Top 10 Bad Company Songs

Our Top 10 Bad Company songs list looks at a band signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label in the mid-1970s. The band exploded onto the scene with a debut album that contained the massive hit “Can’t Get Enough.” For the next seven years, Bad Company released a series of albums that defined them as one of the most popular rock bands of the 1970s. From 1974 to 1982, Bad Company released six studio albums with the brilliant vocals of Paul Rodgers at the helm. The original lineup of Bad Company consisted of guitarist Mick Ralphs, formerly of Mott the Hoople, bassist Boz Burrell, formerly of King Crimson, drummer Simon Kirke, formerly of Free, and singer Paul Rodgers, who had also been a member of the band Free. Led Zeppelin’s legendary manager, Peter Grant, managed the band, and it signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records label.

The original era ended after Rough Diamonds in 1982 when Rodgers left the band. The group reformed without Paul Rodgers in 1986. Brian Howe, who had sung lead vocals with Ted Nugent, handled lead vocal duties before Robert Hart later took over. Years after Rodgers’ work with Jimmy Page in The Firm, he reunited with the original members of Bad Company for the 1999 Original Bad Company Anthology and reunion tour. The group recorded four new songs for the anthology, but no new full-length Bad Company studio album would follow. The band’s studio catalog totals 12 albums released from 1974 through 1996, and Bad Company was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025. Our Top 10 Bad Company songs list focuses mainly on the material recorded with Paul Rodgers during the band’s golden years.

# 10 – Gone, Gone, Gone

Starting our top 10 Bad Company songs list is the heartbreaking but oh-so-rocking Bad Company tune “Gone, Gone, Gone.” The song was released on the fantastic Desolation Angels in 1979. Desolation Angels was the band’s fifth studio album and, in our view, the last great Bad Company album. Although Paul Rodgers recorded one more studio album with the original-era band after it, Desolation Angels remains a favorite from their classic run. Written by bassist Boz Burrell, “Gone, Gone, Gone” was the second single released from the album after “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.”

# 9 – Burnin’ Sky

While many of Bad Company’s greatest songs were full-blown, pedal-to-the-metal, straight-ahead rock and roll tunes, “Burnin’ Sky” was somewhat of an outlier. The tune had a rhythmic sense the band had never used before. It was brilliant, inspiring, and it worked. One of the best Bad Company songs ever released, “Burnin’ Sky” appeared on the album of the same name in 1977, the band’s fourth studio album.

# 8 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy

“Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” was the lead single from the band’s spectacular 1979 Desolation Angels album. Written by Paul Rodgers, the song became a major hit for the band, peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1979 was an exciting year for music fans. Punk was morphing into New Wave, and bands like The Police, Blondie, and the Ramones were delivering new sounds to the masses while bands like Bad Company, Foghat, and The Marshall Tucker Band were still turning out some of the finest records of their careers.

# 7 – Movin’ On

While many Top 10 Bad Company song lists may ignore this great track, those of us who were in our teens in the 1970s remember how loved this song was. “Movin’ On” was an FM rock radio favorite and remains one of the most soulful songs Bad Company ever released. Written by Mick Ralphs, the song appeared on the band’s self-titled debut album, Bad Company in 1974. Released as the album’s second single, it reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

# 6 – Good Lovin’ Gone Bad

Another great track often missing from Top 10 Bad Company songs lists is the opening track to the band’s second album, Straight Shooter. The song was also the album’s first single and reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its popularity was soon surpassed by the second single, “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” Nonetheless, “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” was pure straight-ahead rock and roll, Bad Company style!

# 5 – Shooting Star

The Bad Company song “Shooting Star” was probably one of the most loved songs in the band’s catalog. Fans fell instantly in love with the tale of Johnny’s rise to stardom and its sad ending. The seventies were a time when the short story played an important role in many artists’ music.

Songs like Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungleland,” Harry Chapin’s “Taxi,” Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane,” and Elton John’s “Ticking” all presented fans with heartbreaking stories. Written by Paul Rodgers, “Shooting Star” appeared as the last track on side one of Bad Company’s 1975 album Straight Shooter.

# 4 – Bad Company

Bad Company’s debut album was a monster record. There are more songs on this Top 10 Bad Company songs list from their debut album than from any of their other records. This great track opened with a haunting piano riff that oozed around Paul Rodgers’ silk vocal line. The smooth opening gave way to a powerhouse chorus that became one of the most legendary songs of the 1970s.

# 3 – Can’t Get Enough

We can thank Bad Company for writing what may be the most-played garage band song of all time. Right up there with The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” the three-chord progression to “Can’t Get Enough” became a favorite of young guitar players growing up in the 1970s.

“Can’t Get Enough” was Bad Company‘s first single and became the band’s biggest U.S. pop hit, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mick Ralphs wrote the song, and it appeared on the band’s 1974 self-titled debut album.

# 2 – Feel Like Makin’ Love

The second single released from the band’s second album was a huge hit for Bad Company. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. I was once at a wedding where the band played “Feel Like Makin’ Love” as the couple’s first dance. Most of the older people almost had heart attacks as the couple went at it on the dance floor, while the younger generation just smiled. That’s rock and roll!

# 1 – Run With The Pack

There is energy in this song that just defines what Bad Company was all about. The great intro and pulsating verses build up to Superman-style choruses. It is all there at its peak on Run With The Pack. The seventies were the time of riff bands. Groups like Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Queen, Blue Öyster Cult, Cream, and The Allman Brothers all utilized amazing guitar riffs in their songs. Bad Company riffs came out of the vocals of Paul Rodgers.

When Paul Rodgers left the band after Rough Diamonds, the Bad Company we all loved ended. Of course, Mick Ralphs’ guitar work, Boz Burrell’s bass playing, and Simon Kirke’s drumming all contributed to that hard-driving sound. Nonetheless, it was that magical Paul Rodgers voice that led the way. “Run With The Pack” was Paul Rodgers’ shining moment with the band. It is, hands down, easily the best Bad Company song ever released.

Check out more Bad Company articles on ClassicRockHistory.com

Simon Kirke Of Bad Company: 10 Albums That Changed My Life

Bad Company’s Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums

Complete List Of Bad Company Albums And Songs

Complete List Of Bad Company Band Members

Top 10 Bad Company Songs article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026