10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times

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Our article, “10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times,” presents a list of songs that have all become a major part of our lives growing up in the latter part of the 20th century. This list is by no means a put-down of these songs, as the respect we have for the artists and the songs themselves is enormous. When these songs first came out, or at least the first time we heard them, we all fell in love with these tracks. There’s no denying that; otherwise, these songs would not have become as famous as they did and still are. Nonetheless, radio, television, and all music media outlets have pretty much gotten carried away with these songs over the years, clearly understanding their popularity and ability to generate revenue across all platforms. The real point of this article is that these songs have become tiresome for some, not because of the songs themselves, but because of media outlets’ reluctance to play deeper album tracks instead of just repeatedly playing the same songs over and over again. These are amazing songs, but hey, instead of playing “Free Bird” nonstop, how about “Mississippi Kid” or “I Ain’t The One,” which are two spectacular tracks from the same album? That’s the real genesis of this. It’s all about the ignorance of these artists’ other material by mainstream outlets. Many of these that were overplayed in the 70s and 80s have begun to fade a bit which has enabled us to go back to the well. But for some the damage has been done.

# 10 – Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd

We open up our “10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times” list with the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Free Bird.” We will probably have to put the adjective “legendary” away from now on because we can utilize that with every song on this list. For every rock and roll musician who has ever played in a nightclub, bar, cafe, or any live music venue over the past 50 years, they have inevitably heard the calls for this song pretty much every night they’ve ever performed live. I’m sure the younger audience doesn’t call for it like they used to, but there was a time when no musician could ever play a live music venue without hearing somebody scream for this song.

# 9 – Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana

Continuing with our “10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times” list, we present a song that the generation of rock fans I grew up with in the seventies never really connected with as much as those who were teenagers when this song came out. I’m sure if I were 15 or 16 when Nirvana arrived on the scene, I would have gone nuts over this band just like every young rock and roll teenager did. Every generation has their own rock and roll heroes, and Nirvana and Kurt Cobain were the rock gods for ’90s teens. All media jumped onto the bandwagon for years, and this song was played non-stop on radio and TV, thrown in our faces constantly. Yeah, we get it; it’s an amazing piece of music, but it always just sounded so freaking depressing. I was way past those years when this one came out, and you know, so were you.

# 8 – Hotel California – Eagles

This is definitely the most overplayed Eagles song in the band’s catalog. Yes, I remember when the song first came out, and everybody went nuts over it, but I always thought there were so many better tracks on the rest of the record, including “Victim Of Love” and “The Last Resort.”  It would be wonderful if those songs were given as much attention on radio and in pop culture as “Hotel California.” Those songs deserve the attention just as much as “Hotel California.” The Eagles have also been very protective of their songs and their music, but there’s just no denying the power of such a distinctive and appealing melody. They can’t control this one. The song continues to be played everywhere; it’s never faded and never will.

# 7 – Don’t Stop Believing – Journey

Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” had already been a very much overplayed song in pop music culture. However, thanks to Tony Soprano, the song was elevated to a whole entirely new level of in-your-face, non-stop, “get out of the way, you’ve got to listen to this one” playing. The song was placed in probably the most hated ending of a show that everybody loved. A lot of people have said that it was a genius ending, but I disagree. It just left us all thinking that our cable went out. I didn’t want to have to imagine my own ending. How can that be a good ending?

# 6 – Dream On – Aerosmith

I love Aerosmith. They are one of our favorite bands here at Classic Rock History. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are the coolest dudes on the planet. I still listen to my old Aerosmith vinyl albums. I never get tired of Rocks, Toys in the Attic, or Draw the Line. I’m even a big fan of their ’80s and ’90s output. I think a lot of people criticize them unfairly because they were using some outside songwriters. Those songwriters were brilliant. I love this band, so it pains me to put an Aerosmith song on this list. And of course, like we said in the intro, it is in no way an insult to the band or the song. It’s just the simple fact that “Dream On,” especially in the ’70s, especially after the success of Toys in the Attic, man, it was just played one too many times. For a long time I skipped over it, but now I am starting to enjoy it again after giving it a break for a while.

# 5 – Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf

At the halfway point on our “10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times” list is perhaps the most played rock and roll song in movies ever. It always seems that when a director wants to inject a bit of rock and roll flair, they turn to “Born to Be Wild.” This song has been a victim of other people’s lack of creativity. It has also somewhat overshadowed Steppenwolf’s other great rock and roll albums. The band has so many great tunes, but this seems to be the only one that gets consistent radio play.

# 4 – Another Brick In The Wall – Pink Floyd

There are radio stations I no longer listen to because it seemed they played this song every 15 minutes. I’m not just talking about the ’80s; I’m talking about now. There’s so much great music out there, so many wonderful albums that have been released over the past 50 years, and yet it feels like radio plays the same songs over and over again—and this is one of them, perhaps the most overplayed of them all.

# 3 – Bohemian Rhaspody – Queen

If we were just talking about songs that are overplayed on the radio, then the number one slot would have gone to the previous song, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” However, when it comes to mass culture, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is ubiquitous. It didn’t help that the song’s title was used for Queen’s major motion picture, which proved to be very successful a few years back. And then, of course, we all remember what “Wayne’s World” did for the song. “Bohemian Rhapsody” was one of the few six-minute-plus songs that received continuous airplay on the radio and still does. It’s not just a big piece; it’s a musical masterpiece—there’s no denying that. Yet, maybe I’m just getting old, I don’t know, but I can’t do it anymore. But I’m trying……

# 2 – Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple

This one is not so much about the entire song, although that does play a role. No, this one is all about that riff. That darn riff that amateur guitarists have been screwing up for years because it’s the only song they know how to play. If my cousin Lenny plays this one more time, I am going to pull a Belushi on him.

# 1 – Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin

We close out our “10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times” list with a song from our favorite rock band of all time. Do you remember the first time you heard this one? It completely blew your mind, didn’t it? This song was so massively popular in the mid-1970s, rock fans could not get enough of it. However, radio and all the powers that be in the music industry kept slamming it upon us non-stop, that it eventually began to get a little tiresome.

The song has had its moments. I will never forget being floored by watching Led Zeppelin perform this live in concerts in 1977. I also loved the live version on The Song Remains the Same. Of course, another favorite band of ours called Heart performed a tremendous version of the song live in front of Plant, Page, and Jones that brought the house down. In recent years, the song has begun to fade a bit, and I am actually enjoying starting to listen to it again. However, for a very long time, this was one that we had all heard one too many times.

10 Classic Rock Songs We Have Heard One Too Many Times article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024

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