And the top classic rock song of all time is…Kim Hughes May 2, 2012 28 Comments Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on stumbleuponShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services38


Is Aerosmith’s 1975 anthem “Sweet Emotion” the top classic rock song of all time? Totally, dude, says the brain-trust behind Ultimate Classic Rock, who last month rolled out what it deems the top 100 most kick-butt rock hits evah, beginning at number 100 with Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55” [[now the theme song to traffic reports on radios everywhere) and ending with the above-mentioned Boston band’s sinewy chestnut.

The conceit of UCR’s list is this: each band gets only one song. For example, AC/DC – who have contributed more than their fair share to the rock canon – are permitted only “Back in Black” which lands at #4... "Highway to Hell," Whole Lotta Rosie," "Thunderstruck" etc be damned. So presumably the ensuing arguments won’t be about which band was excluded but rather, which song.
Humbug! A twist on the venerable Rolling Stone formula of just pissing everyone off!

Anyway, the Ultimate Classic Rock top 10 list looks like this. [[The complete list is here).

10. Black Sabbath, ‘Paranoid‘
9. Pink Floyd, ‘Comfortably Numb‘
8. Van Halen, ‘Everybody Wants Some!!‘ [[this is a really odd pick, no?)
7. Queen, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘
6. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ‘All Along the Watchtower‘
5. The Beatles, ‘A Day in the Life‘
4. AC/DC, ‘Back in Black‘
3. The Rolling Stones, ‘Gimme Shelter‘
2. Led Zeppelin, ‘Kashmir‘
1. Aerosmith, ‘Sweet Emotion‘

Drill down through the list and witness the inclusion of bands not normally tagged with the ‘classic rock’ moniker: the Cure, the Police, Billy Joel. That said, for my money, this list is pretty bullet-proof if weirdly predictable in the top 10. Whaddya think? Leave a comment below.

Must say also, not only is “Sweet Emotion” a great choice [[and totally reminds me of the film Dazed and Confused) but it also points to how far Steven Tyler has drifted from the rock god orbit into mainstream blandness. He’s richer today [[and likely healthier) than he was in 1975, but not nearly as cool. Just sayin’.