline
Creep, RadioHead
Crying, Roy Orbison
Dance to the Music, Sly and the Family Stone
Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas
Dirty Deeds, AC/DC
Do You Believe in Magic, The Lovin' Spoonful
Don't Be Cruel, Elvis Presley
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, The Animals
Don't Worry Baby, The Beach Boys
Dream On, Aerosmith
Dreamboat Annie, Heart
Eight Miles High, The Byrds
Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles
Enter Sandman, Metallica
Epic, Faith No More
Even Flow, Pearl Jam
Every Breath You Take, The Police
Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Free Bird, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Free Fallin', Tom Petty
Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles
Gimme Some Lovin', The Spencer Davis Group
Go Your Own Way, Fleetwood Mac
God Save the Queen, The Sex Pistols
Good Golly, Miss Molly, Little Richard
Good Lovin', The Young Rascals
Good Riddance Time of Your Life, Green Day
Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John
Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
Heart of Glass, Blondie
Heart of Gold, Neil Young
Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley
Help!, The Beatles
Heroin, The Velvet Underground
Hey Joe, Jimi Hendrix
Hey Jude, The Beatles
Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder
Highway to Hell, AC/DC
Hot Fun in the Summertime,Sly and the Family Stone
Hotel California, The Eagles
Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
House of the Rising Sun, The Animals
How Soon Is Now?, The Smiths
I Can See for Miles, The Who
I Can't Explain, The Who
I Fought the Law, The Bobby Fuller Four
I Got You Babe, Sonny and Cher
I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
I Put a Spell on You, Screamin' Jay Hawkins
I Shot the Sheriff, Bob Marley and the Whailers
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
I Wanna Be Sedated, The Ramones
I Want to Know What Love Is,Foreigner
I'm Eighteen, Alice Cooper
Imagine, John Lennon
Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley
Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
Just My Imagination, The Temptations
Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
Kicks, Paul Revere and the Raiders
Knocking on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan
La Bamba, Ritchie Valens
Layla, Derek and the Dominos
Lean On Me, Bill Withers
Let It Be, The Beatles
Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye
Let's Stay Together, Al Green
Light My Fire, The Doors
Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
Little Red Corvette, Prince
Lola, The Kinks
London Calling, The Clash
Loser, Beck
Losing My Religion, R.E.M.
Love Shack, The B-52's
Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division
Lust for Life, Iggy Pop
Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin
Maggie May, Rod Stewart
Man in the Box, Alice in Chains
Maybe I'm Amazed, Paul McCartney
Midnight Train to Georgia, Gladys Knight and the Pips
Miss You, The Rolling Stones
Money (That's What I Want), Barrett Strong
Moondance, Van Morrison
More Than a Feeling, Boston
Mr. Tambourine Man, Bob Dylan
Mustang Sally, Wilson Pickett
My Generation, The Who
My Girl, The Temptations
My Sweet Lord, George Harrison
New Year's Day, U2
No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and the Wailers
Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor
Oh Darling, Supertramp
Oh, Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison
Oh, What a Night, The Dells
Ohio, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
One Way or Another, Blondie
One, U2
Paint It, Black, The Rolling Stones
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, The Temptations
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown
Paranoid Android, Radiohead
Paranoid, Black Sabbath
Peggy Sue, Buddy Holly
Penny Lane, The Beatles
Personality Crisis, New York Dolls
Piano Man, Billy Joel
Plush, Stone Temple Pilots
Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
Purple Rain, Prince
Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win), Fleetwood Mac
Rock & Roll Music, Chuck Berry
Rocket Man, Elton John
Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry
Roxanne, The Police
Runaway, Del Shannon
Runnin' With The Devil, Van Halen
Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
School's Out, Alice Cooper
Shattered, Rolling Stones
Sh-Boom, The Chords
She Sells Sanctuary, The Cult
She's Not There, The Zombies
Shine, Collective Soul
Should I Stay or Should I Go, The Clash
Sloop John B, The Beach Boys
Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple
Somebody to Love, Jefferson Airplane
Something, The Beatles
Son of a Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield
Spirit in the Sky, Norman Greenbaum
Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin
Stand By Me, Ben E. King
Summer in the City, The Lovin' Spoonful
Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
Superstition, Stevie Wonder
Surrender, Cheap Trick
Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns N' Roses
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Eurythmics
Sweet Emotion, Aerosmith
Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sweet Jane, The Velvet Underground
Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
That's All Right, Elvis Presley
The Boys Are Back in Town, Thin Lizzy
The Boys of Summer, Don Henley
The End, The Doors
The Great Pretender, The Platters
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The Band
The Thrill Is Gone, B.B. King
The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
The Weight, The Band
The Wind Cries Mary, Jimi Hendrix
There Goes My Baby, The Drifters
Tiny Dancer, Elton John
Unchained Melody, The Righteous Brothers
Under Pressure, Queen
Under the Boardwalk, The Drifters
Under The Bridge, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Up on the Roof, The Drifters
Us And Them, Pink Floyd
Waiting On A Friend, Rolling Stones
Walk on the Wild Side, Lou Reed
Watching The Wheels, John Lennon
We Gotta Get Out of This Place, The Animals
What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge
While My Guitar Gently Weeps, The Beatles
White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane
White Room, Cream
Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum
Who'll Stop the Rain,Creedence Clearwater Revival
Wild Horses, The Rolling Stones
Wild Thing, The Troggs
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
Wonderwall, Oasis
Won't Get Fooled Again, The Who
Woodstock, Crosby Stills And Nash
Would, Alice in Chains
Yesterday, The Beatles
You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
You Really Got Me, The Kinks
Young Americans, David Bowie
Your Cheatin' Heart, Hank Williams
Your Song, Elton John
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers
Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie