Top 10 Boz Scaggs Songs

Boz Scaggs is one of the most versatile singers in classic rock history. While most fans remember Boz Scaggs for his monster 1970s’ hit “Lowdown,” the man’s career has explored all styles of music and genres.  What separates the voice of Boz Scaggs from all other singers is how easy he seems to make singing all those different styles of music. His pitch-perfect silk vocals also define the soul of a blues and jazz singer. From rock to pop, to blues, soul, and jazz, Boz Scaggs has delivered the goods for over 50 years.

Boz Scaggs released his first album in 1965. The album entitled Boz was only released in Sweden. It is virtually impossible to find the album anywhere as it was a limited release. After his first album was released, Boz Scaggs recorded with the Steve Miller Band. In 1969, Boz Scaggs released his sophomore album entitled Boz Scaggs. It was an album that featured an A list of great musicians, including the legendary Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band. Including such a fine cast of musicians would be utilized again throughout Boz Scaggs’ recording career. The musicians may change, but the caliber of play was always the best.

Boz Scaggs released two albums in 1971: Moments and Boz Scaggs & Band. The latter defined a blues, soul, and funk sound intertwined with great ballads that would become a trademark of all Boz Scaggs albums.

In 1974, Boz Scaggs released the album Slow Dancer. Once again, the album featured an arsenal of incredible musicians. It would eventually be certified Gold. However, interest in the album would come later after the astonishing success of his next album.

In 1976, the album Silk Degrees was released. The album instantly made Boz Scaggs a household name. The album’s success was fueled by the smash hit “Lowdown.” The song took over the radio airwaves on the FM and AM dial in 1976. Three other singles were released from the album. “Lido Shuffle,” “It’s Over,” and “We’re All Alone” all were hits. It would become Boz Scaggs’ most successful album of his career. Silk Degrees has become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, as it has been certified platinum five times.

Boz Scaggs continued his platinum success by releasing his following two albums, Down Two Then Left in 1977 and Middle Man in 1980. After the release of Middle Man in 1980, Boz Scaggs took an extended break from the recording studio. Eight years passed between albums, and Boz Scaggs released Other Roads in 1988.

Since the release of Other Roads in 1988, Boz Scaggs has been releasing albums that explored many different genres of music, from R&B, soul, and Memphis blues to jazz standards. The days of hits are long gone, but the album releases continue exploring class and substance.

Our Top 10 Boz Scaggs songs list explores many different avenues of his career. We could have easily taken 10 songs from the glory years between 1976 and 1980, but that would have ignored so many of the outstanding records Boz Scaggs made before and after the Silk Degrees years. It was tough to pick only ten, but we think we have come up with a good presentation of the incredible artist known as Boz Scaggs.

# 10 – I’ll Be Long Gone

We open our Top 10 Boz Scaggs songs list with a great track from his second album, Boz Scaggs, which was released in 1969. The song “I’ll Be Gone” was placed as the second track on side A. It was written by Boz Scaggs. The album also featured the legendary The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

# 9 – Monkey Time

One of our favorite Boz Scaggs albums of all time was the fantastic 1971 release Boz Scaggs & Band. We have included the album’s opening track, “Monkey Time,” on our top 10 Boz Scaggs songs list. While this album may sound different from the Silk Degrees record, the sound of Boz Scaggs’ vocals and the group’s rhythm are still so similar in heart and soul.

# 8 – We Were Always Sweethearts

The great Boz Scaggs song “We Were Always Sweethearts” was released on the album Moments in 1971. The album quickly became a favorite among critics. Boz Scaggs wrote the song. Later in his career, Boz Scaggs recorded a lot of material written by others. That probably led many people not to realize how, in the early days, Boz Scaggs wrote most of his own material.

# 7 – Full Lock Power Slide

While many people reading this list may have never heard of some of these songs, that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to be on our Top 10 Boz Scaggs songs list. We are actually hoping that you will be blown away by these Boz Scaggs songs that show just how much great material he recorded before he became a household name with the Silk Degrees album.

The song “Full Lock Power Slide” was released on the My Time album in 1972. Boz Scaggs once again wrote the song.

# 6 – What’s New

In the early 1980s, Linda Ronstadt became one of the first rock-pop artists to record an album of jazz standards and be very successful with it. It was a very bold move that could have backfired on her. However, music lovers widely accepted the album, which began a new phase in Linda Ronstadt’s career. The album also fueled a movement by many rock stars to record jazz standard albums. Rod Stewart had a fantastic run with a series of standards albums,

Boz Scaggs recorded two jazz albums in the 2000s. The first album, But Beautiful, was released in 2003, and the second, Speak Low, was released in 2008. Both were wonderful jazz standard albums that defined Boz Scaggs’s brilliance as a vocalist.

Our favorite track from both albums was the opening number on the But Beautiful album, “What’s New.” It was the same song that Linda Ronstadt recorded that launched her jazz standard part of her career.

# 5 – JoJo

If this great Boz Scaggs song, “JoJo,” sounds a little like Toto, it’s because most of Toto’s members played on the song. The late 1970s delivered some incredibly produced records that showcased the best musicians in the world. Albums by Steely Dan, Carly Simon, Boz Scaggs, and many others have used the best players. “JoJo” is slick and soulful and stands as one of our favorite Boz Scaggs songs ever released. The song was released on the Middle Man album in 1980.

# 4 – Lido Shuffle

Landing in the number four spot is the classic Boz Scaggs song “Lido Shuffle.” When we first published this list, we didn’t include this track. Our initial intention was to distribute recognition evenly across all his albums. However, the influx of emails we received and some rather heated comments that we had to remove prompted us to reconsider. Indeed, it’s a fantastic song and one of our favorites, but we were initially trying to avoid overloading the list with songs from Silk Degrees. Nonetheless, the fans have made their voices heard—they always do.

# 3 – We’re All Alone

Boz Scaggs has sung many ballads throughout his career. “We’re All Alone” may be his finest vocal moment. A beautifully well-written song is taken to an entirely different level once Boz Scaggs steps up to the microphone. The song is only one of two songs that we have included on out top 10 Boz Scaggs songs list. Most people will argue that more songs from the album should have been featured on this list. It’s tough to argue against that. Nonetheless, we wanted to showcase Boz Scaggs’ other material. Yet, this was one we could not leave off, and the next one even more so.

# 2 – Loan Me A Dime

The amazing track “Loan Me A Dime” was released on the 1969 Boz Scaggs album. For so many fans who only know the Boz Scaggs of the late 1970s, this track will blow everyone away. Featuring the late Duane Allman on guitar, “Loan Me A Dime” is a powerful blues song that stands with the best of them. Barry Beckett lays down some smoking keyboard work that is to die for. Don’t miss this one!

# 1 – Lowdown

Landing at number one on our top 10 Boz Scaggs songs list is of course, the phenomenal song “Lowdown.” The incredible opening of this song with it’s iconic drum, bass and keyboard lick will never be forgotten by anyone growing up in the 1970s. I still get chills listening to this song. It’s one of those songs that you can’t define in a literal sense. Boz Scaggs and David Paich wrote the song.

“Lowdown” was not Columbia Records’ first choice as the debut single from the album. It was released as the second single and became a smash hit. The song hit number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Cashbox Singles charts. It was a huge hit worldwide. Jeff Porcaro played drums on the track, along with David Hungate on bass and David Paich on keyboards. Those three guys would form Toto a few years later.

“Lowdown” was the commercial highlight of Boz Scaggs’ career. From an artistic standpoint, it’s hard to pick. It depends upon what style of music one enjoys listening to Boz Scaggs perform.  Nonetheless, if we had to choose one, “Lowdown” would be our choice.

Updated July 15, 2024

Top 10 Boz Scaggs Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024