5 Classic Rock Songs I Love and Why
they're classic and they rock
I love classic rock. I really do. There are so many wonderful classic rock bands and songs and albums… so get off my back if I don’t mention the one you love most.
On the topic of “getting off my back,” I’m not a music historian, okay. I don’t spend as much time on Wikipedia as some of you surely do. Ergo, don’t come here looking for a comprehensive history of these songs or the bands that created them. I get it… Bob Dylan probably originally wrote the song or something. I don’t care! I’m posting vibes, so get on board or get bent [side note: I’ve been using the phrase “get bent” more often the last few months, and I’m a fan. It should make an official comeback.] Oh, and one other thing - you might think that these are commonly beloved and lauded classic rock songs (i.e., not “deep cuts”). Again, get bent! You’re here to read my thoughts and opinions, and I like classic rock that rocks, which is not a crime!
Now that I’ve yelled at you, dearest reader, let me waste no further time giving you my curated insights into the greatest genre of music of all time. One last note - I did you the courtesy of adding links to listen to all the songs. Feel free to make this a “singalong blog” (iykyk).
Finally, she’s gonna talk about the songs…
1. Baba O’Riley - The Who
This song is a rock epic. It takes you on a journey; it tells a story. The line: “Sally, take my hand” is possibly my favorite lyrical delivery of all time. And boy, oh boy, am I a sucker for Biblical allusions… “Don’t look past my shoulder” as an allusion to my favorite Biblical story (Lot & his wife) … chef’s kiss. Also, how many songs can end with a minute long violin solo that feels both fitting and equally as legendary as the drums? The absolute only downside to this song is that we never got the science fiction rock opera The Lighthouse that it was originally intended to be (there should be more rock operas, generally). Oh, and it bites that dummies call it “Teenage Wasteland.” That’s not even a top 5 lyric in the song! Learn the damn name and show some respect! Possibly my favorite song of all time.
2. Don’t Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
This song is also possibly my favorite song of all time. This is a beautiful rock ballad about love and the inevitability of death. Lyrically, this is a masterpiece [and as I’m writing this, I’m wondering if the main thing that makes me like songs is just the concept of a lady taking someone’s hand… “And she ran to him, Then they started to fly, They looked backward, and said goodbye, She had become like they are, She had taken his hand”]. Don’t Fear the Reaper has probably been on my list of potential favorite songs the longest of any song. I fondly remember listening to it on repeat in the airport/airplane for several hours when I was 7 years old. More young children should be contemplating the peacefulness of death during an exalting climatic guitar solo, as I was. May we all be as lucky as Romeo and Juliet, together in eternity.
3. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
This song is also possibly my favorite song of all time (I refuse to be forced to choose). CCR is a band of just bangers after bangers. Honestly, I could dedicate a fair portion of this list to just CCR (hell, maybe one day they’ll get a whole blog post!). If my list so far informs you of anything about me, it should be that I have a real penchant for songs about death, dying, apocalypses, etc. I mean c’mon… “I hear the voice of rage and ruin” is a gorgeous way of describing an impending apocalypse. The lyrics of this song convey the visual of one of those ominous thunderstorms rolling in on a long stretch of highway, surrounded by fields and farms, where you can clearly see the break between the sunshine and the storm…
4. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Often cited as the greatest rock song of all time, and with mighty good reason. This song, like Baba O’Riley, is another true rock epic. There’s really not much I can say about Stairway that hasn’t already been said. Again, this is a certifiable lyrical masterpiece, and the delivery on “And if you listen very hard” (such an ostensibly simple and unimportant lyric) is one of my favorite lyric deliveries of all time. When this song comes on, there’s always a moment of “Oh man, do I want to listen to an 8-minute song?” And then you listen to the entire 8 minutes, and you’re so drawn in that by the end you feel like a fool for ever contemplating hitting the skip button. It is worth all 483 seconds. Remember, “be a rock and not to roll.”
5. House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Again, with the lyrical masterpieces! This song has a meandering musical history that I have virtually no interest in trying to understand, and I’m going to solely discuss it context of The Animals because let’s be real, they ate that shit harder than anyone ever has or will. The lyrical delivery in this song is excruciating, and I mean that with the highest of compliments. You feel the entirety of: “There is a house in New Orleans, They call the Rising Sun, And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy, And God, I know I'm one” in your chest… It howls at the beginning and is pure pain by the end. Magnificent. This song is also home to one of my favorite song lyrics of all time - “Oh mother, tell your children, Not to do what I have done…” I like that lyric so much I dedicated a painting to it.
Some closing thoughts…
What have I learned writing today’s blog? First, I love classic rock. I knew that, but whenever I think about it, I really sink deeper into my love affair with the genre. Second, I love lyrics. All of these songs top my list (probably primarily) because I love their lyrics. Third, I feel passionately about lyrical delivery, as that is clearly the second major reason these songs top my chart. The rock epics, the rock ballads, the rock operas… you rock my heart.
One final thought, reader, when I started this blog post it was titled “25 Classic Rock Songs I Love and Why.” I decided to spare you reading a list 25 songs long (as promised by this blog’s premise, I have a lot of thoughts). However, what this means is that The Stump has its first series! That’s right… I will periodically (though not consecutively, so don’t unsubscribe if you hated this one) be unveiling my favorite classic rock songs 5 at a time until I run out of songs (FYI it will take a very long time to run out of my favorite classic rock songs). So, don’t stop believing, don’t back down, and carry on my wayward son.
Good list. Only one I have a complaint with is Don’t Fear the Reaper and simply because I can only envision Will Ferrell needing more cowbell when I hear it.
I’d swap in a Pink Floyd, especially if you are talking lyrical masterpieces of classic rock. Wish You Were Here is wonderful.
I loved your comment about CCR having a banger after banger! It took me back to when I started buying each of their cds and loving the songs that they didn’t play on the radio even MORE than the ones I knew. Solid band, solid albums!