Famous Rock Intros

I thought about what would be the most recognizable riffs in rock music. This doesn’t mean I like these the best… I’m sure I missed many more. They are in no particular order.

  1. Smoke On The Water – Probably the most well-known riff of Rock and Roll. I’ve heard so many beginning guitar players butcher this one… and I was one of them at one time.
  2. Satisfaction – This helped start Keith Richards on his way to becoming The Human Riff. The intro is immediately recognizable.
  3. Daytripper – John Lennon was no slouch creating memorable riffs. I Feel Fine, Yer Blues and Daytripper…My personal favourite is And Your Bird Can See
  4. Black Dog – To my surprise, this riff was not Jimmy Page…it was written by the very underrated John Paul Jones
  5. You Really Got Me – As soon as that early raw distorted guitar starts you know the very English Ray Davies is about to sing.
  6. Another One Bites the Dust – It’s a Bass intro that won’t leave your head. When it came out I could not go anywhere without hearing someone hum, whistle, or sing it…it is infectious
  7. Purple Haze – Jimi’s intro that shot him in the stratosphere.
  8. Wild Thing and Louie Louie – Same three-chord pattern but you know what they are right away.
  9. Baba O’ Riley – As soon as you hear the first 2 seconds…you know what it is.
  10. Back in Black – AC/DC using the same chords over and over to great effect.

Honourable Mention… Hard Days Night, Can’t Explain, Sunshine of Your Love, Sweet Home Alabama.

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

13 thoughts on “Famous Rock Intros”

  1. Fun list. Not sure how anyone could argue with it. My personal fave from the list would be Baba O’Riley. If I were going to add to it, I’d say Run Like Hell (Pink Floyd), and The Story in Your Eyes (Moody Blues). The only problem with The Story in Your Eyes is that it isn’t more known today, which is amazing to me in itself.

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    1. Yes, it was…That was a great song…Many have popped into my head since…
      I just wanted to tell you I really like your blog. Each time each one is great.

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  6. To me, Ronnie Montrose is the intro king of Rock. Rock Candy is montserous, thunderous and brilliant AOR. But yeah, Baba O’Riley, Daytripper, Paperback Writer, Smoke on the Water, Good Vibrations and I guess my all time favorite–Gimme Shelter. Whoa! The intertwinning guitar work. Nobody can figure out just how Keith Richards did it. Great post idea. Love it.

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