NationStates Jolt Archive

What song do you think was the most influential in terms of the development of rock music?

For me, I would have to say that there are 2. They are both on the same album. They are "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life." Both are Beatles tunes from the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.

I say this as they are the 2 songs that really launched psychadelic rock. I don't agree with the drug messages in the songs, but I have to admit they are great songs that had a greater influence on the development of rock than any other songs. "Lucy in the Sky" is obviously about LSD. The story maintained for years was that it was about a picture by John's son Julian. Paul finally spoke in 2004 and said that the story was untrue and that the song is really about LSD. After all LSD is spelled out in the song's name "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The scenes described are those of an LSD trip.

The 2nd song introduced many new concepts to rock. The most unique feature of the song is the end. Records would stop at the end of the recordings because the loop track would be made so that the pin would come off the vinyl record at the end. This song was at the end of the album. The loop was made so that the end of the song would play continuously for hours unless you pulled the pin off and stopped the record. This probably had some effect on people when they were high. (don't ask me, I've never even smoked a cigaretted let alone done drugs.)

These 2 songs launched the Psychadelic rock movement and led to bands like Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and others.

What song do you think was the most influential in terms of the development of rock music?

For me, I would have to say that there are 2. They are both on the same album. They are "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life." Both are Beatles tunes from the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.

I say this as they are the 2 songs that really launched psychadelic rock. I don't agree with the drug messages in the songs, but I have to admit they are great songs that had a greater influence on the development of rock than any other songs. "Lucy in the Sky" is obviously about LSD. The story maintained for years was that it was about a picture by John's son Julian. Paul finally spoke in 2004 and said that the story was untrue and that the song is really about LSD. After all LSD is spelled out in the song's name "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The scenes described are those of an LSD trip.

The 2nd song introduced many new concepts to rock. The most unique feature of the song is the end. Records would stop at the end of the recordings because the loop track would be made so that the pin would come off the vinyl record at the end. This song was at the end of the album. The loop was made so that the end of the song would play continuously for hours unless you pulled the pin off and stopped the record. This probably had some effect on people when they were high. (don't ask me, I've never even smoked a cigaretted let alone done drugs.)

These 2 songs launched the Psychadelic rock movement and led to bands like Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and others.

Firstly, i think you'll find that "Tomorrow Never Knows" is the Beatles only claim at "most influential track" (Rock Journalist John Savage describes it as "the moment rock music stopped being linear and became a mobius loop", whatever he means by that), and secondly, "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen is far more influential.

Rolling Stone magazine believes that the most influential album ever was Sgt. Pepper. I have to say that Tommorrow Never Knows and the rest of Revolver were influential, but not nearly so much as Sgt. Pepper.

BTW: Psychedelic rock launched by the Beatles led to In Lagada Davida by I. Ron Butterfly (I know it's Iron Buttefly, but I had to put the SImpsons joke in there.)

Rev Lovejoy: This sounds like rock and or roll.

I may say this.
Jim Morrison and the Doors have been uncovered,with Hendrix,Jopulin(Sp?)
Are the most influencal 60s Rock, aside from the Beatles.
But it was Morrison and Hendrix reveared as Gods that origenally started off the Drugs+Music screan

What kind of "rock" are we talking about? For the whole gambit of it, i'd say you'd have to go back even further...Chuck Berryish for instance (Johnny-B-Good). Or are you talking punk? I'd go with the Sex Pistols or the Ramones...or even the Dead Kennedy's. If you're talking glam rock...well, let's not talk glam. :(

So, what kind of rock are you talking about?

What song do you think was the most influential in terms of the development of rock music?

Easy: Heartbreak Hotel. Certainly not the first rock'n'roll song (I'm of the opinion that Ike Turner's Rocket 88 <1949> holds that position), but the one that exploded and created rock as a popular phenomenon.

Anarchy In The U.K.

Psychedelic rock launched by the Beatles...

Three words for you to prove that the Beatles didn't invent psychedelic rock: Eight Miles High. I rest my case.

How about Helter Skelter? It's influencial because it influenced Charlie Manson and his hangers-on to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders, which in turn influenced the prosecutor in that case to write a book about it.

How many songs of any genre can claim to have inspired a book and a bunch of murders?

Yeah, this just isn't defined well enough. Having said that, in various categories, though, I'd largely go for Heartbreak Hotel or Hound Dog (I prefer the latter, but the former probably had more effect); Tomorrow Never Knows (I love the Byrds, but there's an extent to which their music was influenced from the Beatles' earlier material, such as the guitar at the end of A Hard Day's Night); Like A Rolling Stone (Dylan); All Along The Watchtower (Hendrix cover of Dylan); Heroes (Bowie); Anarchy In The UK (Sex Pistols). Then I'm not so good on the 80s - maybe Down At The Tube Station At Midnight (The Jam). Then Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana), and maybe add in American Idiot (Green Day) by the end?

Rolling Stone magazine believes that the most influential album ever was Sgt. Pepper. I have to say that Tommorrow Never Knows and the rest of Revolver were influential, but not nearly so much as Sgt. Pepper.

BTW: Psychedelic rock launched by the Beatles led to In Lagada Davida by I. Ron Butterfly (I know it's Iron Buttefly, but I had to put the SImpsons joke in there.)

Rev Lovejoy: This sounds like rock and or roll.

It's "In the Garden of Eden" by I Ron Butterfly.

Rolling Stone magazine believes that the most influential album ever was Sgt. Pepper. I have to say that Tommorrow Never Knows and the rest of Revolver were influential, but not nearly so much as Sgt. Pepper.

BTW: Psychedelic rock launched by the Beatles led to In Lagada Davida by I. Ron Butterfly (I know it's Iron Buttefly, but I had to put the SImpsons joke in there.)

Rev Lovejoy: This sounds like rock and or roll.

Anyway, the lineage goes like this, because no one questioned me on the Kingsmen - Louie Louie, Good Vibrations, Husker Du, The Pixies, Grunge.

Basically, there are only a few song types - builders, constant tempo, and "quiet/loud". Louie Louie invented the third.

It's "In the Garden of Eden" by I Ron Butterfly.

or, to be more straight-faced about it, 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' rather than 'In Lagada Davida'

or, to be more straight-faced about it, 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' rather than 'In Lagada Davida'

Well, yeah, but thats not a Simpsons reference ;)

Good choon though. 16 minutes of psychedelic heavy rock monstrousity.

How about Helter Skelter? It's influencial because it influenced Charlie Manson and his hangers-on to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders, which in turn influenced the prosecutor in that case to write a book about it.

How many songs of any genre can claim to have inspired a book and a bunch of murders?
This thread is more concerned with influential in the birth of a new genre of music instead of influencing events like crime.

Helter Skelter should be on a list for influencing music though as many see it as the first true heavy metal song.

"Hit Me Baby One More Time".

This thread is more concerned with influential in the birth of a new genre of music instead of influencing events like crime.
Ah. In that case, I do have something serious to contribute (I'm surprised too). I don't consider myself to be a fan of rock, but Sam Cooke is my favourite recording artist ever. "Shake" and "Chain Gang" (or any of about a dozen other songs of his) totally rock my socks, and influenced later rock music.

and secondly, "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen is far more influential.Ooh, good choice. On that type of song, I was thinking "Wild Thing" by the Troggs.

Jailhouse Rock.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Nobody has mentioned Black Sabbath? :(

If I had to pick just one song by them, it would be "War Pigs", but you could make an argument for a lot of their songs.

"Hit Me Baby One More Time".

HAHAHAHA

If we consider modern rock and the populous's response to it, I would have to argue The Who has been the most influential rock band. The Beatles didn't always have thousands of lit lighters, nor mad rushes into stadium seating injuring hundreds (God bless my hometown of Cincinnati). For the fans, The Who were to die for. Not to mention the arrival of the great front man, followed by equally known musicians pattern which has followed through rock ever since. No longer was it ______'s Band or _______ and the rest. Band identity plus the front man was led by The Who.

Also, for psychadelic, there was always Iron Butterfly, who might I add had more than Inagaddadavita.

Most influential song in the past 20 years was Massive Attacks "Unfinished Sympathy" which invented a new genre - "Dance music you don't dance to".

Ooh, yes, that's a good example.

Also of course something like "Graveyard Shift" or "Whiskey Bottle" by the awesomeness that were Uncle Tupelo would be good genre-openers, this time for alt.country.

Ooh, yes, that's a good example.

Also of course something like "Graveyard Shift" or "Whiskey Bottle" by the awesomeness that were Uncle Tupelo would be good genre-openers, this time for alt.country.

I never really listened to much Uncle Tupelo, but wasn't Bonnie Prince Billie (as was) heavily involved in it's birth as well?

You could probably add something by Slint in as well, for giving birth to Post-Rock, but then it's not particularly well known as a genre, sadly :(

Jailhouse Rock.

^ I think this is more on the right track than anything else mentioned.

^ I think this is more on the right track than anything else mentioned.

Oh, thats so predictable :p

For me, I would have to say that there are 2. They are both on the same album. They are "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life." Both are Beatles tunes from the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.

I say this as they are the 2 songs that really launched psychadelic rock. .
Don't you think that "piper at the gates of dawn" (recorded, incidentally, opposite sgt peppers studio) launched psyc-rock? "Look at the stars, look at the river, isn't it... good?"

There were lots of influences in the formation of psychedelic music: the three Bs (Beatles, Byrds and Barrett) were all at the front, and all played important parts. You can't really pick one above anything else.

I won't even name a song.... Pink Floyd, the most influential band of all time period.
Sheep
Wish you were here
Shine on you crazy Diamond
Anything of the wall
Every Floyd Song was good... cept Young Lust ::shrivers up::

I won't even name a song.... Pink Floyd, the most influential band of all time period.
Sheep
Wish you were here
Shine on you crazy Diamond
Anything of the wall
Every Floyd Song was good... cept Young Lust ::shrivers up::

Much as i adore Floyd, you can't call them influential - they had a couple of years in the sun in the mid 70s and then were blown away artistically with Punk.

Bowie is far more likely a candidate for "influence".

NB:- you will note i am not disputing Floyd being excellent. Just that they went down an artistic cul de sac, and no one followed them (similar more recent examples - Primal Scream, with "Screamadelica" seemed to be mapping out a vision of a glorious new future of rock...and no one followed them).

I'm sorry, and I really love Primal Scream, but Screamadelica was in no way a new face for rock - it was an exact copy of The Rolling Stones' middle work (same producer, same fondness for building from simple guitar/piano base into big, percussion-driven chorus). I don't think Screamadelica should be viewed as an innovative album - just a really good one.

I'm sorry, and I really love Primal Scream, but Screamadelica was in no way a new face for rock - it was an exact copy of The Rolling Stones' middle work (same producer, same fondness for building from simple guitar/piano base into big, percussion-driven chorus). I don't think Screamadelica should be viewed as an innovative album - just a really good one.

Oh, agreed, but what it was - yeah, there were the Stones steals - was an ECLECTIC steal, it borrowed from so many places, and whereas before, with their earlier steals (the Byrds, the Velvet Underground) it had sounded roobish, (pretentious metaphor alert) instead of their rock classicism being a brake on their artistic ambitions, it turbo-charged them (end of pretentious metaphor alert).

So, i dunno, the eclectisism and depth of the work at the time - it wasn't just the Stones, after all, they stole from so many sources for that album, you could only see the Stones influence on two or three numbers - did seem like a wonderful new magpie approach to rock (remember, this was the height of the first wave of dance and sampling seemed INNOVATIVE rather than everyday).

Agreed, though. It led nowhere, as i said.

Sadly,if we will look at Rock thoughout the ages, me must say Elvis,And almost any Blues band,that is the true liniage of Rock'n'Roll as we know it.

Now as for Rock,Jimi Hendrix Machine Gun, that there was one of his best(In mine,and some others) But yet to my knowledge it was never played and recorded on a CD, Woodstock, hands down the most Influencial piece of Rock and Concert in the 60's and Well into the 70's, who were the biggest names?
Jim Morrison and the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Jouplin(Cant spell her name for shizzah)

New age Rock, many songs by Anti-Flag.

Sadly this has no point,scratch holding your views, theres no way to pin a point on it,basically all we are doing is proving why we love the certain band we do.......

Yes, we are. And it's such fun!

There were lots of influences in the formation of psychedelic music: the three Bs (Beatles, Byrds and Barrett) were all at the front, and all played important parts. You can't really pick one above anything else.

Try, but it should be noted that the Byrds were the first of the three to make it to vinyl with a psychedelic tune.

New age Rock, many songs by Anti-Flag.

What is 'new age rock'?