The blogometer tells me it’s time for another music blog, so today I’m going to make a favorite songs list that will probably change five minutes after I publish it, but no matter. I just feel like doing something fun and stupid and lightweight and insipid, so here goes….
I grew up in an era, the 1960s and 1970s, when rock music hit a commercial and creative peak that it would never approach again and likely never will again. There was a window of time when rock had gotten so huge that it dominated the cultural conversation (and often the charts) the way the New York Yankees used to dominate baseball.
For that, thank (or blame) the Beatles. There has never been a music phenomenon like the Fab Four, commercially or culturally. They single-handedly rescued rock n’ roll from its early ‘60s doldrums, lifted it on their shoulders, and helped rock become a global cultural force for the rest of the 20th century.
The Beatles are still the biggest music act of all time in strict sales terms, accounting for inflation. Don’t believe me? See here and here and here.
During their peak, the Beatles had seven of the top 10 selling singles on the Billboard charts in a single week (I know that from memory). Nobody else has done that – or come close. Only three other pop music artists that I can think of have generated similar sales and media attention: Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Taylor Swift. But they still couldn’t outpunch Les Beatles.
Thanks to the lift the Beatles provided, you could easily name 30 other rock acts during the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s that jammed arenas and sold a shit-ton of records. You never imagined back then that it would ever come to a crashing halt.
But it did, as we all know.
Today, in 2025, rock music is about as culturally relevant as radio serials (google it). I cannot name a single rock act that moves the needle in the current music world. It’s not that I’m completely out of touch, either. I have two teenage daughters. They’re pretty attuned to popular culture – and by association, so am I. I’m not sure they can name a single modern rock act that moves the needle right now.
From what I can tell, rock has become just another niche genre fighting for the crumbs that aren’t being gobbled up by pop, hip hop, or country.
Rock music is that once-cool thing that is now consigned to the back of the room, near the exit. Which, whatever – that’s fine. Tastes change and evolve. Cultural movements come and go and come back and then go away again.
Rock committed the usual sins that eventually doom so many cultural forces. It began to take itself too seriously – a fatal mistake that has begun to doom rap and hip hop. Rock got commoditized. It turned itself into a mass market product, driven by dollars, like dish soap. It balkanized into a dozen little mini genres (heavy metal, acid rock, soft rock, southern rock, punk, new wave, alternative, glam rock, college rock, grunge).
It burnt itself out and sent consumers fleeing for something fresh and different, a million miles away from what their parents and grandparents listened to.
Well, anyway…
Google “rock is dead” and you’ll get about 1.3 billion results in one-third of a second (I just did). The fact that there are so many “rock is dead” hits means that rock is, in fact, not dead. Not quite. Not really.
Rock lives on in its little corner of the world, with scrappy youngsters still slapping out chords and old-timers still grinding out classic rock songs at your neighborhood boomer hangout.
I personally haven’t been to a rock show of any kind in God knows how long, probably 25 years – and I used to go to 2 or 3 a week, for years and years. Today I go to jazz shows. It fits my age, mindset, worldview, and energy level.
But:
Every so often, I’ll go on a rock n’ roll YouTube or CD binge, just to relive the good times and absorb the great music.
Which brings us back to this here blog…..
I’ve chosen 13 of my favorite off-the-radar rock songs from the Rock Era. None were hits, and most people have probably never heard of them. They all fall securely under the umbrella of mainstream rock from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
I deliberately excluded subgenres like heavy metal, punk, new wave, and whatever else. I deliberately excluded bands or artists that racked up massive sales and No. 1 hits – like the aforementioned Beatles, along with the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John and various others.
Some of the artists listed below have achieved great fame and legendary status (I’m talking to you, Dylan). But they haven’t cranked out No. 1 hits with regularity, or even at all.
These are songs I just like or liked. Most I don’t really listen to that much anymore. But there was a time when I listened to them over and over, and they brought me great joy. Each song links to a YouTube video, as usual with these blogs. They are in no particular order of importance.
World On A String, Neil Young. Back when I was a serious Neilhead, the grim and druggy Tonight’s The Night was my favorite Neil album, and this sloppy little rocker from that album was maybe my favorite song on it. I’m no longer a serious Neilhead. But those two things might still apply.
Water of Love, Dire Straits. From the band’s excellent debut album, released in 1978. Man, I love Mark Knopfler’s guitar playing.
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, Bob Dylan. In which the troubadour from the North Country gets all bluesy on his second electric album, which might be my favorite rock album ever.
Hotel Chambermaid, Graham Parker & the Rumour. Parker burst onto the scene in 1976 with two of the best rock albums of the decade as far as I’m concerned – Howling Wind and Heat Treatment, the latter of which houses this song. He was a traditional pub rocker from East London who mistakenly got lumped in with some of the punk/new wave groups of the time. He never sold a ton of records. Life is weird.
Oliver’s Army, Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Elvis the Second was Graham Parker’s peer in many respects – they were both bespectacled Brits who came on to the scene in the latter half of the ‘70s, fronting hard-driving rock groups, writing angry songs and getting tossed into the punk/new wave bucket. Elvis became a star in his own way. This song is a serious piece of political commentary that still applies today.
Black Hearted Woman, Allman Brothers Band. Duane Allman was the greatest rock guitarist ever. There, I said it. Prove me wrong.
My Wife, The Who. The Who were rock royalty who somehow never came across as rock royalty. This song, a rarity written and sung by bassist John Entwistle and included on Who’s Next, is downright hilarious.
I’m Waiting For The Man, Velvet Underground. Twenty-six dollars in my hand…..
He Ain’t Give You None, Van Morrison. There are other versions, but I prefer this one. Along with Dylan, Van is one of my two favorite rock artists. Along with Dylan, he’s also one of the only two rockers I would probably include if I were forced to listen to only 10 musicians for the rest of my life. Maybe I’ll do a blog about that someday….
Master of Sparks, ZZ Top. From Tres Hombres, which I’ve probably listened to 100 times or more.
Begin The Begin, R.E.M. Is this the only song on this list from the ‘80s? Yes, it appears to be. Loved this group back then but hardly ever listen to them anymore. Life is weird.
Easy Wind, The Grateful Dead. Yes, the Dead were prone to musical excesses with their endless jam sessions, and their fans were prone to excesses with their endless idolatry of Jerry & Company. But the band did put out a couple of stellar early ‘70s studio albums – American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead. This bluesy number about the working man, sung by Pigpen, is one of their best.
Texas Me, The Sir Douglas Quintet. This veers pretty close to country, but the Sir Douglas Quintet made its name with a couple of ‘60s rock hits: “She’s About A Mover” and “Mendocino.” The leader of the group, Texas native Doug Sahm (a big baseball fan, God bless him), died of a heart attack during an impromptu road trip in 1999 at the age of 58, in true rock n’ roll fashion.
Image: Courtesy of the World Wide Web. “GUITAR TAB NOTEBOOK: Rock and Roll Will Never Die,” available on Amazon; “Rock & Roll Is Dead,” Hellacopters, available on Amazon.
Vance Cariaga 