Rock ‘n’ Roll

I’m working on a project, showing one song each year that was important in the history of rock and roll. Here’s what I have so far.

1938-Roll ‘Em Pete (Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson)
1939-Rockin’ Rollin’ Mama (Buddy Jones)
1940-Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar (Will Bradley)
1941-Blues In The Night (Jimmie Lunceford) or 1942 Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat (Will Bradley)
1942-I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts of Town (Louis Jordan)
1943-Pistol Packin’ Mama (Al Dexter)
1944-Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Leadbelly)
1945-Caldonia (Louis Jordan) The Honeydripper (Joe Liggins)
1946-Choo Choo Ch’boogie (Louis Jordan)
1947-Rock The Joint (Jimmy Preston)
1948-Good Rockin Tonight (Wynonie Harris)
1949-Saturday Night Fish Fry (Louis Jordan)
1950-The Fat Man (Fats Domino)
1951-Rocket 88 (Jackie Breston and his Delta Cats)
1952-Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Lloyd Price)
1953-Money Honey (Clyde McPhatter and the Driffters)
1954-Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley and his Comets)
1955-Tutti Frutti (Little Richard)
1956-Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley)
1957-Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)
1958-Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)
1959-What’d I Say (Ray Charles)
1960-Walk, Don’t Run (The Ventures)
1961-The Wanderer (Dion)
1962-Green Onions (Booker T and the MGs)
1963-I Want To Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)
1964-The Times They Are a-Changin’ (Bob Dylan)
1965-Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
1966-My Generation (The Who)
1967-Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
1968-Hey Jude (The Beatles)
1969-Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)
1970-Layla (Derek and the Dominoes)
1971-Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
1972-Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple)
1973-Dream On (Aerosmith)
1974-Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1975-Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
1976-Hotel California (The Eagles) or Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones)????
1977-God Save The Queen (The Sex Pistols)
1978-Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits)
1979-Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd)
1980-Back in Black (AC/DC)
1981-I Love Rock and Roll (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts)
1982-I Ran (A Flock of Seagulls) or Hallowed Be Thy Name (Iron Maiden)?
1983-Jump (Van Halen)
1984-Born In The USA (Bruce Springsteen)
1985-Money For Nothing (Dire Straits)???
1986-Walk This Way (Run D.M.C. & Aerosmith)
1987-With Or Without You (U2)
1988-Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns n Roses)
1989-One (Metallica)
1990-Suicide Blone (INXS)???
1991-Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
1992-Jeremy (Pearl Jam) or Under the Bridge (Red Hot Chili Peppers)???
1993-All I Wanna Do (Cheryl Crow)?
1994-Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden) or Sabotage (Beastie Boys) or Longview (Green Day)???
1995-Wonderwall (Oasis)
1996-1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)
1997-Paranoid Android or No Surprises (Radiohead) or Song 2 (Blur)?
1998-???
1999-Smooth (Santana)

any suggestions?
I’m trying to make the list strictly rock songs. I’m going to make a seperate list for rap, one for blues, country, soul, reggae, etc.

1998- Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz) and 1994- Sabotage and 1990- Man In a Box (Alice in Chains)

5 Responses

1. John Lennon Says:
   April 13th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

   I think you have it pretty much covered.
   References :

2. john the master Says:
   April 13th, 2010 at 3:21 pm

   1998- Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz) and 1994- Sabotage and 1990- Man In a Box (Alice in Chains)
   References :
   Rock is the best

3. Haystacks Von Walrus Says:
   April 13th, 2010 at 3:42 pm

   1990-Epic-Faith No More
   1998-I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing-Aerosmith\
   2000-It’s My Life-Bon Jovi
   References :

4. hingehead Says:
   April 13th, 2010 at 4:27 pm

   You haven’t said what your criteria for importance is but I think 1967 should be Strawberry Fields Forever by the Beatles. It’s the song that marked the point where studio craft took primacy over live performance. Up until that point the studio was used to try and replicate live performance but with Strawberry Fields the technology had reached a point where you could use the studio as a creative instrument in itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Fields_Forever#Recording

   Although looking at your list it reads like ‘important’ means ‘your favourite song of that year’.

   Your early tracks don’t always gel – there really should be some Les Paul in there (glad you got Wynonie Harris though!)

   In the 1970s I’d have some Bob Marley to signify the massive influence reggae had on rock. And technically you could argue that Rap deserves more than a co-credit with Aerosmith.

   I can’t think of anything outstanding for 1998, but perhaps something off Air’s Moon Safari indicating the rise of European alt synth pop/rock?
   References :

5. Mother Mary Jane Says:
   April 13th, 2010 at 4:34 pm

   The Beach Boys
   References :

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