What are your top ten song intros from the 1960s?

A poster at the Usenet group, rec.music.rock-pop-r+b.1960s, came up with this thread. As I thought it was a good topic, I decided to carry it over to DU.

Here's what I came up with:

CHAIN OF FOOLS, Aretha Franklin - Joe South's guitar intro packs more funk into three or four seconds than some soul records packed into three or four minutes.

DOCK OF THE BAY, Otis Redding - Like "Stand By Me," it's a quiet, understated, and wholly perfect introduction to a beautiful song.

HEY JOE, The Leaves - The original poster mentioned the Hendrix version, but I prefer the Leaves' interpretation from a year before, and not only because of that slicing, vicious guitar intro.

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, Marvin Gaye - That foreboding organ just puts me on the edge of my seat, warning me that I'm in for a dark, harrowing ride through the psyche of a severely heartbroken man.

KICK OUT THE JAMS, The MC5 - "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!!!" 'Nuff said.

PUSHIN' TOO HARD, The Seeds - Psychedelic fuzz guitar has rarely sounded this good to my jaded ears.

SATISFACTION, The Rolling Stones - The greatest guitar intro of the '60s, IMHO.

STAND BY ME, Ben E. King - That understated bass intro was the perfect way to lead into King's sublime, timeless ballad.

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING, Nancy Sinatra - Not one of my all-time favorite '60s hits, but I do like that strumming guitar intro.

TICKET TO RIDE, The Beatles - No matter how many times I hear this record, that intro just gets my blood pumpin' and psyched up for three minutes of solid, rockin' fun.

I would add that, just off the top of my head. You picked some excellent ones!!

possibly the greatest rock song EVER.
turn up the tremolo, Merry Clayton (she was about 18 at the time) comes in with that spooky high 'hoooo' and you can see the four horsemen of the apocolypse riding toward you, kicking up dust....


that, and Jimi's cover of "All Along the Watchtower."

You invoke that song perfectly!

Well done. :toast:

"All Along the Watchtower". Two outstanding songs with unbelievable guitar work in both. I burned a CD with those two songs back to back, followed by "Hey Joe", Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love", Joe Cocker's "Feelin Alright" and The Bands "I Shall be Released".

Like A Rolling Stone (Dylan)
Mr. Tambourine Man (Byrds)
Respect (Aretha)
Purple Haze (Jimi)
Gimme Shelter (Stones)
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Beatles)
Can't Explain (Who) Also Pinball Wizard and Substitute
It's Alright (JJ Jackson)

ON EDIT: Oh cripes, how could I forget All Along the Watchtower by Jimi? That might be my favorite.

MIne are

You're gonna miss me - 13th floor elevators
I'm free - the rolling stones
Celcilia - SImon and Garfunkel
Ticket to ride - the bealtes (seriously I have loved it since I first hear it on my mom's 45.
Combination of the two - big brother and the holding company
Donvan - catch the wind
Big river - Johny cash live at San Quentin
I can't explain - The who
Mickey's monkey - Smokey Robinson and the miracles
Born to be wild - Steppenwolf

yeah..those...right now

:evilgrin:

The Kinks - You Really Got Me
The Righteous Brothers - You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
The Beatles - Ticket To Ride
Percy Sledge - When A Man Loves A Woman
Jeff Beck - Beck’s Bolero
The Temptations ? - Papa Was A Rolling Stone
Cry Baby - Janis Joplin
The Hollies - Carrie Ann

more later, if I think of some I really like

Gimme so elovin..spencer davis group

When Iwas a kid my dad used to occasionally take me on road trips that was one of the only tapes we had...

Long Cool Woman-The Hollies

Paperback Writer-The Beatles

The Wind Cries Mary-Jimi Hendrix

Satisfaction-The Stones

The Weight-The Band

Try a Little Tenderness-Otis Redding

I Feel Fine-The Beatles

Gimme Shelter-The Stones

Light My Fire-The Doors

Help-The Beatles


My favorite all time song intro. Not 60's though:

From 1973

Let's Get it On--Marvin Gaye

John Lennon's "Imagine." That sums up the sixties for me....ah my wasted youth!

Janis Joplin is my all-time favorite. I listen to her almost every day.

...that the two intros still most likely to get people up and dancing are "Johnny B. Goode" and "In the Mood." Neither from the 60s, but just a bit of trivia. "Land of a Thousand Dances" is probably close.

"and I bring you..."

"Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

(well, you already have KOTJ, so I thought I'd mention something else)

What an up tune for such a depressing movie.

1) The single note fuzz sustain guitar intro to "I Feel Fine"

2) "I preach my dear friends you're about to receive
On John Barleycorn, nicotine and the temptations of Eve"

It's too much man, let it all hang out.

Now, THERE's a misspent youth, DancingBear! Are there a hundred people who know that song??

:bounce:
dbt

My TV's on the blink
Makes Galileo look like a Boy Scout
Sorry 'bout that, man, let it all hang out."

I think I'm one of the few dozen people who bought that LP.

Mellencamp covered "Let It All Hang Out" it on one of his albums.

:) :)

Now, if anyone actually remembers "Little Arrows" by Leapy Lee we got some talkin' to do...

Is it me or is it you?
It's hard to tell until you're hit
But you'll know it when they hit you
Cos they hurt a little bit

Oh, oh, oh, the pain....

Little arrows in your clothing
Little arrows in your hair

I actually have a copy of that on CD.

I have a feeling that no matter what 60's/early 70's song is brought up here one of us is going to know it.

I'm off to do "The Mouse".

It's the thing to do!
Kids'll envy you!
So do The Freddie!

Just remember to:

Kick your feet up
Swing your arms up, too
Move your head both ways
Like you see me do!

I'm telling you now - so you don't forget.

"And Your Bird Can Sing" - The Beatles
"I Want You Back" - Jackson Five
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" - Beach Boys

Gotta be.

THE LAST TIME - Stones - Second greatest guitar intro next to Satisfaction.

I FEEL GOOD - James Brown - What more do you need?

WHAT'D I SAY - Ray Charles - with the lectric piano.

MR. MOONLIGHT - Beatles - John with the same voice as "Twist and Shout?"

JE T'AIME MOI NON PLUS - Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin - Same progression as "Wild Thing." Not a word of English, but the message is unmistakeable. PS- Whatta great lotta bass playing!

GROOVY KIND OF LOVE - Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders - The original - Phil Collins can kiss my Royal Crown.

I'M GOING HOME - Ten Years After - Perhaps a cliche by now, but the first time I heard it my jaw was on the floor.

HEARTBEAT - Buddy Holly - Wait, that's 50's. No matter. I still love it.

GET IT ON - Chase - OK, the 70's. But if this song comes on the car radio I have to put the seat back and peg the accelerator. HAVE to.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT - Beatles - One Chord. That is all ye know on Earth, and all ye need to know.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY, Joe South - Best use of the sitar in a rock song ever!

RESCUE ME, Fontella Bass - Funkiest bass playing this side of Bootsy Collins!

REVOLUTION, The Beatles - I always considered this the best of their late-period songs. And that distorted fuzz guitar segging into John Lennon's primal screaming is the main reason I feel that way.

and Pinball Wizard

Either that or Whiter Shade of Pale. Pushover for organs, I guess.

Blues Magoos - nice organ/bass line intro.

What's not to like about 60's garage rock, anyway?

That screaming "Oh, No!" intro to (I believe) "I Can't Control Myself".

Dun, dadadadadada, dun, dadadadadada - "In this dirty old part of the city, where the Sun refuse to shine, people tell me there ain't no use in tryin'. Oh little girl, you're so young and pretty. . ."
Da dum da da da, da dum dum da da, da dum da da da, da dum, dum, da da - "Imagine me and you, I do - I think about you day and night, it's only right, to think about the girl you love. . ."
So many others. Some Spoonful and Motown there, as well.

December '66 top 100 songs for the year on KFRC AM San Francisco
number 1 Satisfaction- Stones
number 2 Summer in the City - lovin Spoonful

both killer beginnings.

How the hell did I remember this? the mind has many corners....

the deliberate feedback at the beginning of the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" - one of the first uses of deliberate feedback in popular music.

and how can you possibly beat the hook of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-da-Vida" - one of the greatest hooks ever?

"My Girl" - Robert White's guitar lick at the beginning of that makes it one of the single most memorable of all the Motown hits with the Funk Brothers playing.