500 Greatest Songs of All TimeApril 7, 2011 Share Tweet Share Comment Email

By Jay-ZA great song doesn't attempt to be anything it just is.When you hear a great song, you can think of where you were when you first heard it, the sounds, the smells. It takes the emotions of a moment and holds it for years to come. It transcends time. A great song has all the key elements melody; emotion; a strong statement that becomes part of the lexicon; and great production. Think of "Bohemian Rhapsody," by Queen. That song had everything different melodies, opera, R&B, rock and it explored all of those different genres in an authentic way, where it felt natural.When I'm writing a song that I know is going to work, it's a feeling of euphoria. It's how a basketball player must feel when he starts hitting every shot, when you're in that zone. As soon as you start, you get that magic feeling, an extra feeling. Songs like that come out in five minutes; if I work on them more than, say, 20 minutes, they're probably not going to work.Read Jay-Z's full essay here.500Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, 'Shop Around'

Writers:Berry Gordy, RobinsonProducer:GordyReleased:Dec. '60, Tamla16 weeks; No. 2Robinsonthought Barrett Strong should record "Shop Around," but Gordy persuaded Smokey that he was the right man for the song. After it came out, Gordy heard it on the radio and found it way too slow. He woke Robinson at 3 a.m. and called him back to the studio to re-cut it faster and with Robinson's vocal more prominent. That one worked.Appears on:The Ultimate Collection(Motown)RELATED:The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Smokey Robinson and the MiraclesThe 100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Smokey Robinson 499Weezer, 'Buddy Holly'

Writer:Rivers CuomoProducer:Ric OcasekReleased:Aug. '94, DGC21 weeks; No. 18In the early 1990s, Cuomo had an awkward girlfriend who was routinely picked on. His efforts to stick up for her inspiredWeezer's breakthrough, a track whose bubble-grunge hooks and lines such as "I look just like Buddy Holly/And you're Mary Tyler Moore" helped the band reach a nation of pop-minded suburban punks. It also earned Weezer autographed photos from the real Mary Tyler Moore.Appears on:Weezer(Geffen) 498The Rolling Stones, 'Miss You'

Writers:Mick Jagger, Keith RichardsProducers:The Glimmer TwinsReleased:May '78, Rolling Stones20 weeks; No. 1The Stoneswere in Toronto, rehearsing for their classic gigs at the El Mocambo Club, whenJagger, jamming with R&B legend Billy Preston, came up with "Miss You." With a disco groove and a touch of the blues via a harmonica player they found in a Paris subway, it became the band's first Number One hit in five years. "It's not really about a girl," Jagger said. "The feeling of longing is what the song is."Appears on:Some Girls(Virgin)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Number 16, Mick Jagger100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: Number Ten, Keith Richards100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Number Four, The Rolling Stones500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Number 269, The Rolling Stones'Some Girls 497Bruce Springsteen, 'The Rising'

Writer:SpringsteenProducer:Brendan O'BrienReleased:July '02, Columbia11 weeks; No. 52Springsteenwrote the track about 9/11, taking the viewpoint of a firefighter entering one of the Twin Towers ("Can't see nothin' in front of me ") before unleashing the gospel-tinged chorus. It was the title track from an album intended to help his fans cope with the tragedy. "The fundamental thing I hear from fans is, 'Man, you got me through' whatever it is," he toldRolling Stonein 2002.Appears on:The Rising(Columbia)RELATED:100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Bruce Springsteen100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Bruce Springsteen 496Jackson Browne, 'Running on Empty'

Writer:BrowneProducer:BrowneReleased:Jan. '77, Asylum17 weeks; No. 11TheRunning on Emptyalbum wasBrowne's grand experiment: a set of all-new songs recorded onstage, in hotel rooms and on the tour bus. The title track was actually written while Browne was driving to the studio each day to makeThe Pretender. "I was always driving around with no gas in the car," he said. "I just never bothered to fill up the tank because how far was it anyway? Just a few blocks."Appears on:Running on Empty(Elektra) 495The Rolling Stones, 'Brown Sugar'

Writers:Mick Jagger, Keith RichardsProducer:Jimmy MillerReleased:April '71, Rolling Stones12 weeks; No. 1The Stonestake on slavery, sadomasochism, interracial sex and make it catchy as hell. At Muscle Shoals studios,Jaggerscrawled three verses on a pad, andRichardssupplied an impossibly raunchy riff. Add some exultant punctuations and you have a Stones concert staple.Appears on:Sticky Fingers(Virgin)RELATED:100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Mick Jagger100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: Keith Richards100 Greatest Artists of All Time: The Rolling Stones500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Rolling Stones'Sticky Fingers 494R. Kelly, 'Ignition (Remix)'

Writer:KellyProducer:KellyReleased:Oct. '02, Jive42 weeks; No. 2R. Kelly's automotive metaphors for booty-knockin' in "Ignition" are subtler than they might've been; the lyrics were toned down at the request of a Chicago radio station. OnChocolate Factory, the original version of the song segued immediately into the hit remix.Appears on:Chocolate Factory(Jive) 493MGMT, 'Time to Pretend'

Writers:Ben Goldwasser, Andrew VanWyngardenProducer:Dave FridmannReleased:Jan '08, ColumbiaDid Not ChartThe rhythm was inspired by the wriggling of a praying mantis that VanWyngarden and Goldwasser kept in college. VanWyngarden wrote about rock-star fantasies ("I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin"), though it's unclear how facetious the words are. "Some think we're druggies. Others see the tongue-in-cheek element," he said. "That's what I hope for as a lyricist: confusion!"Appears on:Oracular Spectacular(Columbia) 492Gloria Gaynor, 'I Will Survive'

Writers:Dino Fekaris, Freddie PerrenProducers:Fekaris, PerrenReleased:Dec. '78, Polydor27 weeks; No. 1In 1979, Gaynor's career was falling apart. Donna Summer had replaced her as the leading disco diva, and the 32-year-old Gaynor had recently suffered the death of her mother and had undergone spinal surgery. So when she belted out "I Will Survive," she brought extra attitude. The track was originally a B side, but after enterprising DJs started to play it at discos, it turned into a smash.Appears on:I Will Survive: The Anthology(Polygram) 491Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 'I Love Rock 'N Roll'

Writers:Jake Hooker, Alan MerrillProducers:Ritchie Cordell, Kenny LagunaReleased:Jan. '82, Boardwalk20 weeks; No. 1Attempting to jump-start a solo career after her stint in the Runaways,Jetthad her demo tape to "I Love Rock 'N Roll" rejected by 23 record labels. Tiny Boardwalk Records finally bit, but the label sold her the radio rights to the track for $2,500. Today, the song is worth nearly $20 million.Appears on:I Love Rock 'N Roll(Blackheart)

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