What makes a song great?

Is it the
m e l o d y, t h e l y r i c s ?
Can a song’s greatness be measured by its cultural impact or its influence
on other musicians? Or can we just say a song is great because it makes us
want to dance? Or, just because...

Choosing the 100 greatest songs was an overwhelming proposition so VH1

sent ballots to over 700 musicians, songwriters, disc jockeys and radio
programmers and asked them to vote on the 100 greatest songs of rock and
roll. The votes were calculated and the songs were ranked, producing the
following list. While it’s possible to debate the placement of some of these
songs (too high or too low is an argument for you to enjoy), it’s difficult to
deny that each is an achievement on some level and deserving of the
accolade “a great song,” as these are truly great songs.
 9781458431059

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Infringers are liable under the law.

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 Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s

All Along The Watchtower

All Shook Up
Beat It
American Pie
Blowin’ In The Wind
Blue Suede Shoes
Born To Be Wild
Bohemian Rhapsody
Born To Run
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Brown Eyed Girl
California Dreamin’
California Girls
Crazy
The Dock Of The Bay
A Day In The Life
Dream On
Every Breath You Take
Fire And Rain
For What It’s Worth
Gloria
Free Bird
Gimme Some Lovin’
God Only Knows
Good Golly Miss Molly
Good Vibrations
Great Balls Of Fire
A Hard Day’s Night
Heartbreak Hotel
Hotel California
Hey Jude
Hound Dog
I Got You
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Imagine
In The Midnight Hour
Jailhouse Rock
Johnny B. Goode
Jump
La Bamba
A L L A L O N G T H E WA T C H T O W E R
Words and Music by
BOB DYLAN
ALL SHOOK UP
Words and Music by OTIS BLACKWELL
and ELVIS PRESLEY
B E AT I T
Words and Music by
MICHAEL JACKSON
AMERICAN PIE
Words and Music by
DON McLEAN
 Additional Lyrics
2. Now for ten years we’ve been on our own,
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned,
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin’... bye-bye... etc.
3. Helter-skelter in the summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and fallin’ fast,
it landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
But we never got the chance
’Cause the players tried to take the field,
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died
We started singin’... bye-bye... etc.

4. And there we were all in one place,

A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
’Cause fire is the devil’s only friend
And as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that Satan’s spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin’... bye-bye... etc.
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND
Words and Music by
BOB DYLAN
BLUE SUEDE SHOES
Words and Music by
CARL LEE PERKINS
BORN TO BE WILD
Words and Music by
MARS BONFIRE
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Words and Music by

FREDDIE MERCURY
BORN TO RUN
Words and Music by
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED
WA T E R
Words and Music by
PAUL SIMON
BROWN EYED GIRL
Words and Music by
VAN MORRISON
 Additional Lyrics
2. Whatever happened to Tuesday and so slow
Going down the old mine with a transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing
Hiding behind a rainbow’s wall
Slipping and a-sliding
All along the water fall
With you, my brown eyed girl
You, my brown eyed girl.
Do you remember when we used to sing:
Chorus
3. So hard to find my way, now that I’m all on my own
I saw you just the other day, my, how you have grown
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometime I’m overcome thinking ‘bout
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium
With you, my brown eyed girl
With you, my brown eyed girl.
Do you remember when we used to sing:
Chorus
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
Words and Music by JOHN PHILLIPS
and MICHELLE PHILLIPS
CALIFORNIA GIRLS
Words and Music by BRIAN WILSON
and MIKE LOVE
CRAZY
Words and Music by
WILLIE NELSON
 (Sittin’ On)

T H E D O C K O F T H E B AY
Words and Music by STEVE CROPPER
and OTIS REDDING
A D AY I N T H E L I F E
Words and Music by JOHN LENNON
and PAUL McCARTNEY
DREAM ON
Words and Music by
STEVEN TYLER
E V E R Y B R E AT H Y O U TA K E
Written and Composed by
G.M. SUMNER
FIRE AND RAIN
Words and Music by
JAMES TAYLOR
F O R W H AT I T ’ S W O R T H
Words and Music by
STEPHEN STILLS
GLORIA
Words and Music by
VAN MORRISON
 FREE BIRD
Words and Music by ALLEN COLLINS
and RONNIE VAN ZANT
GIMME SOME LOVIN’
Words and Music by STEVE WINWOOD,
MUFF WINWOOD and SPENCER DAVIS
G O D O N LY K N O W S
Words and Music by BRIAN WILSON
and TONY ASHER
G O O D G O L LY M I S S M O L LY
Words and Music by ROBERT BLACKWELL
and JOHN MARSCALCO
G O O D V I B R AT I O N S
Words and Music by BRIAN WILSON
and MIKE LOVE
G R E AT B A L L S O F F I R E
Words and Music by OTIS BLACKWELL
and JACK HAMMER
A H A R D D AY ’ S N I G H T
Words and Music by JOHN LENNON
and PAUL MCCARNEY
HEARTBREAK HOTEL
Words and Music by MAE BOREN AXTON,
TOMMY DURDEN and ELVIS PRESLEY
HOTEL CALIFORNIA
Words and Music by DON HENLEY,
GLENN FREY and DON FELDER
 HEY JUDE
Words and Music by JOHN LENNON
and PAUL McCARTNEY
HOUND DOG
Words and Music by JERRY LEIBER
and MIKE STOLLER
I GOT YOU
(I Feel Good)
Words and Music by
JAMES BROWN
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE
GRAPEVINE
Words and Music by NORMAN J. WHITFIELD
and BARRETT STRONG
I WA N T T O H O L D Y O U R H A N D
Words and Music by JOHN LENNON
Moderately and PAUL McCARTNEY
IMAGINE
Words and Music by
JOHN LENNON
IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
Words and Music by STEVE CROPPER
and WILSON PICKETT
JAILHOUSE ROCK
from SMOKEY JOE’S CAFE
Words and Music by JERRY LEIBER
and MIKE STOLLER
 Additional Lyrics
2. Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
Little Joe was blowin’ on the slide trombone.
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang;
The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang.
(Chorus)

3. Number Forty-seven said to number Three:

“You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
I sure would be delighted with your company,
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me”.
(Chorus)

4. The sad sack was a-sittin’on a block of stone,

Way over in the comer weeping all alone.
The warden said:“Hey, Buddy, don’t you be no square,
If you can’t find a partner, use a wooden chair’!
(Chorus)
5. Shifty Henry said to Bugs:“For heaven’s sake,
No one’s lookin’, now’s our chance to make a break.”
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said:“Nix, nix;
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks”.
(Chorus)
JOHNNY B. GOODE
Words and Music by
CHUCK BERRY
 JUMP
Words and Music by EDWARD VAN HALEN, ALEX VAN HALEN,
MICHAEL ANTHONY and DAVID LEE ROTH
LA BAMBA
By RITCHIE VALENS