# What are your favorite "hooks" in music?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 8, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642 "2006-07-08T17:16:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/1 "2006-07-08T17:16:46Z")
Not just Rock or Pop. Any piece of music you like the “hook” for.
Some of mine:
The William Tell Overture bit used for The Lone Ranger
The basic riff in Pink Floyd’s _Money_
The riff in the Beatles’ _Day Tripper_
The intro to the Doors’ _Riders on the Storm_
There are at least 50 I could name without slowing down.
What makes a hook catchy? The beat? The melody? What?
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### Author:  [@Gene\_Frenkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gene_Frenkle)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/2 "2006-07-08T21:51:34Z")
The intro hook, repeated throghout, to “Genius of Love” by the Tom Tom Club.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/3 "2006-07-08T21:54:46Z")
> [@Zeldar](#):
>
> What makes a hook catchy? The beat? The melody? What?
It’s short; it’s distinctive; it’s repeated.
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### Author:  [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/4 "2006-07-08T21:57:20Z")
I’m not a huge fan of Aerosmith, but I just love the little guitar riff in “Walk This Way.”
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/5 "2006-07-08T21:58:46Z")
Mancini: Peter Gunn Theme, Pink Panther
Ed Norton’s intro to every song: Swanee River
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### Author:  [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/6 "2006-07-08T22:54:24Z")
You really got me
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### Author:  [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/7 "2006-07-08T23:02:25Z")
The intro to the White Stripes’ _Seven-Nation Army_ (which is carried through the whole song)
Led Zeppelin’s _Heartbreaker_
Black Sabbath’s _Iron Man_
I’ve got more…I just have to think about it.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [July 8, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/8 "2006-07-08T23:03:22Z")
A few more:
The piano figure in Dave Brubeck’s _Take Five_
The riff in the Classic 4’s _Spooky_ which is very close to the one in _Stormy_
The break in the Four Seasons’ _Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You_
The intro to Elton’s _Bennie and the Jets_
The riff in Gregg Allman’s _Midnight Rider_
The intro to the ABB _Whipping Post_
The riff in Gino Vannelli’s _People Gotta Move_
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### Author:  [@Corporate\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corporate_Hippie)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/9 "2006-07-09T00:02:40Z")
The intro to ELO’s _Fire on High_ for a weird sentimental reason.
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### Author:  [@Available\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Available_Jones)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/10 "2006-07-09T00:46:11Z")
The bass line in \*Come As You Are \* by Nirvana
The bass line in \*Come Down \* by Bush
The guitar riff in \*Back in Black \* by AC/DC
The acoustic guitar intro on \*Over the Hills and Far Away \* by Led Zeppelin
The guitar riffs in _Gasoline_ and \*Show Me How to Live \* by Audioslave
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### Author:  [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/11 "2006-07-09T05:09:05Z")
The part in “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand where the song shifts. It took me a long time to get sick of that.
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### Author:  [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/12 "2006-07-09T06:18:24Z")
It’s short, it’s simple, it’s obvious, and it’s totally perfect; that little chromatic four-note line in Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” (written by Willie Nelson) from the C to the A7:
“_Crazy… bah-bah-bah-bahhh… I’m crazy for feelin’ so lonelyyyy…_”
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### Author:  [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/13 "2006-07-09T08:04:23Z")
The bass part in _Thorazine Shuffle_ by **Gov’t Mule**.
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### Author:  [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/14 "2006-07-09T13:52:25Z")
the intro to _Smoke on the Water_ and _Day Tripper_
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/15 "2006-07-09T15:37:21Z")
Most ingenious musical intro ever goes to _My Girl_, sung by The Temptations. The music was actually composed and played by The Funk Brothers.
Other good ones include:
Intro to _Light My Fire_, by The Doors.
Intro to _Heard It Through The Grapevine_, by Marvin Gaye (also done by The Funk Brothers, who composed for most of Motown’s hits).
Intro to _Satisfaction_, by the Stones.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/16 "2006-07-09T17:44:41Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Most ingenious musical intro ever goes to _My Girl_, sung by The Temptations. The music was actually composed and played by The Funk Brothers.
>
> Other good ones include:
>
> Intro to _Light My Fire_, by The Doors.
>
> Intro to _Heard It Through The Grapevine_, by Marvin Gaye (also done by The Funk Brothers, who composed for most of Motown’s hits).
>
> Intro to _Satisfaction_, by the Stones.
Good ones, **Chefguy** , and you’ve helped me remember another favorite:
The intro to _Chain of Fools_. The chain-chain-chain thing with the bass line to boot.
Stevie Wonder has some of the better hooks, too.
Sir Duke
Superstition
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### Author:  [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/17 "2006-07-09T19:18:10Z")
Warren Zevon’s riff in **Lawyers, Guns and Money**
_Dum_, dum dum dum dum dum dum dah, _Dum_ dum dum dum dum…
It goes so well with the lyrics, it’s insistant and almost menacing, it stays with you.
**Pacelbel’s Canon** - Sweet and layered, yet stately. (though now my wedding music has become a ringtone, rather disconcerting, that, I thought it was so original 24 years ago)
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ **Dosed** the combination of wistful chorus, touching harmonies and Flea’s melodic bass effectively hook the listener in.
Broken Social Scene’s **Cause =Time** It’s a dreamy meandering song, yet the refrain about “the cause” adds a sort of punctuation that you can’t get out of your head.
Good call on Seven Nation Army, **Gail**.
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### Author:  [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/18 "2006-07-09T22:01:26Z")
The hook for “Hook” by Blues Traveler, which is based on Pachelbel’s Canon in D (although I believe it’s transposed to a different key).
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### Author:  [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/19 "2006-07-09T22:43:22Z")
The guitar sound made in **‘let me show you the way to go’** by **The Jacksons** , reminds me of being on a desert island, in a daze, stoned. 😛
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### Author:  [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-hooks-in-music/363642/20 "2006-07-09T22:51:16Z")
> [@Available Jones](#):
>
> The bass line in \*Come As You Are \* by Nirvana
> The bass line in \*Come Down \* by Bush
> The guitar riff in \*Back in Black \* by AC/DC
> The acoustic guitar intro on \*Over the Hills and Far Away \* by Led Zeppelin
> The guitar riffs in _Gasoline_ and \*Show Me How to Live \* by Audioslave
Your first one makes me think of the intro to
> [@](#):
>
> Smells Like Teen Spirit
…I think it’s a classic.
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