Favorite Song Openings

[48Fire]

Money by Pink Floyd
Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen
Let the Good Times Roll by the Cars
And I love all the nods to Led Zeppelin

 

[MC Rider]

Let the Good Times Roll by the Cars

Kawasaki let's the good times roll. Get aboard get away and you're gonna say,
Let the good times roll.

OK, more of an ad jingle. But memorable.

 

[jazz4cash]

Diaana Ross’ 1st release as a solo artist

 

[statsman]

Aerosmith- Back in the Saddle

Yeah, that one is in my list of top openings.

I will add:

The Kinks - You Really Got Me
Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack
Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55

 

[jollystomper]

Back in the 70's, some songs seemed designed to blast onto the ear with a recognizable lick (the topic of this thread), and some seemed designed to allow a DJ talk-over space. The one below is the latter type.

Now you reminded of "some favorite song intros for talking over during my radio show" :

Alan Parsons Project - I Robot
Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4, Saturday in the Park
Gary Numan - Cars
O'Jays - For the Love of Money, Backstabbers
Police - Voices Inside My Head
Santana - No One to Depend On
Doors - Touch Me

Then there were the "songs the program director would yell at you if you tried to talk over since the vocal or hook started right away" :

Kool and The Gang - Hollywood Swinging, Jungle Boogie
Yes - Leave It
Simple Minds - Promised You a Miracle
Madness - One Step Beyond
Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
Bootsy's Rubber Band - Stretching Out
Brothers Johnson - Ain't We Funking Now

Hmm, I feel some weekend time ripping more of my vinyl to digital coming up with all these intro reminders...

 

[sengsational]

Now you reminded of "some favorite song intros for talking over during my radio show"

These were the ones that nobody had a "good copy" on cassette because they offered such an opportunity for the DJ!

 

[Dtail]

Santa Esmeralda - Don't let me be misunderstood.
Love this song.

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, I know, still stuck in the '60s -

 

[Dtail]

Elton John - Love lies bleeding/Funeral for a friend

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Elton John - Love lies bleeding/Funeral for a friend

+1

Saw him in concert a few years back and he did that song. I had forgotten just how good that song was since you rarely hear it on the radio nowadays.

Then I was surprised again two years ago when Elton John and Bernie Taupin were given the Gershwin Prize at the Library of Congress and Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding was performed at that award show...

By Metallica!

It's great to see Elton and Bernie singing along just after the 4-minute mark.

 

[jollystomper]

These were the ones that nobody had a "good copy" on cassette because they offered such an opportunity for the DJ!

Yeah, we would get calls requesting "call you play such and such a song and not have any DJ talk or station ID/promo over it?"

Fortunately on our station we were only allowed talk breaks 3 times an hour, so we could play multiple songs in a row to help those who were taping . And we had special "express" times when we would play 30 minutes to an hour of music without interruption.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

One of my favorite song openings is the first song on SUM 41's first album Half Hour of Power.

It's a 1:07 guitar-based instrumental. Not just a great song opening, but also a great first-album opening.