Sidetracked

Top Ten Songs With Cow Bell

My wife says whenever she hears a song with a cow bell in it, she has to pee.

I’m not sure what Pavlov would have to say about that. But one thing’s certain: If we go on long trips, we avoid listening to “We’re an American Band.”

The Grand Funk Railroad song is, of course, famous for its drum intro, featuring generous cow bell licks. I’m not sure who first used the cow bell in a song (presumably a drumming farmer), but the cow bell can add wonders to a song.

 You can see for yourself when Grand Funk (That’s them at the top) appears at the Mid-State Fair July 31. In honor of Grand Funk’s arrival here, I’ve decided to put forth my list of top ten songs with cow bell in them.

The critera for this list isn’t terribly complex. First of all, the song has to have cow bell in it. But it can’t just be an aside — the cow bell has to ring loudly and proudly. Finally, it has to be a good song.

10. Funky Cold Medina, Ton Loc. There’s not just one, but TWO cow bells in this one. So it has to make the list.

9. Gold Dust Woman, Fleetwood Mac. Proving that even slower songs can benefit from cow bell.

8. Hair of the Dog, Nazareth. Any song that starts out with just drums and cow bell is a good one, as far as I’m concerned. I’ll also lump “Mississippi Queen” by Mountain and “We’re an American Band” in here.

7. Funk #49, James Gang. You’re already enjoying this wild ride of a song when — badda bing — a drum and cow bell interlude breaks out. Lovely.

6. Frankenstein, Edgar Winter. There’s not a whole lot of cow bell in this weird song, but when you hear it, during the drum solos, it’s perfect. I never knew two people played the drum solo until I saw this video — I just thought the drummer was a machine.

 

5. Got to Give it Up, Marvin Gaye. There’s percussion (a.k.a., “cow bell”) throughout this one. And it’s such a feel-good, party mood song.

4. Down on the Corner, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Check out the video for this. It’s like a jug band or something. You can hear the cow bell, but mysteriously, you can’t see it, which leads to one obvious conclusion: Magic cow bell.

3. Drive My Car, Beatles. The Beatles actually have a few good cow bell songs.  Another good one: “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey.”

2. Evil Ways, Santana. Now this is a cow bell-friendly group. Santana songs always have lots of percussion, and they’re not afraid to unleash the CB.

1. Honky Tonk Women, The Rolling Stones. Probably the most famous use of cow bell in a song — and it’s the Stones. Gotta be #1.

Tribune cow photo: Joe Johnston 

Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Pat
Filed under: Music