# Best single song representation of these four groups **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 8, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282 "2024-02-08T02:00:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/61 "2024-02-08T22:21:26Z")
I will explain my choices as to why these particular songs I consider to be their quintessential, or most representative of their body of work. The Rolling Stones - Jumping Jack Flash. Why? Because it is essentially a riff-based song that was a variation on rock forms already established by other groups. This is what the Stones did. However, the Stones managed to do it just a little better. Keith Richards catchy guitar riff - as it so often happened - managed to make this a perfectly hummable tune that you could walk away from whistling the tune and feeling good. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody. This one happens to be not only their most quintessential but also one of their very best. Why? It features the complex vocal harmonies, and complex time signature changes we so closely associate with this group The Who - My Generation. No, unlike Queen this is probably not their _best_ song but it contains all the elements we associate musically with The Who, and most importantly the lyrics of this song represent youth rebellion, which really is what a lot of folks think of when they hear The Who. The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Where to begin? Well, it represents an essential piece of psychodelia and will forever be associated with both the decade of the 1960’s and the Beatles band. Seriously, I would submit that this song will be remembered in connection with the Beatles centuries from now much as we might think of Toccata and Fugue in connection with J. S. Bach. They had that kind of cultural impact and Sgt Pepper probably represents the pinnacle of that cultural influence. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/62 "2024-02-08T23:06:34Z")
I like Honky Tonk Women for the Stones. That’s them in a nutshell. I don’t know anything about Queen. I stopped being a Who fan after The Who Sell Out, which is when they lost their sense of humor. I’ll go with Happy Jack, as being best representative of that early period. Kind of an off-the-wall pick for the Beatles: The Two of Us. Because it’s really John and Paul together, which they hadn’t done much of since at least Rubber Soul. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/63 "2024-02-08T23:09:03Z")
The Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women Queen - Don’t Stop Me Now The Who - My Generation The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/64 "2024-02-08T23:26:36Z")
The Rolling Stones - Angie Queen - (skipped, not a fan) The Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again The Beatles - Things We Said Today ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/65 "2024-02-08T23:42:51Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I see a lot of good picks for the Rolling Stones in this thread, but I’m struggling a little bit with “Gimme Shelter” as representative, Yeah, I may have to change my choice. Something like “Honky Tonk Women” might do better. I’m not sure “Sympathy” is particularly representative – that one seems to stick out a bit from their barroom country-and-blues-rock band sound. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/66 "2024-02-09T01:33:36Z")
Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter 😛 Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again Beatles - Please Please Me ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/67 "2024-02-09T03:07:21Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > that quasi-bridge/chorus that Townshend loves where he sings something in his reedy near-falsetto while the song slows a bit, and then it explodes. In my mind that puts **Baba O’Riley** ahead. I like this analysis. I too interpreted the OP as asking for the song that contained all the essential elements of a band’s work product. I thought _Won’t Get Fooled Again_ had em, but I forgot about that “quasi bridge/chorus” that is Townshend’s signature. I’ve been a Who fan from way back. _Who’s Next_ was the first album I bought. I was 14 and it was over a decade after it was released. Taking nothing away from Daltry, Townshend’s vocals, although deployed less, have always equally distinguished the band. (_However Much I Booze_, you can’t sing better than that.) I remember when _It’s Hard_ came out. Reviews were mixed. Part of one review that has always stuck in my mind said something like, about the track _Athena_, when Townshend delivers the lyrics _“Just a girl, just a girl”_, true fans will be in Who heaven. I was. And when I played the _record_ for the first time, that being the first track, whatever came next didn’t really matter. I change my vote. Baba O’Riley it is. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/68 "2024-02-09T03:12:17Z")
The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction Queen - Killer Queen The Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/69 "2024-02-09T12:14:30Z")
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody\* The Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again The Beatles - Back in the USSR j \* - easy “best representation” choice. I can’t stand Queen and this song sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/70 "2024-02-09T17:33:06Z")
Just a bit of semi-related trivia: Today is the 60th anniversary of [The Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6egp4h?start=180). It was just less than 5 years later that they last performed together on the rooftop in London. To cop the title of a Who song, what an amazing journey it was. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/71 "2024-02-09T17:54:31Z")
_"No! **YOU’RE** Out of Order!_ ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/72 "2024-02-09T22:14:00Z")
The Rolling Stones — Paint it Black Queen — Princes of the Universe The Who — Won’ Get Fooled Again The Beatles — Nowhere Man ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/73 "2024-02-09T22:19:37Z")
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil Queen - We Are the Champions The Who - Long Live Rock The Beatles - Let it Be ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/74 "2024-02-09T22:23:52Z")
I’m changing my Beatles choice to **In My Life** , as it’s very appropriate for where I am in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/75 "2024-02-09T23:13:49Z")
Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud Queen - Killer Queen Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/76 "2024-02-10T00:15:32Z")
Jumping Jack Flash Killer Queen Won’t Get Fooled Again Dear Prudence (Went with Prudence. It’s got beauty, da Love, psychedelia, and eventually rocks pretty hard. Smart naive lyrics.) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/77 "2024-02-10T01:17:44Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > (Went with Prudence. It’s got beauty, da Love, psychedelia, and eventually rocks pretty hard. Smart naive lyrics.) Dear Prudence may just be my alltime favorite Beatles song. I particularly like the drumming in the last verse…and I only recently found out that it was Paul playing drums. It was the day Ringo quit the band. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/78 "2024-02-10T01:27:40Z")
I would point out that #2 is also the best named song for another group-Jefferson Airplane. (Different song-same title.) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/79 "2024-02-10T01:44:00Z")
Rolling Stones: “Gimme Shelter” Queen: Dunno, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” I guess? (Not sure this one is all that _representative_, but I don’t actually know / like enough Queen songs to have any better ideas.) Beatles: “Yesterday” The Who: “Behind Blue Eyes” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282/80 "2024-02-10T01:49:21Z")
@Mean_Mr.Mustard, are you collating these results? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-song-representation-of-these-four-groups/997282.md?page=5)