Name (and link to) a song that is instantly recognizable with the very first few notes

Cafe Society
21

see post #2
Teh awesome
and
and strangely similar but instantly different (I wouldn’t have got it before the guitar kicks in)
(Okay, I get it now, NOTHING after the 60s is allowed, sorry, sorry, sorry.)

22

I’m usually good at identifying songs in the first second (assuming it’s a song I know pretty well). A natural ability, I guess. Are any other Dopers good at this?

23

dammit! I swear that post wasn’t there when I posted.

At least, that’s how it was in my universe…

24

First one I thought of (and apologies if it’s been mentioned already, but I don’t have time to click on every one): Is this one.

And for people like me, who won’t click through every one:

Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” (the “Stop, hey, what’s that sound, everyone look what’s going down” song.

There’s a zillion others, but that’s the first one that came to mind. “Hard Day’s Night” is another one, of course.

25

This one.

26

Here are a few more cold starts from early rock:

You can't miss the beginning of Fats Domino songs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQQCPrwKzdo
27

Janis Joplin, before she even opens her mouth.

28

Other sounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3h9p_c5-M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFuCYNx-1g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHdU5sHigYQ
29
30

Two possibilities for this one (this link is for the genuine article).

The other possibility is Vanilla Ice’s travesty of a song, “Ice Ice Baby.”

31

Here’s one worth mentioning.

32

Heh! That’s the one that sprang to my mind when I read the title.

33

That’s just about the only song I don’t recognize from the first few notes. :slight_smile:

34

Yes I seem to be doing exceedingly well. Songs I’ve heard a few times, at least. I actually hadn’t heard several of the songs in njtt’s link so I only got 7/16. But for the most part I’m getting all these others rather easily.

I’ve listened to a lot of music.

I won a prize in high school for guessing this song at the first note. The DJ doing the contest cued up the album version which starts earlier than the radio version and I was up giving my answer by the time he got to where he’d meant to be.

35

I have thisas my ringtone, and whenever I get a call at work, all my coworkers react to the first few notes.

36

Very funny.

37

Bill Cullen, this song is almost 300 years old and I can name that tune in 3 notes!

[spoiler]Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D-minor[/spoiler]

Well, Bill, I can name this tune in one note!

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

38

I got that wrong, I thought it was this.

39

Distinctive.

40

Thanks for saving me the trouble of posting a link to that one. :slight_smile: