A Few Extras To Get You Thru The Night (and the Wee Hours of the Morning)

3333 Songs made the final list, jarring the memories of even the most dedicated Classic Rock Fans out there.

Why does Classic Rock Radio insist on playing the same 200-300 songs over and over again when there are SO many other GREAT songs that they could be slipping in every once in a while?

Our countdown offers proof that the REAL music fans want to hear them ... which is why they're on this list.

How about an occasional spin for one of these???

The Pretenders came in at #3305 with this one ...

"Thin Line Between Love And Hate"

 

And how about "To Dream The Dream" by Frankie Miller, sounding a whole lot like Bob Seger on this one!  (It came in right at #3300)
 

And then there's this long lost classic by The Charlie Daniels Band ... "The Legend Of Wooley Swamp"  (#3154)

The Top 50 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All Time (#42 - #40)

The countdown continues with #'s 42 - 40 ... with lots more to come!

 

Watch for some prime "extras" to be featured at Midnight Tonight and then again at 6 am tomorrow morning before we resume counting down The Top 50 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All Time.  (kk)

The Top 50 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All Time (#46 - #43)

The countdown continues all Memorial Day Weekend long, right thru 9 pm on Monday Night with brand new postings throughout the day about every three hours or so ... 

So be sure to stop back often to hear the entire countdown revealed.  (Special thanks again to Phil Nee of WRCO for putting this whole thing together.)


If you're anything like me, you're probably wondering which songs JUST MISSED making this weekend's countdown.

Well, #51 belongs to Bob Seger and "Night Moves," followed by "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen (#52), "Already Gone" by The Eagles (#53) and then two songs by The Rolling Stones, "Jumping Jack Flash" at #54 and "Paint It, Black" at #55.

The Stones have EIGHT songs in The Top 55 (and these aren't the only two that finished back-to-back) ... far more than ANY other act, including The Beatles (who have five), Queen and The Eagles (who each have four) and Led Zeppelin (who have three.)

But our countdown goes a WHOLE lot deeper than just The Top 55 ... 

Thanks to your votes, we have been able to rank THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME ...

And while we're only counting down The Top 50 this weekend, you can view the entire list by simply hitting the "Older Posts" tab at the bottom of this page.

Or, simply request your own copy by sending me an email at kk@forgottenhits.com.

Stay tune for more favorites ... coming up at 9 pm!

Your Top 50 Favorite Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All Time

Let the countdown begin!!! 

Of course your Top 50 Favorites will represent the Classic Rock Songs you currently hear most often on Classic Rock Radio ...

But THIS list ... which captures your TOP 3333 FAVORITES ... brings to mind HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of long-time favorites that you just don't hear anymore.

So throughout this countdown, we'll be featuring some of these "extras" that still sound great.  Call or email your favorite classic rock radio stations and request some of these songs ... let's get them back on their radar so they can find their way back into limited rotation!

And if you'd like a copy of the complete list, just drop us a line at classicrockvote@yahoo.com and we'll send it to you.  All that we ask is that if you circulate it or repost it in any way, you give proper credit to Kent Kotal and Forgotten Hits, who compiled nearly one million votes and points from readers all over the country in order to come up with the collective Top 3333 Favorites.  (kk) 

Or ... 

Scroll back thru this website (just click the "Older Posts" tab at the bottom of the page) to see the entire countdown revealed, just as it was when we did it live last year!

Every countdown has to begin somewhere ...

This was your #3333 Favorite Pick ...

SUPERTRAMP and CANNONBALL 
 

Listen To The Top 50 Tracks from our Top 3333 Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All Time Survey MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!

We've got an EXCLUSIVE broadcast of WRCO's Phil Nee counting down The Top 50 Tracks from our Top 3333 List to share with you over the long Memorial Day Weekend.

The countdown will be posted in chapters, beginning TODAY, Friday, May 22nd, at 3 pm ... and will continue on thru 9 pm Monday Night, May 25th, where the top songs will be revealed.

Along the way, we'll also be posting some of the "extras" that also made the list ... because let's face it, The Top 50 are the tracks you hear all day, everyday anyway ... so why not mix in some of the lesser-heard tracks that Classic Rock Fans love to hear just as much to even out the mix.  (Oh my God, what a GREAT programming idea!!!  Too bad nobody else out there seems to have come up with it!!!)

Anyway, please join us when you can ... new postings will pop up throughout the day Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at intervals of about three hours or so ... and all will remain posted so you can always scroll back to catch any part of the countdown you may have missed.

Tell a friend ... if you know people who love Classic Rock, then they'll want to hear The Cream Of The Crop, counted down by WRCO's Phil Nee THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND ...

EXCLUSIVELY here on the Classic Rock Essentials website!
(kk)

#1

Which leave us, of course, with #1 ...

YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE AND MOST DESERVING CLASSIC ROCK TRACK OF ALL TIME ...

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY by QUEEN!!!

(C'mon ... you already knew that ... but it was STILL fun counting them down, wasn't it?!?!)

 

We'll keep the full list posted for awhile ...

If you know somebody who might enjoy reviewing it, please send them our way.

Same goes for any adventurous Dee Jays out there who might want to entertain your listeners with any part of this countdown.  (Please just be sure to give us credit ... and offer links to the complete list ... that's all we ask ... otherwise the list is there for the sharing!)

But if you ARE going to run a countdown ... or even some segment of a countdown ... please let us know so we can run Listen Live Links on the site so that other fans can tune in and listen along, too!

Several of you have written in asking for printed copies of THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME and we will put something together for you.  (Just be forewarned that even as an Excel Document, this still runs about 70 pages!!!) It's already in the works so stay tuned to Forgotten Hits to find out when it'll be available and how you can get a copy.  (kk)

http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/

#2

Your Top Two Favorites duked it out for five months, swapping the lead at least 50 times ... and even when it was all over, only 24 Votes separated the two from the #1 Spot.

That's a pretty convincing reality if you ask me.  (To keep things in perspective, yesterday's track, LAYLA, finished 326 votes behind this one to come in at #3. 

Again, those of you who have been following along have probably never had any doubt as to which to tracks would come out on top ...

But today we reveal the runner up.

Let's hear it for THE EAGLES and HOTEL CALIFORNIA ...

Congratulations, Guys!!! 

 

#3

The Top Three Songs are the ONLY Three Songs to lead the list over the five month period that we were tabulating your votes ...

And today's featured #3 Track held it for exactly ONE DAY ... the VERY FIRST DAY ... and then never held it again.

Still, they retained enough of your votes ... and reaped the benefit of even more of your votes as the election wore on ... to hold on to the #3 Spot.

Here are DEREK AND THE DOMINOES ...

And LAYLA!
 

#4

Your 4th Classic Rock Favorite takes us down to SWEET HOME ALABAMA.

Those of you who've been with us from the beginning remember that the polls couldn't close until the Fat Lady Sings ...

And this is the tune that she sang. 

 

Now, based on the thousands of you who voted for it, we're guessing that you'd much rather hear the LYNYRD SKYNYRD version ... 

but I've gotta tell ya, this one STILL cracks me up ...  

However, for all you "purists" out there, here is the LYNYRD SKYNYRD version ... 

 
Turn It Up! 

#5

THE ROLLING STONES are back with their highest entry in our TOP 3333 List (out of 56 hits mind you!)

Honestly, most of their Top 13 Hits vied for the lead at some point during the tabulation process ... at various times it looked like SATISFACTION, HONKY TONK WOMEN, START ME UP or BROWN SUGAR all could have wound up on top of THE STONES' list of favorites ...

But in the end, it is GIMME SHELTER that takes home their top honor, finishing at #5.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

The countdown continues tomorrow ...

With your Top Five Most Essential Classic Rock Songs Of All-Time!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

#6

This track has topped SO many of these Classic Rock lists over the years, even coming in at #1 on some of those Memorial Day and Labor Day 500 lists that radio stations seem to do on a regular basis, despite the fact that it was never officially released as a single.

Still, it's a timeless classic that EVERYBODY knows and loves ... 

But when put to the test of a million votes, it falls a few rungs short of the Top Spot on our TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME List. 

(That's OK ... we won't hold it against them!!!)

I'm talking about, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN by LED ZEPPELIN, of course ... and the truth of the matter is, it ranked as high as #3 during the months-long tabulation process ... but it NEVER hit #1 in our poll.  (Only three songs ever did ... and one of those was only #1 for the very first day ... and then never again!  Stay tuned for more details ... as we get closer to the top!)

 
We'll be back after the holiday with your Top Five selections ... Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

(WHAT?!?!  Is he SERIOUS?!?!  Are you frickin' KIDDING me?!?!  We're not going to get The Top Five until AFTER the holiday?!?!  No Way!  Can he do this??? We've waited ALL this time for the big reveal and now he's going to stall?!?!  WTF?!?!?)

Yep ... but hopefully the anticipation is SO close to killing you that you'll be back on Thursday, the 26th, to finish the countdown!

#7

THE STONES are back with the #7 song in our countdown ...

Technically, it's still the biggest hit of their career ... a huge #1 Hit from all the way back in 1965.  (Talk about "Long Live Rock"!!!  Oh wait, that was THE WHO ... they had YESTERDAY's featured hit!)

"(I Can't Get No) SATISFACTION" is timeless gem that EVERY guitar player alive in 1965 ... and born since ... learned the opening riff to.  55 years later it still displays the same raw energy it did back in the mid-'60's when THE ROLLING STONES were still just part of The British Invasion and not the World's Greatest Rock And Roll Band, dominating the touring scene for another fifty years!  (And it's every bit as infectious, as new generations are discovering every day.)

Mick Jagger, at the ripe old age of 22, was already displaying a confident grit and swagger ... and he's STILL out there doing it some 54 years later, even after recent heart surgery!
 

#8

THE WHO finished with TWO songs in The Top 25 ... but THIS one was their biggest ...

WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN from their WHO'S NEXT album! 

#9

AEROSMITH hold down the #9 spot on the final countdown.

DREAM ON and SWEET EMOTION swapped places numerous times during the vote tabulation period ... but when all was said and done, it was DREAM ON who came in on top, finishing at #9 in your TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME.  (It makes sense ... even 46 years later, we still hear this song at least ten times a week!) 

For the record, SWEET EMOTION came in at #22 once all the votes were tabulated. 

 

#10

With FIVE songs in The Top 13, The Rolling Stones are definitely dominating the top end of the countdown.  (We recently saw "Brown Sugar" at #13 and "Honky Tonk Women" at #12.)

They kick off The Top Ten today as well with 1981's "START ME UP" ... and clearly we haven't seen or heard the last of them yet!

One of MY all-time favorites by The Stones (and also one of my ringtones for YEARS now) ... 

Here is START ME UP by THE ROLLING STONES! 

Your TOP 20!

#20 - More Than A Feeling - Boston
 
#19 - Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
 
#18 - Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
 
#17 - Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen

 
#16 - Light My Fire - The Doors
 
#15 - Tiny Dancer - Elton John
 
#14 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles
 
#13 - Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
 
#12 - Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
 
#11 - We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions - Queen

 
Be sure to join us tomorrow as we begin counting down 
THE TOP TEN MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME!!!

#30 - #21

#30 - Africa - Toto
 
#29 - Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
 
#28 - Free Fallin' - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
 
#27 - Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band
 
#26 - Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen
 
#25 - Who Are You - The Who
 
#24 - All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
 
#23 - Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
 
#22 - Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
 
#21 - Somebody To Love - Queen 
 

The Top 40!

#40 - Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney and Wings
 
#39 - Who'll Stop The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival
 
#38 - Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
 
#37 - Hey Jude - The Beatles  (I'm sure everybody figured this one for, if not #1, then certainly Top Five or, at the very least, Top Ten  ... but here it is ... based on your actual votes ... at #37, trailing two other Beatles tunes ... neither of which were written by the songwriting team of Lennon and McCartney!)
 
#36 - Black Magic Woman - Santana
 
#35 - You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones
 
#34 - You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
 
#33 - Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
 
#32 - Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
 
#31 - Don't Stop Believin' - Journey