And this week in our countdown of the 101 Greatest Songs of All Time, we reach the illustrious Top 50, as voted by our contributors. Where last week, we saw some classic compositions by some of pop and rock music’s legends mix in with the likes of Sia and Gotye, this week sees some iconic musical gifts from Bowie, The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac sidle up alongside Kanye West, Arcade Fire and Santigold as we charge towards the top end of our list.
Of West’s entry in the countdown at #49 with “Jesus Walks”, Nicole Wedding describes her reasoning behind pitting it as her Number One:
“This was the first Kanye track I fell in love with. At the time, I was struck by the composite of sounds – a military order to march, gospel choir and snares – but looking back, I think what I’m most impressed by is the honesty of it. Yes, it’s an intensely personal look at his relationship with God (something that remains controversial), but like all of Ye’s music, it works because it always feels a lot more like an expression of universal struggles than a conversion narrative.”
On the other end of the musical spectrum, Bruce Springsteen‘s 1975 smash single “Born To Run” also proved popular with our team, landing the #39 spot. As Michael Lean notes, its anthemic quality provided a musical escape for many.
“‘In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream’, so opens Springsteen’s anthem for suburban escape that launched the hopes and dreams of lower and middle class youths across the world. Springsteen spent almost six months getting it right, tracking the guitar 11 times – all the hard work was worth it to produce the most uplifting rock song of all time.”
Hit play on the playlist below and check the rest of the list out!
THE AU’S 101 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME: 50 – 26
50. David Bowie – “Life on Mars?”
49. Kanye West – “Jesus Walks”
48. TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”
47. Fleetwood Mac – “Rhiannon”
46. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “All Along the Watchtower”
45. Arcade Fire – “Wake Up”
44. Jeff Buckley – “Grace”
43. Ray Charles – “Georgia On My Mind”
42. Echo & The Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”
41. Santigold – “Disparate Youth”
40. Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run”
39. Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill”
38. David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
37. Massive Attack – “Teardrop”
36. Aretha Franklin – “Respect”
35. The Beatles – “Blackbird”
34. Whitney Houston – “How Will I Know”
33. Sam Cooke – “A Change is Gonna Come”
32. Ella Fitzgerald – “Smooth Sailing”
31. The Rolling Stones – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
30. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
29. Tori Amos – “Winter”
28. Fleetwood Mac – “Landslide”
27. Tupac – “Keep Ya Head Up”
26. The Beatles – “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
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To find out what else has made our list so far, check out Part One HERE and Part Two HERE. We’ll be revealing what songs have made the Top 25 next week!
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