Top 10 Cowbell Songs

[CourtFool]

What is your favorite song that has a cowbell in it?

[The Eldritch Mr. Shiny]

Tossup between "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult and "Good Guys (Don't Wear White)" by the Standells.

[Larry Lichman]

Oh, you gotta include Mountain's "Mississippi Queen". After all, it OPENS with cowbell! (followed by some great guitar work by Lesley West).

[Ubermench]

SNL Cowbell skit

[Vic Wertz]

When I think of cowbell, I immediately think of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman."

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Vic Wertz wrote:

When I think of cowbell, I immediately think of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman."

Amen.

[houstonderek]

"Lowrider" by War.

What can I say? I'm a ragtop man...

But, this is a "Top Ten" thread, so...

#2: "Mississippi Queen" - Mountain (classic)
#3: "Killing in the Name" - RATM (the closing chant is the story of my life...)
#4: "And She Was" - Talking Heads (any song about a chick tripping nutz by a freeway is aces in my book...)
#5: "Drag the Water" - Pantera (It's Pantera...)
#6: "Honky Tonk Women" - The Rolling Stones ("...she blew my nose then she blew my mind" - possibly one of the greatest rock lyrics ever...)
#7: "Rock Lobster" - B-52s (ok, he likes metal AND dance hits made famous in gay discos? what the f???)
#8: "Groove is in the Heart" - Dee-Lite (see: #7, above)
#9: "We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister (ok, this is getting ridiculous)

And, as this is an RPG site, and no RPG site/music compilation would be complete without the obligatory Rush reference...

#10: "Witch Hunt" - Rush

[Mothman]

"Hey Ladies", Beastie Boys.

[houstonderek]

Mothman wrote:

"Hey Ladies", Beastie Boys.

This would have made my list, but I couldn't leave Rush off, if only because they were central to the D&D flashback scene in SLC Punk...

And, other than "2112", I'm really not a Rush fan...

[Mothman]

Ok, so this may seriously undermine my street cred, but I cannot for the life of me remember cowbells in Killing in the Name (and no access to go and listen to it right now). It’s bugging me.

[Heathansson]

youtube has the official vid; it's in the very beginning.

[houstonderek]

Heathansson wrote:

youtube has the official vid; it's in the very beginning.

And at the end. And some in the middle (but it isn't prominent...). The cowbell at the end is accenting Morello's angry "dah-dah-dah-DAH_DAH_DAH" riffs.

[Mothman]

Ha. So it's all through a song I must have listened to several hundred times and I never spotted it ... I'm sure it'll stand out like nothing else next time I listen to it.

[houstonderek]

Well, cowbell is something generally associated with 70's cock-rock, so it would be easy to overlook in something not from that era, I think.

[Mothman]

Indeed. Good call on Rock Lobster by the way, that'd make my list too.

[houstonderek]

You ARE going to kick yourself when you hear the opening riffs of "Killing", though ;)

[flash_cxxi]

The Eldritch Mr. Shiny wrote:

"Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult

houstonderek wrote:

#3: "Killing in the Name" - RATM (the closing chant is the story of my life...)

#4: "And She Was" - Talking Heads (any song about a chick tripping nutz by a freeway is aces in my book...)
#7: "Rock Lobster" - B-52s (ok, he likes metal AND dance hits made famous in gay discos? what the f???)
#8: "Groove is in the Heart" - Dee-Lite (see: #7, above)

Mothman wrote:

"Hey Ladies", Beastie Boys.

These would all make my list, although I actually prefer the Muttonbirds version of Don't Fear the Reaper (I still like BOC's though).

[DmRrostarr]

houstonderek wrote:

Well, cowbell is something generally associated with 70's c@~!-rock, so it would be easy to overlook in something not from that era, I think.

Nazareth.... "Son of a B*tch"

[The Eldritch Mr. Shiny]

Almost forgot:

"Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride)" by Don Felder

TAKE A RIDE ride ride ride... ON HEAVY METAL!

[Theris Nordo Ichka]

I’m surprised that nobody’s mentioned Spike Jones yet, he used cowbells a lot (along with whistles, washboards, gunshots, and so forth).

[Kirth Gersen]

Greg A. Vaughan wrote:

Vic Wertz wrote:

When I think of cowbell, I immediately think of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman."

Amen.

Yup.

[Kirth Gersen]

Hard to tell amidst the congas, marimbas, and masterful drum work, but I seem to recall there being some cowbell in Santana's live "Soul Sacrifice" performance at Woodstock. If so, make that my #1.

[houstonderek]

Kirth Gersen wrote:

Hard to tell amidst the congas, marimbas, and masterful drum work, but I seem to recall there being some cowbell in Santana's live "Soul Sacrifice" performance at Woodstock. If so, make that my #1.

I think so also. I'll have to watch the tape...

[Guy Humual]

What about Low Rider by War?

[The_Great_Gazoo]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned "Nighttrain" by Guns N Roses.....

[Spacelard]

I gotta have more cowbell!

[The Eldritch Mr. Shiny]

Even Black Flag had some cowbell. You need to listen to the whole song to really hear it, but it's there.

[David Fryer]

My top 10, in no particular order
All Night Long-AC/DC
Love Shack-B-52s
Play That Funky Music-Wild Cherry
We Didn't Start The Fire- Billy Joel
Devil Went Down To Georgia-Charlie Daniels Band
Low Rider-WAR
Oye Como Va-Santana
Little Red Corvette-Prince
Sanford and Son Theme-Percy Sledge

And my all time favorite is

Rapper's Delight-The Sugar Hill gang

[Count Buggula]

Ah, excellent. Another one that hasn't been mentioned yet is Warehouse by Dave Mathews Band - on his Under the Table and Dreaming album. You have to get a bit into the song before the cowbell hits, but when it does? Gravy.

[Vattnisse]

The ultimate cowbell song must be Pink Floyd's Pigs (Three Different Ones). A good number two is Nazareth's Hair Of The Dog.

Damn - ninjaed by DmRrostarr on Nazareth. And by 6 months!

[w0nkothesane]

houstonderek wrote:

Mothman wrote:

"Hey Ladies", Beastie Boys.

This would have made my list, but I couldn't leave Rush off, if only because they were central to the D&D flashback scene in SLC Punk...

And, other than "2112", I'm really not a Rush fan...

It's okay not like Rush outside of 2112. I can't blame anybody, they are a niche band.

That's not the case for me, I think they're without a doubt the best power trio of all time. On top of that they're one of my top 5 bands.

[Aubrey the Malformed]

houstonderek wrote:

"Lowrider" by War.

My immediate thought.

[Darkwolf]

DmRrostarr wrote:

houstonderek wrote:

Well, cowbell is something generally associated with 70's c@~!-rock, so it would be easy to overlook in something not from that era, I think.

Nazareth.... "Son of a B*tch"

Hair of the Dog...

[Marc Radle]

w0nkothesane wrote:

Rush ... without a doubt the best power trio of all time. On top of that they're one of my top 5 bands.

Could not agree more! Rush is one of my faves as well!

Actually, that would be a pretty cool new thread - list your Top 5 All-Time Favorite Bands / Musical Artists ...

[Doodlebug Anklebiter]

Guy Humual wrote:

What about Low Rider by War?

(Link changed because the old one was inactive)

Spoilered for UPS inanity:

Spoiler:

So, at my job, there are tons of bulletin boards filled with graphs and sales projections and productivity reports and blah blah blah. I, like most employees, don't ever look at them, but I did the other day.

So, there's a piece of paper with a green, Roger Hargreaves-looking illustration on it called Mr. Fueldrop. It's some kind of energy conservation program that encourages the drivers to drive slow. It then goes on to say how the program was inspired by the "1974 song by War, 'Low Rider.'"

It even goes on to actually quote lyrics from the song: "Take a little trip, take a little trip with me."

!!!

So, there you go. If you ever suspect that your UPS deliveryman is stoned, well, he probably is. It's our corporate policy!

[Guy Humual]

What about Second Chance by Peter Bjorn & John?