# Most recognizable song intro **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2016, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732 "2016-03-21T06:11:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/21 "2016-03-21T12:59:28Z")
From the first note of “Baker Street”, I’m reaching for the volume and telling everyone in the car to shut up. But as much as I love the song, it can’t compete with a lot of the others here in terms of popularity or longevity. Rafferty was great, but no Beethoven. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/22 "2016-03-21T13:05:23Z")
John Cage’s _4’33"_. Even if they don’t know it’s name, I think almost everyone would be familiar with the opening bars of its first movement. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/23 "2016-03-21T13:30:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > No way does Hard Day’s Night beat Beethoven. I mean, what other opening bit is [used as a code for victory among troops during a war?](http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/french-resistance/beethovens-5th-symphony/) > > I suspect the opening four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are the best-known opening in human history. > > The only one I can think of as a runner-up that hasn’t been mentioned are the first five notes of [Also Sprach Zarathustra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Also_sprach_Zarathustra_(Strauss)). Yeah, I know the 5th is more global. I went with Hard Day’s Night because it only takes one chord. Another obvious, brief one is the opening two notes of **Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man** : Ba - Baaaaaaaa!!! then the rest of that wonderful horn+tympany intro… ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/24 "2016-03-21T13:33:41Z")
Agree with all suggestions so far, and I’ll add the famous Bonzo drum opening to Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll” -And from a more modern perspective, I think almost anyone alive today knows the guitar intro to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” ---
**Author:** ![funky\_little\_lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@funky\_little\_lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funky_little_lee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/25 "2016-03-21T13:36:32Z")
CLAP CLAP Clap-cuh-Clap-Clap-Clap. “Car Wash” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/26 "2016-03-21T14:08:18Z")
Here’s a blindfold test for you. Click the link and shut your eyes and find how long it takes to identify this one: [Dave Brubeck - Take Five - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDDOFXSgAs) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/27 "2016-03-21T14:11:05Z")
Obvious from the very first note: “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” ---
**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:** [March 21, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/28 "2016-03-21T14:13:24Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > “A Hard Day’s Night” is almost the definitive answer. In terms of “I’ll name this tune in one note/chord,” I think that’s gotta be it, too. I can probably identify hundreds or thousands of tunes with the first few of notes or beats, but there’s very few I could think of where the absolute first note or notes struck together I could name immediately without any other context. I’m sure there are a couple of others, but that’s the obvious one. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/29 "2016-03-21T14:14:30Z")
“Welcome to the Jungle” is pretty unmistakeable. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/30 "2016-03-21T14:32:30Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > Agree with all suggestions so far, and I’ll add the famous Bonzo drum opening to Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll” Hearing Bonzo’s take on that drum riff is uniquely Zep, so yes, but to be clear, he lifted it from **Little Richard’s song, I Hear You Knockin’** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA) I am not complaining - I love Bonham’s take on a great riff. Just want to point out that the same intro is used on another great song. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/31 "2016-03-21T14:35:44Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > “Welcome to the Jungle” is pretty unmistakeable. I see your Welcome to the Jungle and raise you Sweet Child O’ Mine. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/32 "2016-03-21T14:47:50Z")
I had three picked out but they’ve all been named already. So I’m gonna go with Beatles “I Feel Fine”. And “Summer in the City” by Loving Spoonful. DaDump Boom. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/33 "2016-03-21T14:56:42Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Here’s a blindfold test for you. > > Click the link and shut your eyes and find how long it takes to identify this one: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDDOFXSgAs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDDOFXSgAs) I don’t know the song in the ad, but it’s definitly Shaq trying to sell me something. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/34 "2016-03-21T15:02:15Z")
“Any Way You Want It” by Journey doesn’t leave much room for ambiguity. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/35 "2016-03-21T15:23:49Z")
No love for “Hotel California”? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/36 "2016-03-21T15:28:52Z")
Here’s the one I mentioned above in YouTube: [Hold On, I"m Comin’ - Sam and Dave](https://youtu.be/Wizc2UC9s0A) My daughter thought of this one: [I Want You Back - Jackson 5](https://youtu.be/DGDyAb6pePo) ---
**Author:** ![Theodore\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Theodore\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore_Striker)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/37 "2016-03-21T15:33:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I see your Welcome to the Jungle and raise you Sweet Child O’ Mine. I’ll see both of you and raise you Paradise City… But back to the original, my first thought was Layla as well, but there are a number of great ones mentioned here. One that I love is Zep’s Good Times, Bad Times… what a way to start the first song of your first album than with that stereophonic guitar dig that is crunchy and sharp at the same time backed up with just enough drum play to build the anticipation. And then there is the open to When the Levee Breaks… the power thump of Bonzo’s drums, and the wail of the harmonica, just peeling off anguish. Man, I could do this all day, so many great ones. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/38 "2016-03-21T15:35:17Z")
I don’t care what anybody else says, \*\*Lobot \*\*got it back in post #3. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/39 "2016-03-21T15:35:26Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > [Gimme Shelter -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJDnJ0vXUgw) has got to be a contender. I always loved the female vocalist in that song, then one day I Googled her and found some very interesting stuff… [Isolated vocals of Merry Clayton from Gimme Shelter](https://youtu.be/jqXyjbgs5rU) [The story behind the song](http://www.openculture.com/2013/06/mick_jagger_tells_the_story_behind_gimme_shelter.html) The story is worth a read. The isolated vocal track is amazing, with the way her voice cracked in at certain points, and the sound of the Stones hooting and hollering in the background. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732/40 "2016-03-21T15:40:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Hearing Bonzo’s take on that drum riff is uniquely Zep, so yes, but to be clear, he lifted it from **Little Richard’s song, I Hear You Knockin’** : [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA) > > I am not complaining - I love Bonham’s take on a great riff. Just want to point out that the same intro is used on another great song. Well, it’s not exactly the same, the accent pattern is a little different (plus Bonham’s pattern is pure snare & tom, while Charles Connors’ also throws in kicks), but it’s no doubt borrowed/an homage to that intro. And the song is “Keep A Knocking.” 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recognizable-song-intro/749732.md?page=3)