When I first came up with the idea for this song list, it was based on the concept of farewells. But that topic seemed too general to create a list of ten songs. It is also pretty challenging to limit a list of the best rock songs featuring the word “Goodbye” to just ten. These are not goodbye songs that would open up a whole entire world of music, but rather songs that feature the word goodbye in the title. Still, there is going to be plenty left off. This was a tough one to present, only ten. Yet, it’s fun to rank these ten against each other. Let’s see how our list compares to yours. Are you ready?
# 10 – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat – Jeff Beck
We open our 10 Best Rock Songs With The Word Goodbye In The Title list with the legendary Jeff Beck. The instrumental “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” was released on his multi-award-winning album Wired in 1976. The track “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” was already a legendary jazz piece composed by bassist Charles Mingus. The song was initially released in 1959 on the Mingus Ah Um album. Jeff Beck’s take on the piece of music was as incredibly inventive as it was captivating.
# 9 – Goodbye to Romance – Ozzy Osbourne
Continuing with our 10 Best Rock Songs With The Word Goodbye In The Title list, we strap on our seat belts and drop the needle on some Ozzy. “Goodbye To Romance” stands as one of Ozzy’s greatest ballads. The song was released on the album entitled Blizzard of Ozz. The album was released in 1980. The song was composed by Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Daisley, and the late Randy Rhoads, who plays a spectacular solo at about the three-minute mark.
# 8 – Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution – The Black Crowes
Many songs with unique titles feature the word Goodbye, but hands down, this is one of the best titles ever written. It’s also one of the coolest songs The Black Crowes ever released. “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” was released on the album Warpaint. The album was released in 2008 and featured a new band lineup. The record featured Chris Robinson on vocals and harmonica, Rich Robinson and Luther Dickinson on guitars, Sven Pipien on bass, Steve Gorman on drums, and Adam MacDougall on keyboards, rounding out the 2008 Black Crowes lineup.
# 7 – I Said Goodbye to Me – Harry Nilsson
In seventh place on our 10 Best Rock Songs With The Word Goodbye In The Title list is the brilliant song “I Said Goodbye to Me.” The song was composed and performed by Harry Nilsson. “I Said Goodbye to Me” was released on the album entitled Aerial Ballet. The album was released in 1968. Most people who purchased the album at the time did so for Harry’s Huge hit “Everybody’s Talkin.” However, what everyone discovered was an album full of gems, including this phenomenal piece of music.
# 6 – Say Goodbye To Hollywood
Billy Joel’s epic ode to Phil Spector just had to make this list. The track “Goodbye To Hollywood” featured that legendary Phil Spector drum beat and that big wall of sound from the Ronettes song “Be My Baby.” “Goodbye To Hollywood” was released on Billy Joel’s studio album Turnstiles, which was released in 1976.
# 5 – Hello Goodbye – The Beatles
It’s always a good thing to add some Beatles music to a topic song list when one can. The Beatles released one of the most famous songs of all time with the word goodbye in the title. If we were doing a list about the word hello, this one would also make that list too. It’s a two for one, and it’s not even Tuesday
# 4 – Goodbye Blue Sky – Pink Floyd
When we got to Pink Floyd, we had a choice between the songs “Goodbye Blue Sky” or “Goodbye Cruel World.” Both of them are just fantastic songs. However, we decided to go with the first of the two Goodbye Blue Sky. The track Goodbye Blue Sky was released on Pink Floyd’s album The Wall. That was released at the end of 1979 in December. It would become one of the biggest albums of the early 80s. For many, it is the last great Pink Floyd album.
# 3 – Goodbye Stranger – Supertramp
You know this one as soon as you hear the first chord of that electric piano. Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger” was released on one of the band’s biggest albums of their career, Breakfast In America. The album was released in 1979. The band at the time consisted of Rick Davies on lead vocals, Wurlitzer electronic piano, and Hammond organ, lead vocals, Roger Hodgson on electric guitar and harmony vocals, John Helliwell on harmony vocals, and whistling, Dougie Thomson on bass and Bob Siebenberg on drums. The song “Goodbye Stranger” was released as the second single from the album following up the massive hit single “The Logical Song.”
# 2 – Goodbye To You – Scandal
The next two songs on this list were the first two songs we thought of when coming up with this article. They are two very different songs about two completely different subjects, but I think it’s fair to say that these songs are ingrained in pop culture history. The first of the two involves the wonderful vocals of Patty Smyth and her band Scandal. This is the song that broke the group and turned Patty Smyth into a huge rock and roll star. This is the ultimate breakup song that makes you just feel good.
# 1 – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
We close out our 10 Best Rock Songs With The Word Goodbye In The Title list with one of the most legendary songs ever written. Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was the title track to his magnificent 1973 double LP Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Not only is this the number one song on our list of goodbye songs, we feel it’s probably Elton John’s greatest song he’s ever released. And that’s saying a lot because Elton John has released a lot of spectacular music throughout his career. Yet this one has always been very special; the chord changes and the song’s melody are unlike anything we’ve ever heard of before.