# Intros to songs/tunes that you can identify almost immediately **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468 "2005-08-03T20:31:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/21 "2005-08-04T14:28:49Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. > > in one note. I get that one in 2 notes. I get Motley Crue’s _Ten Seconds to Love_ in the first 3 or 4 notes of the intro. There are a few early 80’s metal songs I recognize in the first few notes. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/22 "2005-08-04T14:34:11Z")
I _feel_ like I can get most any 80s song in the first few second, but it might be an illusion. Also, Funky Town. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/23 "2005-08-04T15:51:19Z")
I’ll name that tune in: One: **Hard Day’s Night** – _that_ chord (and it’s not quite what you think pickers) **I Feel Fine** – the feedback. **Money** (Floyd not Beatles) – Ker-ching. **Taxman** – don’t even have to wait for the song to start, George counts in in a silly voice “One. . .” \*\*Shine On. . . \*\* – If for _one_ you can accept a Gminor that goes on for minutes. Two: \*\*Purple Haze \*\* – the devils interval. I give up the are too many to list. > [@](#): > > what songs can you identify almost as soon as they start? If you play the original recording, I could id hundreds if not thousands of tunes within a fraction of a second\*\*\*\*\* (couldn’t most people?). If you just pick out the tune on a banjo you need at least three or four notes to go on but I don’t think that’s what the OP was asking. \*\*\*\*\*provided they were recorded before about 1985 when they stopped making music 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/24 "2005-08-04T15:59:30Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > I _feel_ like I can get most any 80s song in the first few second, but it might be an illusion. I don’t think it’s an illusion, Scott. It only takes me a second or _maybe_ two to identify the majority of the songs I know well, and any song it takes more than 3 or 4 seconds to identify annoys me that I’ve taken so long to do so. I don’t think people are giving themselves enough credit if they think there are a lot of familiar songs they couldn’t nail after hearing just the first second of. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/25 "2005-08-04T16:01:44Z")
The theme from **Hawaii 5-0**. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/26 "2005-08-04T16:05:04Z")
This morning on the radio (as part of a “Hot enough for ya!” set 🙂 ) they played Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, which is subtitled “Winter Daydreams.” The first movement of this is on the Toys soundtrack, on a track called “Winter Reveries.” I didn’t know it was Tschaikovsky, so that was a neat thing to discover. Here’s a short [sample](http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/tchaikovsky_sym1.html) to listen to. Check out the first movement. It has a very distinictive opening. ---
**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/27 "2005-08-04T16:23:22Z")
Steppenwolf’s **Born to Be Wild** – hard to imagine how _anyone_ could not recognize that crashing guitar intro. Enesco’s **Roumanian Rhapsody #1** (i still sniffle at the thought that my mother somehow lost/gave away a 1955 recording conducted by _Enesco himself_) Led Zeppelin’s **Rock and Roll** – another distinctive drum opening Tchaikovsky’s **1812 Overture** Rossini’s **William Tell Overture** (and no, i don’t mean just the part they used for The Lone Ranger’s theme) Wagner’s _Pilgrim’s Chorus_ from **Tannhauser** ditto _Ride of the Valkyries_ from **Die Walkure** those are my most remembered, but lots of other oldies rock and selected classical pieces click just as fast. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/28 "2005-08-04T16:37:18Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I’m guessing pretty much anyone could recognize “Paranoid” or “Iron Man”. I’m never sure, with the beat at the beginning, if it’s going to be _Iron Man_ or _Slow Ride_. Pink Floyd - _Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2_ - I can’t think of any other song that starts out sounding like a helicopter. Pink Floyd - _Comfortably Numb_ - The first note is recognizable and long and drawn out. > [@](#): > > Enesco’s Roumanian Rhapsody #1 (i still sniffle at the thought that my mother somehow lost/gave away a 1955 recording conducted by Enesco himself) Oh yeah, and _Bohemian Rhapsody_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/29 "2005-08-04T16:42:00Z")
Pink Floyd - “Wish You Were Here” The Doobie Brothers - “Rockin’ Down the Highway”/“China Grove” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/30 "2005-08-04T16:44:03Z")
> [@Engineer Dude](#): > > Pink Floyd - _Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2_ - I can’t think of any other song that starts out sounding like a helicopter. “Goodnight Saigon”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/31 "2005-08-04T16:45:31Z")
How could I forget!? Michael Jackson’s _Billie Jean_. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/32 "2005-08-04T17:05:35Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I remember a “Name That Tune” segment on an Opera radio show… > > The host hinted that this was a famous aria, and then played a single long note on the piano - one of the contestants rang in immediately with the correct answer. > > Hint: > > The note was the Ab below middle C > > Anybody care to try? Porky Pig: _L-l-l-lucia de Lammermoor_? Daffy Duck: Audience? Audience: _ **RIGALETTO!** _ Sorry, but it was the first thing I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/33 "2005-08-04T18:34:13Z")
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/34 "2005-08-04T18:38:50Z")
I get Lynyrd Skynyrd- **Free Bird** by the first note. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/35 "2005-08-04T18:38:50Z")
The opening notes of Iron Butterfly’s **In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida** have got to be among the most recognizable notes ever. ---
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/36 "2005-08-04T18:42:27Z")
For anyone who grew up in the 80’s, there’s no mistaking the opening of Def Leppard’s _Rock of Ages_. ---
**Author:** ![Meaty\_Beaty\_Big\_and\_Bouncy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Meaty\_Beaty\_Big\_and\_Bouncy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meaty_Beaty_Big_and_Bouncy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/37 "2005-08-04T20:22:32Z")
_Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft_- **Klattu** It starts with forest sounds with this skip like it was being played on a record player-I can identify it from the first skip about three seconds in Of course, not many songs start out with forest sounds either. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/38 "2005-08-05T00:59:27Z")
Just about ANY song by REM (high school obsession), specifically: “Feeling Gravitys Pull” “Losing My Religion” “Fall On Me” “Radio Free Europe” And the entire line-up of \Automatic for the People\. Also, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Lithium” by Nirvana. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/39 "2005-08-05T03:30:09Z")
And One’s **Sweety, Sweety**. First note. Actually, practically anything by And One is easy to identify- **Panzermensch** , **Techno Man** , and **Get You Closer**. I agree with **Coil** about **Closer** , too. **Cocoon** , by Assemblage 23. **Let It Be** , The Beatles. **Forever** , Bruderschaft. **Hooked** , by Seabound. **Crabbucket** , K-Os. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468/40 "2005-08-05T04:50:34Z")
**Small Clanger** People have said that _all_ of the Beatles’ songs are almost immediately recognizable. But I’d agree that “ **Hard Day’s Night** ” must be THE most distinctive intro of their songs (or maybe of _any_ song ever recorded). By the way Small Clanger, for the intro I play a D7sus4. Is that what you play? As for classical music, how about “ **The Poet and the Peasant** ” ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intros-to-songs-tunes-that-you-can-identify-almost-immediately/315468.md?page=3)