Top 10 Dave Edmunds Songs

Photo: J. Åman / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Our Top 10 Dave Edmunds Songs list looks at a great rock artist whose roots are in 50s rock and rockabilly blended with 70s rock grooves to form an original and successful sound. It’s hard to place Dave Edmund in a particular period because he had success over a long period. His most successful record was released in 1970 and is called “I Hear You Knocking.” Yet most people associate Dave Edmunds with new wave rockabilly, whose popularity peaked in 1979 with a series of hits in the UK and the U.S.

Most Dave Edmunds solo albums were released in the ’70s, 80, and early ’90s. Over time, he recorded a series of albums with musicians Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams. The quartet played together on solo albums by Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds. Lowe, Edmunds, Bremmer, and Williams musicians would eventually release an album together under the band Rockpile. The group proved very successful in 1979 with that great album, which spawned the hit “Teacher Teacher,” written by Nick Lowe.

Our Top 10 Dave Edmunds Songs looks back at the material Dave Edmunds released on his solo albums. Edmunds released so many great studio albums and live records throughout his career. We hope this list turns you on to the music of Dave Edmunds, as he was and still is one of classic rock’s truly great artists.

# 10 – Information

We open our Top 10 Dave Edmunds songs list with the great track “Information.” The song was released on Dave Edmunds’ 1983 album entitled Information. The album was produced by the legendary Jeff Lynne, formerly of The Move, founding member of Electric Light Orchestra, and at one time a Traveling Wilbury. The fantastic song “Information” was written by Dave Edmunds and Mark Radice. This was the first time that Dave Edmunds had worked with Jeff Lynne. You can hear the traditional Jeff Lynne production techniques throughout the track, in the backing vocals and the song’s keyboard arrangement. It’s cool to hear Dave Edmunds’ guitar licks against Jeff Lynne’s production. It works quite well.

# 9 – High School Nights

Continuing our list of the top 10 Dave Edmunds songs, we turn to the happy throwback song “High School Nights.” The song was recorded for Porky’s Revenge! Soundtrack Motion Picture Soundtrack. The song and film were released in 1985. The video below features many cast members of the film series. Porky’s Revenge was the third and final chapter in the Porky’s film series. While the third film received mostly negative reviews, the film’s soundtrack was widely praised. It featured great cover versions of classic ’50s songs by 60s and ’70s artists such as Jeff Beck, George Harrison, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Clarence Clemmons. Dave Edmunds contributed four recordings to the great soundtrack.

# 8 – Crawling from the Wreckage

The great Dave Edmunds album Repeat When Necessary is one of Dave Edmunds’ strongest albums. The great record was released in 1979. Representing the album at number eight on our top 10 Dave Edmunds songs list is the killer cut “Crawling From The Wreckage.” Graham Parker wrote the song. This is the sound of 1979, a great year often overlooked in classic rock history. There was a certain sound produced by artists like Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, The Knack, and many other bands that lasted briefly but delivered many great modern-style rock songs that have become timeless.

# 7 – Queen of Hearts

Many fans know this song from the Juice Newton version, which sounds similar to the Dave Edmunds version. Hank DeVito wrote the song. “Queen Of Hearts was originally released by Dave Edmunds on his 1979 LP Repeat When Necessary. The song was released as a single by Dave Edmunds. It broke the UK Top 20, peaking at number 11. However, it failed even to break the US Billboard Hot 100, which was sad because Edmund’s version is killer. Nonetheless, two years later, Juice Newton broke the Billboard Top 10 with the song as it reached all the way up to the number two position.

# 6 – From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)

Continuing with our top 10 Dave Edmunds songs list, we turn to Edmund’s great cover of Bruce Springsteen’s song “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come).” Bruce Springsteen originally composed and recorded the song for The River. The only problem was that he recorded so much material for the record that he could have released five or six albums from the River Sessions. With so much material, Bruce Springsteen offered Dave Edmunds the song to record. When Bruce Springsteen offers an artist unreleased songs to record, most artists say yes. Especially in the 1970s, when Bruce Springsteen fans were always hungry for new material.

Dave Edmunds recorded and released the song “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)” on his 1982 album, D.E. 7th. The album would become one of Dave Edmunds’s most successful ever. It peaked higher on the Billboard albums charts than any of his other records. “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)” was placed as the album’s opening track. It was also released as the record’s first single.

# 5 – Almost Saturday Night

You have to give Dave Edmunds credit for covering well-known songs by legendary artists and then making them his own. His cover of John Fogerty’s “Almost Saturday Night” is off the charts, rocking fantastically. The song was released on Dave Edmunds’ 1981 album Twangin’. It would be the last album Dave Edmunds recorded for Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label.

# 4 – Slipping Away

Once again, we turn to another great Jeff Lynne-produced Dave Edmunds song, “Slipping Away.” The song was released on Dave Edmunds’ album Information, released in 1983. It was also written by Jeff Lynne. The great Jeff Lynne wall of sound meets the fabulous Dave Edmunds vocal wall of sound in a perfect marriage of talent, resulting in a spectacular song.

# 3 – I Knew The Bride

Dave Edmunds’s take on Nick Lowe’s classic song “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll)” proved to be one of our favorite covers of a Nick Lowe song of all time. This one was stunning. We have always argued that, at one point, Dave Edmunds should have recorded an album of just Nick Lowe covers. The two men worked so well together throughout their careers as bandmates on solo albums and, of course, with their band Rockpile.

Read More: Top 10 Nick Lowe Songs

# 2 – Girls Talk

The Elvis Costello song “Girls Talk” has been recorded by some heavy hitters in the business. The writer’s version is great, penned by Elvis Costello. We also loved Linda Ronstadt’s version, which she recorded for her new wave album Mad Love. However, the ultimate version of the song has always belonged to Dave Edmunds, who recorded it in 1979 for his album Repeat When Necessary. The song became the second biggest hit of his career, peaking at number four on the UK music charts in 1979.

Read More: Top 25 Elvis Costello Songs

# 1 – I Hear You Knocking

We close out our top 10 Dave Edmunds songs with the artist’s second single release and the biggest hit of his career. The great song “I Hear You Knocking” was written by Dave Bartholomew. The song first gained popularity in 1955 when Smiley Lewis recorded it. Dave Edmunds recorded the song in 1970. The song reached number one on the UK pop charts and stayed there for six weeks. It also hit number one in Ireland. It was also quite successful in the United States, reaching the Billboard Top 10 and peaking at number 4.

“I Hear You Knocking” would become the only number-one hit of Dave Edmunds’s career. Nonetheless, the brilliant artist would enjoy many successful album releases, gain a loyal following, and contribute significantly to the great canyon of rock and roll music throughout his 50-plus-year career.