The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

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The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2004,[1] a year after the magazine published its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The song list was chosen based on votes by 172 musicians, critics, and music industry figures.

Contents

[edit] List's Top 10 Songs

  1. "Like a Rolling Stone", Bob Dylan
  2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", The Rolling Stones
  3. "Imagine", John Lennon
  4. "What's Going On", Marvin Gaye
  5. "Respect", Aretha Franklin
  6. "Good Vibrations", The Beach Boys
  7. "Johnny B. Goode", Chuck Berry
  8. "Hey Jude", The Beatles
  9. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana
  10. "What'd I Say", Ray Charles

[edit] Statistics

The list is almost entirely composed of North American and British artists considered the originators of rock and roll. Out of the 500 songs, 354 are from the United States and 117 from the United Kingdom; they are followed by Ireland with 12 entries, Canada with 10, Jamaica with 4 (all Bob Marley), and Australia with 2 (both AC/DC).

The list includes just one song not in English -- "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens (345); only three songs from the 21st century -- "Lose Yourself" by Eminem (166), "Stan" by Eminem (290), and "Hey Ya!" by OutKast (180); and two songs from the 1940s -- "Rollin' Stone" by Muddy Waters (459) and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (111).

With 23 songs on the list, The Beatles are the most represented musical act. John Lennon is the only artist to place multiple songs in the top 10 (as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist). The Beatles are followed by The Rolling Stones (14); Bob Dylan (12); Elvis Presley (11); The Beach Boys and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (7); and Chuck Berry, U2, James Brown, Prince, Led Zeppelin and Sly & the Family Stone (6).

Three songs appeared on the list twice, being performed by different artists. "Walk this Way" performed by Run DMC and Aerosmith, "Mr. Tambourine Man" performed by Bob Dylan and The Byrds and "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs. Retrieved on 2008-04-10. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_500_Greatest_Songs_of_All_Time"
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