# Signature licks in E **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263 "2016-06-01T23:36:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/1 "2016-06-01T23:36:29Z")
I’m looking for licks that totally define the song. Examples: Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles) Oh Well (Fleetwood Mac) What others can you give me? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/2 "2016-06-02T00:11:53Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#): > > I’m looking for licks that totally define the song. Examples: > Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles) > Oh Well (Fleetwood Mac) > > What others can you give me? Damn - Oh Well is my go to for checking out the bass response on guitars. Let me think about this. Whole Lotta Love Sin City Peter Gunn theme Who do you Love Mannish Boy Train Kept a Rollin Same Old Song and Dance ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/3 "2016-06-02T01:00:08Z")
[Baby Please Don’t Go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fymacb7GYDg) ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/4 "2016-06-02T04:04:20Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Damn - Oh Well is my go to for checking out the bass response on guitars. > Let me think about this. > > Whole Lotta Love > Sin City > Peter Gunn theme > Who do you Love > Mannish Boy > Train Kept a Rollin > Same Old Song and Dance How did I know you’d be the first one in? 🙂 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/5 "2016-06-02T04:28:43Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Let me think about this… > Peter Gunn theme Mancini wrote for horns. P.G. is in F, a much more trumpet-ish key. It’s not in E. Not that anyone would notice but you & me. And stop the rhyming, I mean it! ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/6 "2016-06-02T06:18:59Z")
The Beatles’ “Day Tripper” ---
**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:** [June 2, 2016, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/7 "2016-06-02T09:31:10Z")
Dust My Broom Interstellar Overdrive Good Times Bad Times (definitive, but barely a riff) Communication Breakdown [Place holder for more Zep…] Jean Genie/Block Buster Roadhouse Blues Planet Claire 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/8 "2016-06-02T09:53:05Z")
Rocky Mountain High is in E and a distinctive intro lick. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/9 "2016-06-02T10:07:23Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > Planet Claire 🙂 **NoCoolUserName** - this is basically the same riff as the Peter Gunn theme. In E. Either way, fun riff to start new players off on one string. I play Superstitious in E - Stevie Wonder wrote it for Jeff Beck, then recorded his own version. Beck plays it in E and it’s fun. Purple Haze Hey Joe Satisfaction ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/10 "2016-06-02T10:56:23Z")
The Spirit of Radio If that’s not a distinctive riff I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/11 "2016-06-02T12:27:30Z")
Since I don’t play, I have to take a stab at this by ear: Are “Life in the Fast Lane” (The Eagles) and “I Love Rock & Roll” (Joan Jett) in E? ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/12 "2016-06-02T12:45:22Z")
[“Hideaway”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54HwF8mVlaw) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/13 "2016-06-02T16:00:26Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > [“Hideaway”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54HwF8mVlaw) I tip my hat to you, sir. A truly badass song by the best in the business. I love all three Blues Kings, but Freddie is my favorite. (Note: this is the song Clapton covered on the John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers album that led to the Clapton is God graffiti. Fun, but King could blow Clapton away. Nobody liked playing with Freddie King when he was in full gunslinger mode.) ---
**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:** [June 2, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/14 "2016-06-02T17:22:10Z")
Back in Black ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/15 "2016-06-02T17:39:20Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > The Beatles’ “Day Tripper” :smack: One of the basic food groups! Gotta know that riff. **Small Clanger** is handling Zep, but **Black Dog** certainly stands out as a song-defining riff. [scratch that: I am playing it in my head and realize it is in A. Rats.] Another off-time riff song in E is **Spoonman** by Soundgarden. Only in 7/8 vs. 15/16 for Black Dog, but fun. A riff that is not very well known or viewed as a big-deal Classic Rock riff but which I love is **Wrong to Love You, by Chris Isaak** : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGoohR2bQUE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGoohR2bQUE) I play this riff way too much to work on my fingerstyle technique. Oh, and: Metallica - **Sad But True** and **Enter Sandman**. Sad but True is a wonderful, durable riff. By the way: some of these are in the key of E minor. My assumption is that you want cool riffs that pivot off the Low E string and aren’t focused on major/minor. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/16 "2016-06-02T18:15:32Z")
Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots is in E and has a pretty memorable guitar hook. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/17 "2016-06-02T18:18:59Z")
Walk This Way by Aerosmith. Barracuda by Heart. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/18 "2016-06-02T19:28:32Z")
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned “Back In Black” yet. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/19 "2016-06-02T20:13:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I’m surprised nobody has mentioned “Back In Black” yet. (post #14) ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263/20 "2016-06-02T20:24:00Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I tip my hat to you, sir. > > A truly badass song by the best in the business. I love all three Blues Kings, but Freddie is my favorite. > > (Note: this is the song Clapton covered on the John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers album that led to the Clapton is God graffiti. Fun, but King could blow Clapton away. Nobody liked playing with Freddie King when he was in full gunslinger mode.) Thanks…I like Freddie the best too. I had “Freddie King In Concert” (Vestapol) on VHS that I found in a record store in Chicago years ago - wore that tape out! If there’s a fourth “King” to be handed out though, it belongs to [Earl King](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_King) - born Earl Silas Johnson - underrated guitarist from NOLA. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signature-licks-in-e/756263.md?page=2)