The Top 10 Rock Songs Black People Love, A Post Written By A Black Person
Man oh man, if there’s one thing White People love more than these 10 rap songs it’s taking jokes way too seriously and throwing the word "racist" around like they do Frisbees. I’m sorry my silly little list got some of you so heated – I only hope that while furiously typing out your angry comments you didn’t accidentally spill Jamba Juice on your MacBook.
Anyway, a common response to my Rap Songs White People Love article was to demand a Rock Songs Black People Love companion piece. And guess what: just this once, White People are going to get their way.
Submitted by a reader, this is the first guest columnist-penned piece in site history. It’s funny and it serves not only as a great follow-up, but also to give me another day to finish the article I’m writing that will shut down the Internet (which means that if you have any important online banking or social networking to do, consider this your 24-hour warning).
Without further ado, catsandbeer.com (and a Black Person) proudly present:
The Top 10 Rock Songs Black People Love, A Post Written By A Black Person
1. Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
Every black person secretly knows, headbangs and plays air guitar to the opening riffs of this one, as soon as white people aren’t watching.
"Got to admit, yo that opening part is DEF. Ya got to admit. Give it up."
2. Schoolboy Crush - Average White Band
We like it so much we sampled it for rap about 2,887,745 times in about six thousand raps.
"Yo yo yo, naw, them white boys in this one tore this one up. Got to admit." "Word."
3. Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
See #2.
4. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
Fill a room with black folks, start this video on the TV, and by the end of the second bar of that guitar intro every black person has turned around watching the screen. If whites are in the room, we will smirk, nod, then resume talking and drinking with you.
If no whites are in the room, one wannabe-hardcore-looking black guy will move in to switch the TV off, saying, "What y’all watching this crazy— white s–t for?" Other black folk in the room will move in and block him from the TV.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Calm down. No." Pause. "I like this."
Guaranteed.
Black folk, admit you have been in a room where this happened.
6a. I Don’t Want Your Love or 6b. Notorious - Duran Duran
In fact, anything recorded by Duran Duran before the Liberty album. Duran Duran is the only white group ALL black people mysteriously like.
Go ask your favorite black person today.
6. I Don’t Want To Fall In Love - Jane Childs
All black women consider Jane Childs the most authentically black-sounding white woman who has ever sung a note in public. Jane tore up that song. Give it up y’all.
However, the white female rock song ALL black women secretly sing along to with no brothers or white folk sitting around watching, is…
7. (Damn) I Wish I Was Your Lover - Sophie B. Hawkins
All of us like this song and sing along with it. We have all been there, and this white woman nailed it respectably.
Another white female rock song black people (especially black women) like is:
8. Tell It To My Heart or anything else by Taylor Dayne
Admit it, sistas: we have all whispered to each other that Ms. Dayne looks or must be part-black, because otherwise "there is no way on earth she could sing that well if she wasn’t at least part black" … right?
9. Anything by Sinatra
Now I know Frank Sinatra doesn’t qualify to many fools as a rock star, but according to the teenage girls of the 1940’s he was, and every black man in the recording industry wishes he were Frank and will give instant big props to Ol’ Blue Eyes.
Black people are kind of like Italians. We ALL worship Frank Sinatra. We also wish Frank had been black because he was that cool.
And finally:
10. Anything by Steely Dan or the solo Donald Fagen
All black people like Steely Dan. Any black folk who claims he doesn’t hasn’t heard them yet.
Want to get black folks in a comfortable mood at a party with the lights all low, and get them nice and friendly with the white people also at the party? Throw on some Steely Dan and see how the colors mingle and black folk start waxing rhapsodic on how many white musicians are quite gifted.
Once again: all black people like and will listen to Steely Dan. The Doobie Brothers come close on this black respect meter, but nobody touches the Dan.
However, bear in mind that most people know rock music was created by black people, so this top 10 comparison might be actually kind of moot. Did I miss any?
Signed, a black woman named …
Oh yeah and all black folks love
11. KC & The Sunshine Band (Bonus!)
We will not switch that off if it comes on the radio. We listen to it. Period. But we generally like the rest of the album more than we do the singles.
"I’m Your Boogieman" is one of those.
Peace.
Signed,
Yvette
Whoops - one more - my sister just chimed in with
12. Led Zeppelin (Double Bonus!)
"All black people have at least a little respect for Led Zeppelin songs."
I agree, she is right.
OK, that’s all from me.
Postscript
So there you have it. And what’s interesting to note is that, just like on the White People list, NONE of these songs are less than a decade old. In fact, most of them are considerably older than their White People counterparts. Hey, I guess White People and Black People aren’t that different after all …
It’s at this point that I would like to put up a poll asking "What Black People-beloved rock song most deserved to make the list?," but unfortunately (and I do mean unfortunately) I am neither
- black, nor
- knowledgeable about rock music.
So I leave it to you, the Catsandbeer.com community, to tell me which hits gotsa make the list. My one request is that only Black People or Not-Black People Who Know Black People In Real Life submit suggestions. This is, after all, for science.
Thanks for understanding.
Update
Wow, I’m impressed by the variety/extent of the discussion still going on in the comments section of the page - thanks to everyone that’s taken time to chime in.
I finally sat down to go through the suggestions posted and quickly realized there was no way I could create a poll asking what specific songs should have made the list. So instead, I’m going to go with asking which artists should have been included.
As everyone has correctly pointed out, the original list wasn’t just rock songs, so with that in mind I’ve tried to be very precise with the phrasing of this poll question.
Vote!
Let your voices be heard and please tell me …
Loading …
From my experience the actual ‘rock’ songs black people went batshit over were, by decade:
70’s-"Benny and the Jets" by Elton John-This song had Black America by the balls for quite a while, being the only rock song to actually hit #1 on the urban charts.
70’s Honorable Mention-"Roxanne" by The Police
80’s-"Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen-Black stations had this on heavy rotation.
80’s Honorable Mention-"Addicted To Love" by Robert Palmer-Even my at-the time 52 year old black father loved this song.
As for your list:
#1-I’ve never experienced the synchronistic coming-together of this song and a black person, but my intuition says it would draw laughs and mocking.
#2-There are scores of songs like this that could have made the list, featuring a riff that was lifted in its entirety. Rap has moved increasingly away from this practice over the last decade, so only someone old enough to recognize "Microphone Fiend" would get it. A more interesting choice would have been the song "A Love of Your Own" by AWB. I actually got into a heated argument while listening to that song with my ex-girlfriend because she was convinced they were black.
#3-70’s funk, popular with Black People from that time.
#4-I never had this experience. It sounds like a bad dream.
#6a-You’re definitely right about Duran Duran. All black people who grew up during the early to mid 80’s like a lot of the New Wave Pop. Think Human League, Pet Shop Boys, Flock of Seagulls, Tears For Fears, etc., but NOT Devo or Talking Heads. In addition, not an hour goes by without some adult contemporary R&b station in this country playing "True" by Spandau Ballet.
#6-This song I believe hit #1 on the R&B charts.
#7-We’re in the beginning of the 90’s, when the music is becoming darker. I would have put Lisa Stansfield here. Every black woman between age 30 to 45 owns a copy of her debut album.
#8-Black people do love Taylor Dayne, but isn’t this Miami freestyle?
#9-This ties in to Black America’s odd fetish for all things Italian.
#10-Older blacks like Steely Dan, but they do not bump the Doobies from the list. Steely Dan is jazzy, and therefore more accessible. The Doobie Brothers actually had black people listening to Black Water, a goddamn hillbilly song about smoking joints while catfishing in Mississippi. They were so damn popular with black people they were on 2 episodes of What’s Happening! Also, Michael Mcdonald has always done very well on the black radio stations and charts.
You could have listed "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, "Careless Whisper" or "One More Try" by George Michael. Or to bring this list more in line with the spirit of Brian’s White list, add "Please Don’t Go Girl" or "I’ll Be Loving You Forever" by New Kids on The Block, because believe it or not they were immensely popular with black females of all ages back then. I still remember watching them performing to an all black crowd on Showtime at the Apollo and every girl in the audience was yelling "go whiteboy, go whiteboy" when they were doing "Right Stuff." They were screaming as loud as white audiences did. Simply Red and Rick Astley also did very well with black people.As far as rock from the 80’s…maybe The Police, Pat Benetar, Steve Winwood, Foreigner, Journey, etc.
Here’s an idea: 10 White People Black People Have Adopted. #1-Bill Clinton, #2-Teena Marie…
Your choices are good though half of them aren’t rock. An interesting thing is how all of these songs skew toward an older demographic. My explanation would be that blacks up until the late 80’s were forced to watch MTV and all of those late night video shows that came on Fridays and Saturdays if they wanted to see music videos. You had no other choice or options with so few channels. Therefore they were exposed to many white musicians they might otherwise not have listened to. But with BET people could start self-segregating. Still, in the late 80’s and early 90’s you could still see white artists on BET because the channel was aimed at adults. The turning point came around 95-96′ when BET’s programming format changed to get better ratings. The channel got rid of the adult contemporary format and almost every show was aimed at the teenage demographic. Adult R&B, Underground Hip-Hop, and any faces over 30 virtually disappeared within a few years. Now homogeneity rules, and whites hear far, far more black musicians then blacks hear white musicians.
I think Yvette needs to have a regular column on catsandbeer.com
This is a crap post pop rock are al all based on black music!! So why should blacks secretly listen to it know your history.
But most important music is not black or white its just music so you either like it or you don’t
Im black
i like Metallica Black album
Rolling Stonnes
Wolfmother
Nirvana
Linkin Park
Alice cooper Pioson
Black Sabbath
AC/DC
KISS
Silverchair
SLIPKNOT
Marylin Manson (the earlier stuff)
Queens of the stone ager
RadioHead
Coldplay
The Artic Monkees
THe Hyves
amd much much more
I am also a "Black" rock fan and I don’t think you guys know the difference between Rock, Disco and Pop, seeing anyone any color would only consider four of those songs "Rock"…..
Most of this list kicks ass, no matter what color you are. Anyway, cool selection, and to everyone who apparently has a huge problem with the music choice, remember, YOU are the exception that proves the rule.
"Bennie and the Jets" was on Soul Train as was "Philadelphia Freedom" - both Elton John Tunes. Also "Golden Years" by David Bowie was also on ST - giving it considerable blackness. These were rockers that did black music at one point. While Duran Duran, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple are rock bands, everything else is Funk, Soul or RnB Music. I wouldn’t mention Robin Thicke or Lisa Stansfield or Hall and Oates in this list, nor would I mention Taylor Dayne or Sophie B. Hawkins because they did not do rock tunes. (Well, H+O did "Rock and Soul") "White" doesn’t necessarily equal "Rock". But, as one white boy who loves black music - thank you for your insight!
FUCKING BLACK-WHITE PEOPLE.
i would have to say that in my lifetime the song that a lot of black people liked by a true rock band was queen’s " another one bites the dust " it came out my senior year in high school and a lot of my friends didn’t even know that the song was by white british dudes - we had a really good football team that year, and i can remember car stereos and boom boxes blasting " another one bites the dust " as we walked from the locker room to the field - great memory about that
Everybody listens to rock now whether your white or black. I grew up around parties and yes i am black and half the songs on your list would be tossed out. Here are some songs that i remember and personally listen to myself that didnt even make the list. These are also songs constantly played at my family and friends places. These are not in any particular order:
Thunderstruck & Shook me all night long - AC\DC
Sandman - Metallica
In the air tonight - Phil Collins
Another one bites the dust - Queen
Teenage Spirit - Nirvana
Anything by Linkin Park
Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard
Anything by Eric Clapton (mainly Tears in Heaven, Wonderful tonight and Leila - so i dont know if it counts.)
Anything by Robert Cray (Is he black or white? Dont know if he counts - but he’s popular.)
That lists kinda sucks! There is a difference between pop and rock.
Anyway, you know black folks like the belters, so why isn’t Journey on the list? Steve Perry’s gotten dap from nearly every respectable black crooner in the R&B world over the last 15 years. You know you squeeze your boo a little tighter when “Open Arms” come on the radio–admit it!
While “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is a great song, I think it only gets “love” because it’s a stripper anthem and dudes like anything that gets a naked girl whipping around a pole. You might have also put “Girls Girls Girls” by Motley Crue on the list.
Also, for pete sakes, you left off Bob Seger. Show a Detroit boy some love.
Peaches
Hi I’m a 56 old white guy and I loved your list. Shame on anyone that took offense. Really want to help? How about giving me a list of the top 10 rap/hip-hop songs that white women would love to make love to! Thx!
ehhhhrrrr, anything by lynyrd skynyrd??? didn’t see anything by the doors yet….
and also i remember the bad brains saying they love skrewdriver!!!
There is no difference between rock and pop because all rock is pop. It’s s sub-genre, people.
Im black….and all I listen to is rock music because i think rap and hiphop sucks balls xDD
I love
Panic! At the Disco - i know all of their songs not just i write sins not tragidies……
i was going to rant about what bands i listen to but I hate it when ppl take my mp3 player and happen to listen to one of P!ATD’s songs… and then they say how the love panic at the disco if they only listen to i write sins not tragidies (sp?….fuck it xD) they don’t even know what the song is called!!! I would say what’s your favorite song by them and they would say ” idk what it’s called but it’s when they are in a church and a..a … guy he’s wearing red and black with a tall hat that looks like abraham lincoln…” and so on >.> ….. <.< but anyways so like pshyeah (I would rant more but I have to go to my next class and these niggers are looking at my computer) damn nosy ppl xD (( I am not rascist))
What are you fucking crazy?!
You forgot the end all be all of white/black musical connection…
Michael Mcdonald!!!!
All the brothas and sistas love Mikey Mcd. That guy is so pimp he may as well be black. Most black people can’t even sing that black.
My brother works in a record store and tells me black people come in all the time to buy some McD.
I don’t even think that half of them even know that he’s white. seriously yo, thats a bad bad doo.
I am the person who posted the Duran Duran “Notorious” video on to YouTube and I am black so go figure. But I think you should have had some Robert Palmer on there , and some Hall and Oates. Its true about those of us who grew up in the 80’s. I like a lot New Wave 80’s pop. Especially Duran Duran, Human League and ABC (the boys from England not the Rap boys from Atlanta).
Listen up all you people who are soooooo light weight you couldn’t tickle a scale of cool with a sledge hammer.
Steely Dan was a dildo.
Rock is ok butt, Jazz is coooooooooooool—-est!!
I second what Zentraedi posted, and add that AWB, KC, Steely Dan, and the Doobie Bros were probably not considered rock bands in the 70’s. Pop music if anything. Besides, quite a few rock artist, like Led Zeppelin were heavily influeced by the blues, and soul music while growing up. It’s a fusion of styles most of the time for artist in general.
EddieBoy:
Had to laugh at your posting suggestion. I’d be curious myself after a discussion on mood setting and seductive music came up between a few female students while we were waiting for a (college) class to start. I was a bit surprised that more than a few whose musical taste weren’t much for the genere all mentioned R&B or hip hop songs as music that got them in the mood. Found it intriguing!
I’m pretty sure Duran Duran’s “Notorius” was produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic and Sister Sledge fame (the funkiest brother on the planet!)- so was Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”. Human League’s “Human” was produced and written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And how funky is “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama?!?
BDUB - I like your analogy. No famous Rock band, as far as I know was not influenced by Black music - from Elvis to Maroon 5 - soul, blues, jazz, RnB, etc., and no Black artist has trancended styles without some pop sensibilities. Hey, it’s all good music! It’s a damn shame radio stations are so divided stylisitcally - it’s all good music!
i’m interracial (my father is white and my mother is black). my father plays jazz and blues guitar, and met my mother when she was lead singer in a punk band - blue mohawk and everything. i’ve always listened to rock music… i just love it, from both a musical and cultural perspective. i’ve got piercings, tattoos, tattered old sweaters, and i think i might even have a pair of plaid pants hiding in the closet somewhere. i guess what i’m trying to say is that i don’t understand the divide on the music scene. all of my “black” friends (and half of my white friends, for that matter) think that i listen to music for crazy people. if you call grindcore/post-punk/new-wave crazy, then i guess i must be. it doesn’t make sense to me, knowing that all of the chord progressions/musical concepts featured in ANY genre are interchangeable. who gives a shit if somebody plays it with an electric guitar and a good bit of distortion? it’s all the same music. admittedly, i have a difficult time tolerating the arrangements of most hip-hop/r&b songs, mostly because of the complete lack of originality, but i have the exact same problem trying to listen to a song by so-called punk band “simple plan.”
there’s good music, and there’s bad music - not white music and black music. anybody who wants to argue with that can suck it.
<3
raven
Here’s one that KTSU, the Texas Southern University radio mixes in to their funky oldies sets often, that big Buffalo Springfield song with the lyrics “stop, children, look around, everybody see what’s going down…” I think it’s titled “For What it’s Worth.”
Hey, there Brian! You and Keith have quite the site going on here! I love it. I wonder if you might be available for an interview related to comedy and humo(u)r. I’m a stand-up comedienne out of NYC blogging about all things comedy related. I would love to get a perspective of humo(u)r from your end of the spectrum.
Please feel free to email me when you get a chance:
Standup101 at Gmail dot com
Thanks much
Lucy
Hi, you all should check out Mothers Finest and Eric Gales. Yes they are black and they Rock. But I never looked at them being black, they are artist’s.
Yes I am a white man who loves the Stones, Led Zep, Deep Purple…etc. But I also love Soul, Funk and the Blues.The 60’s and the 70’s Soul and Funk are the best.
It’s always good to open your eyes and ears. Mark
That list is beyond offensive to me. No Band Of Gypsies, Ozzy, Bad Brains, 24-7 Spyz, Jesse Johnson, Mother’s Finest etc…
Steely Dan? give me a f%^&* break.
Your list sucks! I like the first posters much better (Zentradei). And yes, I’m Black.
i heard elton jon is really a black woman disguised as a gay white man. what about phil collins. that little english panzy can sing.
Music is music!! Not meant to be defined by color, race, sex, etc. It’s a getaway and a source of communication, display of talent; about life, love, and anything you want it to be about for and by ANYBODY! I LOVE rock music. It’s of music’s best and greatest true “story tellers” on life,people,love,etc. Rock On!!
hey I do find it strange that no one mentioned Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth”… One of the best ones out there.
and indeed, how about Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”, Primal Scream’s “Loaded” and “Rocks”,
Bowie songs like “Sound & Vision”, “Young Americans”, “Let’s Dance”? What About AC/DC’s “You Shook Me (all night long)”?
What About INXS “I Need You Tonight”? That was one FUNKY tune!
Gunn’s version of Cameo’s “Word Up” owned the original.
No one mentioned The Rolling Stones with “Honky Tonk Women”, “Sympathy For The Devil”, and “Gimme Shelter” (those insane female vocals, on fire!)…
btw, did you know that the backing vocals on Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love” were done by Chaka Khan?
Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust” from The Wall was the mother of all down and dirty rock songs, before Def Leppard asked ” how do you take your sugar? one lump or two?”.
U2 did some funky things like “The Fly”, and “When Love Comes To Town”.
I’ve worked in record stores for 10 years, and you’ve missed 2 very obvious ones.
Careless Whispers by George Michael/Wham!
Anything by Daryl Hall and John Oates. (And you must say their full names.)
this list was a little iffy esp the “smoke on the water” listing. american woman or some jimi hendrix prob would’ve made sense for the category.
as for the poster who requested the top 10 songs women want to make love to: all over that! Get yourself some d’angelo, jodeci, 112, and boyz to men cd’s. slow r&b jams for sure. Had the pleasure of seeing boys to men perform live in vegas for my friends wedding–they’re all pushing 34 with kids, were never really good looking but vocals totally on point and i don’t doubt i would give it up if one of them got down on bended knee. from a 30-yr old 100% greek white chick orig from Boston. Although I think these posts are funny, music is so colorless. Hip hop has permeated nearly every european country–french hip hop is hot, and i have quite the selection of greek hip hop tracks too.
Thanks for your kind words at my blog, Brian. If you don’t mind, I ganked this article for my blog as well. Yeah, I’m lazy like that. Anyways, thanks again - blog is great!
http://historylessonpt2.blogsp.....-love.html
Finding this post was like finding the Holy Grail for me. I’ve been curious about this for years, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a close black friend so I haven’t been able to ask. All the white people I know listen to black music, but I’ve never encountered a black person who listens to, or admits to listening to, ANY white music. So GOD this is fascinating! Seriously, I’m so glad this discussion is out there on the web now. I’d love to hear more.
P.S. Actually, I do recall one black guy a long time ago (circa 1992) telling me that black people like Red Hot Chili Peppers. So there you go, one more to add to the list.
Oh yeah…no “we will rock you” ??? This song was legendary in the days of old school turntable battles in the parks of Harlem.
I wish I could respond with clever comments to the suggestions being left here but I know nothing about rock music - perhaps Keith can parse this some - I know he owns guitars (plural)
Lucy wanted to interview me until she found out I’m not black - I wish she hadn’t gotten my hopes up like that and had just read the part of the article where I wrote that I am not black - that could have been clue #1 (of 1)
Matt - thanks for dropping by, although we do our best not to use the b-word because we feel it trivializes our craft - we are very wary of craft trivialization around here
I’m a white guy born and raised on the east coast, boston-nyc area. I grew up on Mighty Diamonds, Bob Dylan,Peter Tosh, Freddie Fox, Ritchie Valens, Big L, WuTang, I think you need to make a tribute of some sort to bring the real era back to life. And anyone who hasent seen Eastern Promises yet needs to go cop that!!
Both of these lists are awesome. Good job.
I would go with Back In Black. I think that’s more popular than you think.
Props to whoever said Hall and Oates and George Michael.
Yes, Nile Rodgers DID produce a lot of Duran Duran’s material in the 80’s.
This really isnt a comment to the post but i saw some talking about how pop and rock and everything comes from other music. THE BEST BOOK on music history is called “last night a DJ saved my life”. this book links Disco to house to hip hop. Everyone who loves music should read this book
I’m white… Disppointing and weird fact that you made this list and you’re not black! pretty much disqualifies it. But good to get discussion going. plus, more than half of these songs are not “rock” at all, but funk, jazz and r n’b. taylor dane, rock?? LOL And are you like 50 or something? all of these songs are 20+ y.o.!!
criticism aside, a hilarious idea. celebrate and respect difference, it makes life fun.
ha ha. Hilarious! love it!
gotta go listen to some D2 now….
wow. can’t believe no one has mentioned the awl-time jam:
OWNER OF A LONELY HEART
by YES.
YES.
YES.
The Eurythmics are missing. Annie Lenox had this amazing voice and she got a lot of respect for it. I remember her singing with Aretha on something.
I’ve danced many times in a black/white crowd to “sweet dreams are made of this”.
- a white guy
I have no idea if you guys are right or wrong about any of this - as mentioned, I am not black and know nothing about rock n’ roll - thank you (those of you that are black) for bringing peer review to this site
Oddly enough, it was black guys that got me into Duran Duran in the ’80s…but seriously, how could you miss “She Blinded Me With Science”? (You know, since we’re calling anything sung by white people rock…)
Every Black person i knew loved Smells Like Teen Spirirt by Nirvana. That song transcends race.
i am mixed and listen to any music that sounds great and says something (and sometimes, nothing). Music is universal- or it would be if we freakin allow it.
Anyway, i enjoyed this list and ‘Rap songs white people love’.
but in all honesty, that list is rather weak. i’m a black male, and i can tell that most of those songs are 70’s funk and disco,
and some others were 80’s pop. you are right though about duran duran - i know a black girl who loves duran duran to death. also, i
think you’re right with the def lepard song - it’s got some solid beats.
anyway, i’ve made a list of songs where i’ve actually seen random black people start singing for whatever reason. i’m going to
assume that this list could include modern rock music created by black people (seeing how original rock and roll was created by
black people) rock music. the other list included white rappers, so i think including at least michael jackson (and yes, black
people love them some michael jackson) to the list.
BETTER LIST:
michael jackson - beat it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqxo1SKB0z8
basically anything michael jackson, which white people may consider as pop is called rock by most black folk, at least the ones i
know.
michael jackson - smooth criminal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WjOn5TNjBM
again, it’s michael jackson. c’mon, he made thriller!
queen - another one bites the dust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNQRfBAzSzo
i think it’s the bassline and the beat. and while i’m at it, i think queen is one of those groups where it’s okay groups to listen
to in the ‘black community’
queen - we will rock you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iikKzQwgBJc
again, it’s gotta be the beat
kiss - rock n roll all night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWLpbcgc814
another song that’s constantly played in mainstream stuff (commercials and movie trailers). yeah, i’ve seen black people sing to
this, too.
rem - end of the world as we know it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGqroT1FZ5Y
i’ve known niggas who can actually know the lyrics to this…
whoo-hoo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiUo7lOuznI
i don’t remember who sang this song, but this is one of the few songs i see black people bobbing their heads and getting into for
whatever reason.
lynyrd skynyrd - sweet home alabama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwWUOmk7wO0
one of those wtf songs, but i have seen black people sing to this.
ozzy osbourne - ironman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uz4biivOTQ
another song on guitar hero most frequently chosen black people.
nirvana - smells like teen spirit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPQR-OsH0RQ
not as much, but i have seen it. possibly because it’s so mainstream.
alice cooper - school’s out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib84GZVz2g4
another song that i see black folk randomly singing. again, it’s a rather mainstream song.
This list is…inaccurate for the most part. I knew before getting to the end that it wasn’t written by a real black person.
What you got correct:
Yes to Duran Duran.
HELL YES to ANYTHING by KC & the Sunshine Band (should have been more than an honorable mention. Blacks don’t even consider this a white band.)
Yes to Taylor Dayne (but shouldn’t have made the list since Taylor is considered more of a Pop/R&B artist than rock. Ditto Jane Childs.)
What you missed:
ANYTHING by Sting/Police…ESPECIALLY “Roxanne” and “Every Breathe You Take”
Nine Inch Nails (very popular rock band with the blacks)
Nirvana
Elton John (Zentra knows his black people!!), especially Benny & the Jets
Queen, especially “We Will Rock You” and “Another One Bites the Dust”
Yes to owning Lisa Stansfield’s debut album (Zentra!!)
Doobie Brothers are WAY more accepted in blacks’ album collections and parties (the true nod of music approval)
Rolling Stones
U2 (Bono’s got an honorary black card)
Metallica
Last but not least, AEROSMITH!! (Hello, they get love forever for teaming up with Run DMC)
What should’ve missed this list:
No to Led Zeppelin
Hell No to Frank Sinatra (we do NOT play this EVER. We respect his gangsta, not the music..exception: Marvin Gaye was obsessed with Frank Sinatra..and blacks are obsessed with Marvin Gaye..so A=B=C)
No to Steely Dan (who?)
i don’t know if this got mentioned; trans europe express by kraftwerk.
This is a joke, right? I think the Zeppelin comment is right, but the rest of the songs are either not rock music, not particularly popular, or not liked by black or white people in general. Your mileage may vary.
This list is ass. And I am quite black.
I don’t know about back then, but I’m from the Bay Area (Hyphy capital of the world!).
If there was any rock song that has crossed over to the black community recently, it was Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Dani California.”
Case in point: One of the DJ’s over here was mixing tons of songs together. “Dani” was one of few rock songs to make the mix.
I may be wrong, but why exactly is it that there are no black artists on this list?
Are you honestly telling me that great bands like Living Colour, Parliament Funkadelic, Jimi Hendrix (and any of the many bands he played with), Bad Brains, get no love from the black community?
Additionally, I have to side with the people who state the obvious, there is so little rock music on this list its not really fair to call it a rock list.
Whether or not black people like the artists above, most of it isn’t rock, and no, I don’t buy into rock being a subgenre of pop, not anymore. At one point all rock was pop, but times have changed.
I have to comment on the posting by “blahblah”. As an over-30(way over)black woman I must make one major correction to your post: Blacks DO, in fact, love Ol Blue Eyes. Certainly, we are all obsessed with Marvin Gaye but our love for Sinatra has nothing to do with that association. Black folks believe in giving credit where it is due, and we will give props to anyone who has a phenominal voice — which Frank Sinatra indisputablty had. So ‘HELL YES’ to him. I play him. And oh yeah, we respect his gangsta too.
As fucked up as this might sound, TWO of my black MALE friends love Bryan Adams, specifically “Summer of ‘69.” While that is by no means scientific, it’s worth mentioning that they’re not gay and they don’t know each other.
Purplecoffee, maybe you’re representing the way-over-30 generation then with your love for Frank Sinatra…I’m of the almost-but-not-yet-quite-30 generation X and we don’t give a damn about Frank Sinatra. He’s got nothing on Sammy Davis, jr. (the real star of the Rat Pack). Ask 5 random under-30 black people on the street to name 3 songs by Frank Sinatra and see what happens.
Oh and Frank doesn’t have an “indisputable” voice because I dispute that he has talent. I don’t like his voice. Any black comedian who’s doing that “deep movie announcer white dude voice” can do a fair imitation of Frank Sinatra’s “singing”. I’m not impressed and no other black person I know has any of Frank’s albums.
Yet another reason why Frank shouldn’t be on this list? No way in hell is Frank Sinatra classified as “ROCK”. Easy Listening or Adult Contemporary at best, but not Rock.
R, what’s up my fellow Yay Arean!!! Do YOU like Frank Sinatra?
Oh, I have another artist/band to add to this list:
Santana (that guitar!)…”Black Magic Woman” = popular rock song with blacks…and most recently => “Smooth”
No black person is going to front on “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks, “Der Komissar” by Falco, or– this is WAY the hell under the radar, but it’s true– not one single black person would front on “Dance Hall Days” by Wang Chung. I don’t know why. Wow,I’m old. Anyway, your list is completely psychic. Also, shout outs to Hall & Oates, though they are not Rock n’Roll.
Can w e get a new list from the posters ideas? I think there should have been anything by Bon Jvi, Guns and Roses, more hair metal stuff in general….. As far as crap pop rock, you would probably do better with Fall Out Boy, Limp Bizkit etc
Oh yeah I am also Black and like was previously said I will listen to anything good. Just prefer some genres more than others because I think they are more original. I hate when some HipHop artist rips something and I have to explain to my friends that Daft Punk wrote Technologic before that idiot Buster Rhymes made a mockery of it…I mena I guess it is okay dance music but nothing for the history books. Sorry to go on a rant fest.
I will try to assemble a poll in which to vote for the REAL rock song(s) Black People love - however, I will ask that only Black People vote in it - thanks in advance for your understanding
make sure to get in any suggestions that haven’t yet been suggested since I still don’t know anything about rock music
Good idea. But how will you ensure only black people vote in the poll?
Maybe a poll asking “blacks-only” questions?
I can tell ya now that (only 20 over here) if you play some Hall & Oates (come on there performed with The Temptations at the Apollo) or Queen, black will most likely know the song
Jane Childs was white? LOLOL! Love this post, as well as its predecessor.
Also, I agree with the comments above that the post is not completely accurate on what “rock” music black people really like. It just isn’t accurate, whereas this lists proposed in the above comments do a much, much better job. For instance, Queen and Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Linkin Park, and even some Eagles and Beetles…. Actually, music is for black people what money is for white folks. So, it would be very difficult to come up with any list, but the post could have been a little better with the “rock” selections. Just my humble opinion.
Come on, you missed Blondie? Debbie Harry was the first white artist to rap, wasn’t she?
I agree with the AC who mentioned Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Saw lotsa head boppin’ on that one.
Steely Dan? Really? wow.
.. and does it count as rock if it was really R&B? Or was that just what the Billboard charts called it if the group was black?
don’t forget “IF THIS IS IT” by HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
I scrolled down, so maybe I missed it, but no one has mentioned guns n roses. “Sweet Child of Mine” has the sickest guitar lick ever! And Robert Palmer should definitely have been on the list. I loved watching his videos growing up. Taylor Dayne was definitely a great pick…the woman can sing!
i’m actually a half-white / half-black dj, so this list is of particular interest to both of me.
note: i wouldn’t call all of the songs in my addendum “rock,” and i am not absolutely sure they were all done by white folks (ie. is bobby caldwell white??), but here are a few notables oversights:
1. boz scaggs: lowdown
2. toto: georgie porgie (sp?)
3. bobby caldwell: what you won’t do
4. awb: pick up the pieces
5. kraftwerk (is it possible to be whiter than these teutons?): anything by them, particularly “trans-europe express,” or “tour de france” (especially if you were into early hiphop music). same thing for early art of noise like “close (to the edit)” “moments in love” or “beatbox.”
6. dire straights: “sultans of swing”
7. paul hardcastle: the rainforest (an instrumental that you may not recognise the name of, but guaranteed you’ve heard it on smooth jazz / adult contemporary stations)
8. ub40: red red wine
9. the clash: not all black people are very familiar with their body of work, but put on “this is radio clash” or “rock the casbah” or “guns of brixton” or even “should i stay or should i go” and i’ll bet you see heads bopping.
10. queen / bowie: under pressure
While this post was moderately humorous, I felt it marginally accurate. Maybe it’s geared to an older black demographic than myself? As a black 21-yr-old, I’m a fan of Zentraedi’s discourse. Both hilarious and insightful. Especially “#4-I never had this experience. It sounds like a bad dream.”
Love these lists!
Great fun. But I think you had more fun with the White people lists than with this one.
So, by “Rock” I’m assuming you mean popular White music since the 60s because, as we know, Black people created Rock & Roll.
But I’ll go along with what I think your definition is. I’ve been Black for almost all my life and here’s what I’d suggest as valuable additions:
AC/DC - Back in Black
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell or White Wedding
Ozzy Osborne - Crazy Train
I Love Rock & Roll - Joan Jett
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Sweet Child O’ Mine - Guns & Roses
Purple Haze - Jimi Hedrix (the fly in the buttermilk)
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming - Judas Priest
Sister Christian - Night Ranger (How did this NOT make the list?)
Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd
Dragon Attack / Another One Bites the Dust / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions - Queen
Cum On Feel The Noize - Quiet Riot
Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
Black Magic Woman / Oye Como Va - Carlos Santana
Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions
We’re Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
You want to see Black folks lose what little sense we have? Put on those.
Straight up… when I want to ‘git some’ from my woman (who’s actually Blacker than me on the attitude scale), I put on some Bon Jovi and the panties are guaranteed to drop.
I’m not sure if half of these would even be considered “rock.” I did know a black guy that LOVED Steely Dan.
I know that at least amongst black NFL players, Phil Collins “in the air tonight” is very popular. NFL films once dedicated a segment to players listening to it in the stadium before games and air drumming along.
I’m black and I would say the vast majority of this list does NOT represent the rock songs I love, nor those beloved by my brothers, cousins, and other black relatives. I do agree with Black people lovin’ Taylor Dane and insisting she’s black, but she ain’t rock so she shouldn’t be here. My top 10 list of rock songs would be:
1. I can’t go for that - Hall & Oates (anything by Hall & Oates in fact… we love them white cats)
2. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
3. November Rain - Guns & Roses (Slash IS black afterall)
4. Cult of Personality - Living Colour (they are the only black rock group of the 90’s I believe)
5. Dream On - Aerosmith (Steven Tyler’s “nigger lips” as he’d say gives him a honorable black person pass… like Taylor Dane)
6. Love Is A Battle Field - Pat Benetar (are you kidding… how could this be left off the list… Pat repped it for all the chickenhead ho’s of the 80s)
7. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix (don’t have many black rockers but you best believe we love the ones we got)
8. Uptown Girl - Billy Joel (Joel’s worst song ever, but hey, it was the supermodel era and every lil’ girl, black or white, wanted to be Christie Brinkley… she put Billy Joel on the map for Black folks)
9. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon (come one, who could forget how Paul Simon was all over the airwaves and video channels, and Saturday Night Live, never without his African Boys Choir… Simon was the shit!)
10. Vasoline - Stone Temple Pilots (as much as we USE vasoline, how could black people NOT love a song about it???)
Honorable mentions, Chris Robinson is the most soulful white boy in rock… gotta love the Black Crowes. And maybe it’s cause I’m from the Chi, but how can you really love anything rock and not love Smashing Pumpkins pre-breakup… Crush, Tonight, Disarm, Landslide remake… come one, Black people love Billy Corrigan too. And anything by Oasis, cause they’re f*ckin’ crazy! Oh yeah, “I’m Just A Girl” by No Doubt… cause if Gwen Stefani thinks she’s looked at as “just a girl” imagine how you’re viewed if you’re “just a BLACK girl”… I love that song!
It should be noted that a big reason black people like ANY rock song is because they ACTUALLY loved the video - Blind Melon’s “No Rain” is a classic cause of the lil’ white girl in the bumblebee costume, Faith No More’s “Epic” with the dying fish, and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which made every high schooler wanna revolt and whose “Nevermind” album was the soundtrack to our protests against the Gulf War.
Rock is indeed radical… what makes people think us Black folks don’t love it too!??!
blackjoy is 100% right. Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield” should absolutely be included!
Everyone forgot the best Queen song ever…. Bohemian Rhapsody. As a Black child of the 80’s, I love ‘white-folks’ music. I’ll listen to anything as long as it sounds good and I can understand what the artist is saying.
Black People Love ZZ Top and ZZ Top Loves Black People
OK…
So to whomever said that U2 gets a pass, you are SO WRONG. Just because BB King was on “When Love Comes To Town” does not make U2 funky.
Kraftwerk is a BIG Black folks club staple, especially in Chicago, Detroit, and NYC. TransEurope Express will have the old folks on the floor in a second.
The Doobies! I totally forgot they were on What’s Happening!
And Pink Floyd… The Wall is another dancefloor jam.
Depeche Mode and Duran Duran are staples for this lady right here. Human League, too.
Hall & Oates get a LIFETIME ghetto pass, along with my brothas Phil Collins and George Michael.
And before anyone says it, Amy Winehouse DOES NOT. Maybe she gets a few praises at church because of her crackishness, but no, Black folks are not claiming her.
I agree that Bohemian is a better Queen, but what, no Peter Framption?
I’m white but I’m going to respond anyway. I grew up with mostly African American friends. To me most of them just liked good rebellion music which is ultimately rock music if you study the roots of rock. Therefore, blacks have been running rock since day one and haven’t stopped.
(60s-70s) Chuck Berry, Lil Richard, James Brown, etc.
(70s-80s)Sly & Family Stone, Whole Funkadelice movement,etc
(80s-90s) Prince, Jacko, NWA, Public Enemy (Rap),
(2000s) New movement where hip hop crosses over to it’s roots of rock like Shop Boyz, Crunk Rock, Lil John, and new artist Kissimistry who mixes them both perfectly. She just left underground to sign to a major to prove my point. You can check her out a little here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZH8dvBhOks
I agree with Rick. Blacks created it and maintained Rock Music. How are you going to kick out 10 songs? What you should have said was Rock songs that white acts performed that blacks liked. This would have made more sense with your list. I also just checked out the new artist Kissimistry. It’s not really a video but it let’s you get a sneak peak of where she’s headed. You were right again here too Rick.
in response to rick with the new “artist” kissimitry promotion.. i swear i dont mean any offense to you, but -i checked it out. and what i heard on the youtube clip reminded me of some over 40’s suburbanite, musically undeucated white males sitting behind a big corporate table passing this off as a concept song for a fast food chain or a phone company trying to expand its marketability to “urban audiences”. just because you throw a black person and some music that isnt made entirely by a live band together doesnt make them some kind of groundbreaking genius, a paragon, and hopefully not an indication where a sub-genre of music that has the potential for allowing creative greatness (such as crunk-rock, rapcore) is headed. kissimistrys music sounds like a delusional idea of a mass marketing scheme to make money in the bubblegum-pop music market with the watered down/made for network television “beat”. its almost as if the producers of this song are going for “black effect”.. or “just urban enough- but not TOO much, so that white parents will still let their little girls buy the album. i have been a dj and worked in the music indusrty (PR and marketing) for 12 years.- no i do not think this qualifies me as an expert on music of any genre, but i do know i would be EMBARASSED for anyone promoting this song as any type of representation of “hip hop”. crunk, or otherwise. just my opinion. not an attack.
I’m white, and know blacks who definitely enjoy The Doobie Bros,Queen and Hall and Oats (who dosen’t though?)If Hendrix comes on, they’ll rock out to him too. Whoever posted the comment about the Red Hot Chilli Peppers was right on too. I knew dudes that were strictly rap fans, except for their love of RHCP. Steely Dan kinda surprised me (if it’s true). The 80’s new wave bands were a mixture of several different elements, so it’s no surprise that they are loved.
You forgot ICP, yo.
This is okay, but there are some serious ommisions (though I will say you halfway redeemed yourself with the late Taylor Dane entry). Younger Black folks LOVE them some “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith, (and “Cryin,” though, seriously, anything they did with Alicia Silverstone in the video is a lock for this list) as well as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” And how could you forget anything/everything by Hall & Oates?!
I’m black and I listen to lots of rock. Impressive amounts, in fact (at least my white and black friends are impressed), although I am terrible at remembering song and band names in many cases. First off: The original post was wack. All the posters are awesome, and the real list should be taken from the posts. The best thing about reading all this was going and finding all the songs on the net that I was unfamiliar with, playing them, and then recognizing EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few bars, and then rocking out! Kudos to all the real music know-it-alls who posted.
In response to Sharon- This post was about something completely different. I used Kissimistry because she has been underground and overseas promoting for a long time. Her decision to come back to the US was due to blacks finally being able to digest her style of music. I was just one of those white guys who noticed her a long time ago and knew that her time hadn’t arrived in the states yet. You also mentioned sub genre-Crunk Rock in your post. Did you know that Lil John is the creator of Crunk Rock and Kissimistry has been working with him since back in the 90’s when he was working as an A&R for So So Def? I will agree with you about the song “IF I Really” on youtube. This is not one that I like in particular because of the pop push. Yet, I know she may need it to get heard in this country because of post like this. Again, in my opinion blacks started rock. Yet, we are questioning which rock songs they like the most. This is stupid. However, because blacks have been confused to believe that whites created rock you can have a post like this. If they created it, how can you have a top 10 list of all white artists? I’ll give you another band to judge if it makes you feel any different. Check out Whole Wheat Bread http://www.myspace.com/wholewheatbread
Just to educate-not debate!
Well, I’m black, and I’ve never heard of half the things on that list, BUT I will wholeheartedly second “Benny and Jets” as a song that needs to be on this list (and I know my mom would too)…even if it’s not so much rock. And the Average White Band is the shit, they should be number 1. These articles are hilarious.
Interesting trivia note, because I was a huge-ass Def Leppard fan back in the day and now I just have the huge ass: “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was actually inspired by rap music. Joe (the singer, who wrote most of their song lyrics) wanted to see if he could do something in a similar vein, so he came up with this. I am not saying you have to like rap music if you are black, don’t mistake me, but as a lot of black people DO like rap music, I could see where this song might set well with some of them.
re: the Zeppelin song you posted here, it was featured on Beavis and Butt-Head in a hilarious take–the song starts out slow, and Beavis is going batshit for Butt-Head to change the channel and Butt-Head keeps telling him, “no wait dude, it gets cool!” and then the drums kick in and they both start headbanging. Which is what every damn body who hears this song and likes it wants to do.
“None of these songs are under 10 years old…” SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP. “Sugar” was #1 on MTV’s Top 20 Countdown for 88 days straight the summer I was 14. IT CANNOT HAVE BEEN TWENTY YEARS AGO NOW. NOOOOOO.
Will vouch for black girls having liked New Kids On The Block back then, too. Knew quite a few of them in school. Thought, “Oh well, more for them.”
This black girl has to agree with most of the list, especially Jane Child! Also want to add:
Under the Bridge, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Black Hole Sun- Soundgarden
Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen