The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 491-500

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Stevie Wonder, Superstition, Uptight

Once, when I was judging, a skater came out in a black velvet catsuit and I was vibrating with excitement, thinking she was going to skate to Superstition. Instead it was You Don't Own Me, a satirical take on catitude. So disappointed. I've entertained the idea of skating to Stevie myself, but then there's the fact I've sat on my ass for 6 months of a quarantine and IDK about me in black velvet catsuit. Still, Spirit of Halloween is now open. 

Link Wray, Rumble

The last half of this list has sounded like a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack, and here's it is. Rolling Stone considers him one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Rumble, from 1958, is considered one of his signature songs. Jimmy Page cites him as a creative influence. 

X, Los Angeles

There is something so cool and raw about X and this song. After the band, John Doe became an actor, Exene became a housewife in St. Louis, thankfully not the terrible blonde woman wielding a pistol. There's a punky rockabilly sensibility here that I love. I remember hearing The Hungry Wolf and finding is sexy and primal. From 1982, so I was only 12/13 at the time. What the hell kind of tween was I?

Jimmy Yancy, Midnight Stomp

He listed as Yancey on wikipedia, but Yancy on YouTube. He was an American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer described him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style". Another one whose birthday could be anywhere between 1894 and 1903. He also played baseball in the Negro Leagues and was a groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox. Oh, and inducted into the R&RHOF in the 1986 class. Wow.

The Yardbirds, Shape of Things
Watching this video with 2020 eyes makes me laugh, as they are all spread out on what appears to be a soccer field. Social distancing? Very catchy song, and a short-haired Jimmy Page looking so young. 

Yes, Roundabout
Never the biggest fan of prog rock but still this is a great song. Fandom of Yes came late for me, as I was listening to rock stations when Leave It and Owner of a Lonely Heart was out in the 80s. They weren't classic rock, they were just rock. Oooh, nice glitter cape. 

Neil Young, Down By the River, Heart of Gold, My My Hey Hey

Neil is a complicated man, a Canadian working for social justice in America. His voice isn't particularly pleasant, nor does he have rock star good looks. What he has is honesty, a knack for making catchy yet acid-touched lyrics. To put it in another way, he can charm you while telling you to fuck off. 

These are great songs, but as I am growing older, I find the magic in songs such as Harvest Moon, the love affair less May-December and more perhaps September-November. During the EPIC WLAV fundraiser where they would play your song request for a $10 donation to their charity, someone requested Harvest Moon in honor of his recently deceased wife, who he would love always. DJ choked up while I sobbed without shame. 

ZZ Top, Legs
This is it, the last song to enter? Sigh, I hate this song. I guess it's notable for bringing ZZ Top to the MTV generation, which was peak career. All I can say is at least it's not Sharp Dressed Man. 

There's so many other cool songs by ZZ Top, confirmed by the recent viewing of the show Rock Legends, that did a career overview in 22 minutes. And I love the inside joke built around the last name Hill, making Dusty Hank Hill's cousin on the cartoon sitcom King of the Hill. Give Me All Your Lovin', Head's in Mississippi, Tube Steak Boogie. 

So that's it! I have thoughts of course on this exercise but need some time to pull this all together, especially the missing last 25 years. So much has changed, especially in terms of how we consume music. And I'd like to get nerdy about what we found in this list in terms of dates, genres, female to male ratio.