430Elvis Presley, 'Blue Suede Shoes'
Writer:Carl PerkinsProducer:Steve SholesReleased:March '56,
RCA12 weeks; No. 20The day afterPresleymade his television debut,
on Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey'sStage Show, he went into a studio in New
York, kicking off the session with "Blue Suede Shoes";Perkins'
original was still climbing the charts. Despite 13 takes, Presley
and Sholes felt they hadn't matched it. Maybe they were right:
Perkins' single got to Number Two, but Presley's peaked at Number
20.Appears on:2nd to None(BMG Heritage)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers
of All Time: Elvis Presley100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Elvis
Presley 429Billy Joel, 'Piano Man'
Writer:JoelProducer:Michael StewartReleased:Nov. '73, Columbia14
weeks; No. 25Joelgrew up playing in rock bands, but a California
hiatus as a lounge pianist (under the name Bill Martin) saw him
pecking out standards for lost souls. "It was all right," he said.
"I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady
money I'd made in a long time."Appears on:Piano Man(Columbia)
428The Isley Brothers, 'It's Your Thing'
Writers:Rudolph Isley, Ronald lsley, O'Kelly IsleyProducers:R.
Isley, R. Isley, O. IsleyReleased:Feb. '69, T-Neck14 weeks; No. 2In
1969, the Isleys fled Motown and revived their own T-Neck Records,
where they unleashed the free-will funk of "It's Your Thing." Their
biggest hit, it earned a lawsuit from Berry Gordy, who claimed he
owned the song.Appears on:The Ultimate Isley Brothers(Legacy)
427Dr. Dre, 'Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang'
Writer:Snoop DoggProducer:Dr. DreReleased:Jan. '93, Death Row27
weeks; No. 2Dre's debut solo single sampled the bass line from Leon
Haywood's '75 hit "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You." The
mastermind on his working methods: "I sit around by myself in the
studio at home, push buttons and see what happens."Appears on:The
Chronic(Death Row)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Dr.
Dre500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Dr. Dre'sThe Chronic 426Crosby,
Stills and Nash, 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes'
Writer:Stephen StillsProducers:David Crosby, Stills, Graham
NashReleased:June '69, Atlantic12 weeks; No. 21Written by Stills
for ex-girlfriend Judy Collins, this epic harmony showcase kicked
offCSN' s debut album. Stills played most of the instruments, but
as Nash toldRolling Stone, "The three-part vocal blend was fucking
fantastic."Appears on:Crosby, Stills and Nash(Atlantic)RELATED:500
Greatest Albums of All Time: Crosby, Stills and Nash'sCrosby,
Stills and Nash100 Greatest Guitarists: Stephen Stills 425N.W.A,
'Fuck tha Police'
Writers:Ice Cube, MC RenProducers:Dr. Dre, YellaReleased:Jan.
'89, PriorityNon-SingleWith one song,N.W.Abrought the battle
between rappers and cops to a new level. On August 1st, 1989, the
FBI sent a bulletin to Priority Records, the group's label,
denouncing this song. According to the feds, "Fuck tha Police"
"encourages violence against, and disrespect for, the
law-enforcement officer." The publicity established N.W.A as
hip-hop's bad boys.Appears on:Straight Outta
Compton(Priority)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: N.W.A500
Greatest Albums of All Time: N.W.A'sStraight Outta Compton 424The
Notorious B.I.G., 'Juicy'
Writer:The Notorious B.I.G.Producers:Sean "Puffy" Combs,
PokeReleased:Aug '94, Bad Boy20 weeks; No. 27Biggie's debut single
chronicled the rapper's rise from "a common thief to up close and
personal with Robin Leach." He rhymes about his childhood poverty
growing up in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn (although he
claimed to be from Bed-Stuy) despite protests from his mom. "I told
him, 'No landlord dissed us!'" said Voletta Wallace. "He said,
'Mom, I was just writing a rags-to-riches kinda story.'"Appears
on:Ready to Die(Bad Boy)RELATED:500 Greatest Albums of All Time:
The Notorious B.I.G.'sReady to Die 423Don Henley, 'The Boys of
Summer'
Writers:Henley, Mike CampbellProducers:Henley, Campbell, Danny
Kortchmar, Greg LadanyiReleased:Nov. '84, Geffen22 weeks; No.
5Henley gave California rock a stylish Eighties makeover with this
poignant lament for his generation, featuring the famous line "Out
on the road today/I saw aDeadheadsticker on a Cadillac." When the
Ataris did their hit punk-rock cover version in 2003, they changed
it to aBlack Flagsticker but the sentiment was the same.Appears
on:Building the Perfect Beast(Geffen)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers
of All Time: Don Henley100 Best Album of the Eighties: Don
Henley'sBuilding the Perfect Beast 422The Four Tops, 'Can't Help
Myself'
Writers:Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian
HollandProducers:Holland, Dozier, HollandReleased:June '65,
Motown14 weeks; No. 1"My real style of singing is just a natural
thing," saidFour Topsfrontman Levi Stubbs. "What I mean by that is
I don't consider myself as being a heck of a singer, man. I'm more
of a stylist, if you will." His soul stylings sent this Tops
classic to Number One after the four original members had already
been performing together for 10 years.Appears on:The Ultimate
Collection(Motown)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: The
Four Tops 421The Coasters, 'Young Blood'
Writers:Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Doc PomusProducers:Leiber,
StollerReleased:May '57, Atco11 weeks; No. 1The Coasters were named
after the West Coast, home turf of the four singers. After evolving
from the doo-wop group the Robins, the Coasters had a couple of
small R&B hits, "Down in Mexico" and "Turtle Dovin'." But after
almost a year away from the studio, the group relocated to New York
and cut its first blockbuster.Appears on:The Very Best of the
Coasters(Rhino)
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