Here is an unordered list of sixty songs that were all contenders, and if I could fit 164 into 100(+4) entries I would. Maybe a year from now I will revisit and refine the original list, but for now I think these 164 entries are a fine collection of the lost art of the 45rpm single.
A-Side | B-Side | Artist | Year | Link |
Carpet Man | The Magic Garden | The 5th Dimension | 1968 | Video |
Earn Enough For Us(Australia only) | The Man Who Sailed around His Soul | XTC | 1986 | Video |
Grass | Extrovert; Dear God | XTC | 1986 | Video |
O, My Soul | Morpha too-I'm in Love With a Girl | Big Star | 1974 | Video |
September Gurls | Mod Lang | Big Star | 1974 | Video |
Say Goodbye | Yeah Yeah | Cheap Trick | 1997 | Video |
Stop This Game | Who D'King | Cheap Trick | 1980 | Video |
Surrender | Auf Wiedersehen | Cheap Trick | 1978 | Video |
Homburg | Good Captain Clack | Procol Harum | 1967 | Video |
Heroes | V-2 Schneider | David Bowie | 1977 | Video |
Golden Years | Can You Hear Me | David Bowie | 1975 | Video |
Changes | Andy Warhol | David Bowie | 1972 | Video |
#9 Dream | What You Got | John Lennon | 1974 | Video |
Mind Games | Meat City | John Lennon | 1973 | Video |
Stand by Me | Move Over Ms L | John Lennon | 1975 | Video |
Photograph | Down and Out | Ringo Starr | 1973 | Video |
It Dont' Come Easy | Early 1970 | Ringo Starr | 1971 | Video |
Back Off Boogaloo | Blindman | Ringo Starr | 1972 | Video |
When We Was Fab | Zig Zag | George Harrison | 1988 | Video |
Blow Away | Soft Touch | George Harrison | 1979 | Video |
Hi, Hi, Hi | C Moon | Wings | 1972 | Video |
The Back Seat of My Car | Heart of the Country | Paul McCartney | 1971 | Video |
Shangri-La | This Man He Weeps Tonight | The Kinks | 1969 | Video |
See My Friends | Never Met a Girl Like You Before | The Kinks | 1965 | Video |
Wonderboy | Polly | The Kinks | 1968 | Video |
Days | She's Got Everything | The Kinks | 1968 | Video |
Sleepwalker | Full Moon | The Kinks | 1977 | Video |
Dead End Street | Big Black Smoke | The Kinks | 1966 | Video |
Nutbush City Limits | Help Him | Ike and Tina Turner | 1973 | Video |
Help Me | Just Like This Train | Joni Mitchell | 1974 | Video |
Killer Queen | Flick of the Wrist | Queen | 1974 | Video |
Past, Present and Future | Paradise | The Shangri-Las | 1966 | Video |
Remember (Walking in the Sand) | It's Easier to Cry | The Shangri-Las | 1964 | Video |
Anarchy in the U.K. | I Wanna Be Me | Sex Pistols | 1976 | Video |
God Save The Queen | No Feeling | Sex Pistols | 1977 | Video |
See Emily Play | Scarecrow | Pink Floyd | 1967 | Video |
Arnold Layne | Candy and a Currant Bun | Pink Floyd | 1967 | Video |
Laughing | Undun | The Guess Who | 1969 | Video |
No Time | Proper Stranger | The Guess Who | 1969 | Video |
These Eyes | Lightfoot | The Guess Who | 1969 | |
Turn! Turn! Turn! | She Don't Care About Time | The Byrds | 1965 | Video |
So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star | Everybody's Been Burned | The Byrds | 1967 | Video |
Chestnut Mare | Just a Season | The Byrds | 1970 | |
Walk Away Renee | I Haven't Got the Nerve | The Left Banke | 1966 | Video |
The Little Girl I Once Knew | There's No Other (Like My Baby) | Beach Boys | 1965 | Video |
Wild Honey | Wind Chimes | Beach Boys | 1967 | Video |
White Rabbit | Plastic Fantastic Lover | Jefferson Airplane | 1967 | Video |
Little Games | Puzzles | Yardbirds | 1967 | Video |
Evil Hearted You | Still I'm Sad | Yardbirds | 1965 | Video |
For Your Love | Got To Hurry | Yardbirds | 1965 | Video |
Shapes of Things | You're a Better Man Than I | Yardbirds | 1966 | Video |
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago | Psycho Daisies | Yardbirds | 1966 | Video |
Over Under Sideways Down | Jeff's Boogie | Yardbirds | 1966 | Video |
It's My Life | I'm Going to Change the World | The Animals | 1965 | Video |
We've Gotta Get Out of This Place | I Can't Believe It | The Animals | 1965 | Video |
Stand! | I Want to Take You Higher | Sly and the Family Stone | 1969 | Video |
Hot Fun in the Summertime | Fun | Sly and the Family Stone | 1969 | Video |
I'm Free | We're Not Going to Take It | The Who | 1969 |
9 comments:
More great choices... I can see how getting this down to 100 would be a bear.
Nice to see "Over Under Sideways Down" -- which so many people seem to forget.
A few nits: Where's XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel" or "Respectable Street" or "Generals & Majors" or "Towers of London"?
And can't we squeeze in one Marshall Crenshaw single? (Or Kate Bush or ABC or Tears for Fears or... well maybe I'll just have to make my own list!)
It suddenly hit me today that half a dozen Stones singles fell by the wayside, including Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) and just about every 45 they released from Satisfaction up through Street Fighting Man.
You are right Alex, Respectable Street is a keeper. And I came very close to including Wuthering Heights but chickened out at the last minute. I think it was a remarkable achievement (take that Kate-haters!) And you know, there really are some killer Eurythmics singles that should be somewhere in a top 200.
These lists have a life of their own, and although I look forward to further discussion of these posts, my plan for an LP list is going on hiatus for a bit.
Love seeing The Animals represented here! And hey but you know what I would put in my actual Top 100 let alone my 60 More if I had my act together enough to do a cool Top 100 like you have? When I Was Young! God I think that's a great song.
OK,THIS link still works! :-)
Hey Who Am Us Anyway - that is a later Animals song that I've never heard before! And and excellent one it is. Eric Burdon sounds so world weary. Thanks for the link.
Yes, we want some Marshall Crenshaw on here. (Forget that it's your list, and you may not like Marshall Crenshaw -- but now this list belongs to the world and we want more Marshall Crenshaw!) :D
I'm curious -- what if you limited yourself to only one single per artist? That might winnow things down. Of course it would mean that you'd have to discard extra Kinks tracks in order to make room for lesser bands, but still...
Great idea Holly - taking just the top single for each artist on the existing list would certainly leave some room for some interesting choices.
I must admit I know almost nothing about Marshall Crenshaw. I vaguely remember a video or two from back in the golden age of MTV in the early 1980s. Given his power pop credentials and the advise of Alex and yourself, I should really do some investigation.
There's a great greatest-hits collection called This is Easy that's a good place to start. ("Mary Ann" and "Cynical Girl" from his first album are amazing slices of pure pop.)
On YouTube, check out Someday Someway, live versions of Whenever Your on My Mind, or Cynical Girl to get a taste...
Mr. P: Your list 'n links are a public service. Gotta watch 'em all ...
Alex & Holly, thanks so much for the MC links; like Mr. Pleasant I have none of his stuff. Must ... remedy.
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