# Singers' Signature Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731 "2011-01-24T03:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/42 "2011-01-26T05:27:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Elton John – Candle in the Wind For me that one is always going to be Don’t Let the Sun Go Down. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/43 "2011-01-26T06:41:55Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Madonna: Material Girl (or maybe Like a Virgin?) Madonna could arguably have one for each decade of her career but overall I might go with ‘Like A Prayer’ - it seems to have a balance between initial success, enduring popularity and critical acclaim. You could easily argue for ‘Material Girl’, ‘Like A Virgin’, ‘Vogue’, ‘Music’, ‘Hung Up’, ‘Holiday’, they’re all contenders. Someone upthread mentioned Culture Club, I’d go for ‘Karma Chameleon’ just above ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?’ Other artists: Michael Jackson - ‘Billie Jean’ (I’ve known people to argue for ‘Thriller’ but I’d say that’s his signature _video_) Prince - ‘When Doves Cry’ or ‘1999’ Kate Bush - ‘Wuthering Heights’ Janet Jackson - ‘Rhythm Nation’ or ‘Nasty’ Pet Shop Boys - ‘West End Girls’ Britney Spears - ‘…Baby One More Time’ Rihanna - ‘Umbrella’ Kylie Minogue - ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ or ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ Cher - ‘Believe’ Eurythmics - ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ Celine Dion - ‘My Heart Will Go On’ Dixie Chicks - ‘Wide Open Spaces’ Mariah Carey - ‘Hero’ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/44 "2011-01-26T14:21:25Z")
Roger Miller–King of the Road Michael Ball–Love changes Everything Doug Sills–Into the Fire ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/45 "2011-01-26T14:24:24Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > For me that one is always going to be Don’t Let the Sun Go Down. Elton John’s had many hit songs but it’s hard to pick any one that’s his signature. One could also argue for “Your Song.” Same with John Denver…it could be Rocky Mountain High as well as Country Roads. For Prince I would have thought “Little Red Corvette.” Jackson Five – “ABC” ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/46 "2011-01-26T15:18:42Z")
Dusty Springfield - _Son of a Peacher Man_ John Lennon - _Imagine_ Beck - _Loser_ Mick Jagger - _(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction_ Bruce Springsteen - _Born in the USA_ Buddy Holly - _Peggy Sue_ or maybe _That’ll Be The Day_ Billie Holiday - _Strange Fruit_ Roger Daltrey - _My Generation_ David Bowie - _Heroes_ or _Space Oddity_ Sinead O’Conner - _Nothing Compares To You_ Chuck Berry - _Johnny B. Goode_ Leonard Nimroy - _The Ballard of Bilbo Baggins_ William Shatner - toss up between _Common People_ and _The Real Slim Shady_ Couple of debateable ones there. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/47 "2011-01-26T15:35:28Z")
I’ll go old school Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street Al Stewart - Time Passages Rush - Tom Sawyer ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/48 "2011-01-26T15:38:42Z")
Miles Davis - 'Round Midnight ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/49 "2011-01-26T16:45:25Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Gordon Lightfoot–The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald I would first think of “If You Could Read My Mind” although I personally like your pick better. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/50 "2011-01-26T17:24:04Z")
Frank Sinatra’s signature song is clearly, clearly, “My Way”. Anyone arguing otherwise doesn’t understand the concept of the signature song. Lots of acts don’t have signature songs, and that’s fine. A signature song isn’t just their biggest hit, or one they wrote themselves, it’s the song that has the most meaning for the artist, that they never get tired of performing. If you have to argue over what the signature song of an act is, they clearly don’t have a signature song. Tom Lehrer doesn’t have a signature song. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/51 "2011-01-26T18:31:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > … > Eric Clapton - “Layla” > … I’d have a hard time calling that his signature song. He is blessed/cursed with a few that he’s not allowed to leave the stage before playing. It seems more so that he gets to qualify in the Paul McCartney category - too many songs that are “must perform” to have a signature. Layla, I shot the Sheriff, Crossroads, Lay Down Sally – Each of these songs seems to point straight to him as a performer. ---
**Author:** ![AshenLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@AshenLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AshenLady)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/52 "2011-01-26T18:37:27Z")
Light My Fire - The Doors Paranoid - Black Sabbath Sharped Dressed Man - ZZTOP Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/53 "2011-01-26T19:11:16Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I shot the Sheriff […] – Each of these songs seems to point straight to him as a performer. :dubious: That’s not even who I think of when I think of that song. It was a big hit for Clapton but I never liked his version. > [@Lemur866](#): > > A signature song isn’t just their biggest hit, or one they wrote themselves, it’s the song that has the most meaning for the artist, that they never get tired of performing. I thought it was a song indelibly associated with one performer that sums up his or her essence, or at least the performer’s image. I don’t know if Sinatra liked performing My Way or if was sick to death of doing it at every concert. Either way it’s the song you think of when you think about who Frank Sinatra was. Despite all of Paul McCartney’s hits I think you could associate Hey Jude or Let It Be with him in the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/54 "2011-01-27T20:51:06Z")
“Breakin’ Up Is Hard To Do” --Neil Sedaka (It’s the one that has “, , v doobie u v v” in it) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/55 "2011-01-30T18:48:07Z")
Yannick [C’est soiree la](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAPzTFlVUN0) ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/56 "2011-03-23T20:16:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I thought it was a song indelibly associated with one performer that sums up his or her essence, or at least the performer’s image. I don’t know if Sinatra liked performing My Way or if was sick to death of doing it at every concert. Either way it’s the song you think of when you think about who Frank Sinatra was. Despite all of Paul McCartney’s hits I think you could associate Hey Jude or Let It Be with him in the same way. I agree entirely. It doesn’t matter what song you like of theirs the most, it matters what song sums up who they are in the eyes of the world. Plus Frank Sinatra admitted that he didn’t even like the song “My Way” at first but he got known for it because that is how the public sees him. It may not be the way _he_ sees him but that’s how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/57 "2011-03-23T21:17:37Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > Loudon Wainwright III - One Man Guy I will always and forevermore associate Loudon Wainwright III with “Dead Skunk.” ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/58 "2015-06-11T06:35:12Z")
Rick James- Superfreak ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/59 "2015-06-11T08:03:45Z")
> [@Aeris](#): > > I agree entirely. It doesn’t matter what song you like of theirs the most, it matters what song sums up who they are in the eyes of the world. Plus Frank Sinatra admitted that he didn’t even like the song “My Way” at first but he got known for it because that is how the public sees him. It may not be the way _he_ sees him but that’s how it goes. And for the record Sinatra absolutely hated _Strangers In The Night_. He didn’t like the sing-song melody and mocked it with the doo-be-doo-be-doo ending he tacked on at the end. Ironically it was his first million seller. I remember when he sang it during his \*Concert For The Americas \*performance. Prior to singing it he said he usually didn’t perform it but was going to that night due to a very special request. During the ovation afterward he walked back toward the orchestra with the mike hanging down at his side but you could still hear him laughingly yell out to the orchestra, _“I hate that fucking song!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/60 "2015-06-11T10:33:06Z")
Warren Zevon-“Werewolves of London”…even though it’s not his best material. For me, it’s “Desperados Under The Eaves.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731/61 "2015-06-11T17:00:03Z")
Doris Day – Que Sera Sera Also, it just seems wrong that William Shatner has a “signature song.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-signature-songs/568731.md?page=2)