There are three musical instruments that require no ability whatsoever (if you’re an avid watcher of early episodes of American Idol, you’d be forgiven for thinking the vocal instrument is one of these as you can hear sounds resembling the later rounds of a warehouse dog-fight).
These include the triangle, which can be mastered if you’ve already gotten counting to ten down pat, the harmonica, the instrument of choice if you’re doing hard-time that only requires wheezing into it like a CPAP machine and of course, the cowbell.
A decade ago, SNL popularized the phrase ‘More cowbell’ with an excellent sketch featuring Christopher Walken.
To commemorate this outstanding achievement in popular culture, we decided to honor one of Switzerland’s three major contributions to global culture (the others being fondue and shady banking) and give this maligned instrument its due in this our in no way definitive list of what we consider to be the Top 100 Cowbell Songs of All Time.
1. Low Rider / War
2. Stone Free / Jimi Hendrix
3. Mississippi Queen / Mountain
4. Drive My Car / Beatles
5. Nightrain / Guns ‘n’ Roses
6. Diamond Dogs / David Bowie
7. Stuck in the Middle with You / Stealer’s Wheel
8. Play that Funky Music / Wild Cherry
9. All Right Now / Free
10. Don’t Fear the Reaper / Blue Oyster Cult
11. Born on the Bayou / CCR
12. We’re an American Band / Grand Funk
13. Little Sister / Queens of the Stone Age
14. Live Wire / Motley Crue
15. A Passage to Bangkok / Rush
16. Down on the Corner / CCR
17. Calling Dr Love / Kiss
18. Honky Tonk Women / Rolling Stones
19. Backstabbers / O’Jays
20. One Nation Under a Groove / Parliament Funkadelic
21. Oye Como Va / Carlos Santana
22. Rappers Delight / Sugerhill Gang
23. Moby Dick / Led Zeppelin
24. Good Times Bad Times / Led Zeppelin
25. Pigs / Pink Floyd
26. Funk 49 / James Gang
27. Spoonman / Soundgarden
28. Don’t Stop til you Get Enough / Michael Jackson
29. Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet / Hey You BTO
30. Touch of Grey / Grateful Dead
31. Brass in Pocket / Pretenders
32. 99 Problems / Jay-Z
33. Big Pimpin’ / Jay-Z
34. Free Ride / Edgar Winter
35. Rock of Ages / Def Leppard
36. Photograph / Def Leppard
37. Hey Ladies / Beastie Boys
38. Hair of the Dog / Nazareth
39. Killing in the Name of / Rage Against the Machine
40. Faint of Heart / Coheed and Cambria
41. Casino Queen / Wilco
42. Groove is in the Heart / D-Lite
43. Life’s Been Good / Joe Walsh
44. Love Rollercoaster / Ohio Players
45. Vicious / Lou Reed
46. Wiser Time / Black Crowes
47. Freddie’s Dead / Curtis Mayfield
48. Suzie Q / Dale Hawkins
49. Clampdown / The Clash
50. Love Removal Machine / The Cult
51. Psychotic Reaction / Count Five
52. Walk this Way / Aerosmith
53. Mr Browstone / GNR
54. Raw Power / Iggy and the Stooges
55. Rock ‘n’ Roll All Nite / KISS
56. Roxanne / The Police
57. King of Rock / Run DMC
58. Funky Cold Medina / Tone Loc
59. For Your Love / The Yardbirds
60. Hard Day’s Night / The Beatles
61. Gimme Three Steps / Lynyrd Skynyrd
62. Spinning Wheel / Blood, Sweat & Tears
63. Time has Come Today / Chambers Brothers
64. Born to Run / Bruce Springsteen
65. Breakin’ the Law / Judas Priest
66. Rock Lobster / B 52s
67. The Distance / Cake
68. Taxman / The Beatles
69. The Reflex / Duran Duran
70. Once in a Lifetime / Talking Heads
71. I Predict a Riot / Kaiser Chiefs
72. Last Child / Aerosmith
73. Jive Talkin’ / Bee Gees
74. Leave your Hat On / Joe Cocker
75. Go your Own Way / Fleetwood Mac
76. Bungle in the Jungle / Jethro Tull
77. Purple Haze / Jimi Hendrix
78. Cherry Bomb / John Mellancamp
79. My Sharona / The Knack
80. Keep Yourself Alive / Queen
81. Pets / Porno for Pyros
82. Dance to the Music / Sly & the Family Stone
83. In the Mood / Rush
84. Evil Ways / Santana
85. You Wreck Me / Tom Petty
86. Jammin’ Me / Tom Petty
87. Sweet Jane / Velvet Underground
88. Gimme Some Lovin’ / Spencer Davis Group
89. Steal my Kisses / Ben Harper
90. Gold Dust Woman / Fleetwood Mac
91. Keep your Hands to Yourself / Georgia Satellites
92. Pastime Paradise / Stevie Wonder
93. Jamming / Bob Marley
94. A Little Less Conversation / Elvis
95. Can’t Get Enough of your Love / Barry White
96. Short Skirt Long Jacket / Cake
97. Welcome to the Jungle / GNR
98. Do it Again / Steely Dan
99. Dance the Night Away / Van Halen
100. Red Morning Light / I Want You Kings of Leon
Poster Comment:
Pretty comprehensive list, I do agree with the top 4 :
1. Low Rider / War
2. Stone Free / Jimi Hendrix
3. Mississippi Queen / Mountain
4. Drive My Car / Beatles
I'd place "Honky Tonk Women", "Dance the Night Away", "Free Ride", "Don't Fear The Reaper", "For Your Love" and "Psychotic Reaction" in the top 10.
