Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs

When Donna Summer was recording her album I Remember Yesterday, she wanted each song to evoke a different decade. "I Feel Love" was meant to represent the future of music, and as time has gone on, that label has been proven to be a prophecy. Co-produced by Giorgio Moroder and Peter Bellotte, "I Feel Love" is a hypnotic, ethereal piece of synth music that’s left an incomparable mark on music that still lingers to this day. From the house and techno movement to pop and R&B, Summer's song opened new doors and is still wildly beloved and popular on the dancefloor. On this week’s episode, hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos celebrate Donna Summer’s massive impact on pop, R&B, electronic music and beyond and are joined by Bruce Sudano, Summer's husband, who began dating Summer around the time she recorded the song.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When OutKast dropped “Ms. Jackson” in the fall of 2000, the world was stunned. Nobody had ever heard a hip-hop song that sounded anything like this. But there’s never been anybody like OutKast before. On this week’s episode, hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss “Ms. Jackson,” and how it fits into the long illustrious OutKast story. They’re joined by their brilliant Rolling Stone colleague Simon Vozick-Levinson as they break down this song, its timeless appeal and the mighty legacy of OutKast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only a few rare songs ever turn into pop classics. But this one turned into a classic twice. “Killing Me Softly” not only made Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time with the 1973 Roberta Flack hit at Number 273, but also with the 1996 Fugees hit which comes in at Number 359. It’s the only song on the list that appears in two different versions. On this week’s episode, hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss the long-running story of “Killing Me Softly,” and how both these different versions just keep growing in stature over the years. They’re joined by their brilliant Rolling Stone colleague David Browne, breaking down how a Seventies pop ballad became a Nineties hip-hop smash, and why both versions remain universally beloved.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming in at #91 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Time list, this week hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss "Int'l Players Anthem" with special guest Bun B. The surviving member of UGK details the fateful way the song came together with OutKast including how their iconic video almost didn't happen. Bun B sings the praises of his UGK partner Pimp C, who died six months after "Int'l Players Anthem" was released as a single. He credits Pimp C's musical intuition with seeing the potential for the song’s sample, which ended up being an accurate prediction. Plus, the rapper notes how impactful the video has been on the song's legacy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daddy Yankee’s original plan was to become a baseball player. However when a stray bullet hit him at age 17, he pivoted to focusing on his other passion: music. The Puerto Rican star ended up becoming an integral part of the creation and explosion of reggaeton, a Spanish-language genre that fuses dancehall and soca with hip-hop. It was his 2004 breakout hit “Gasolina” and album Barrio Fino that helped bring reggaeton worldwide, breaking the seal for it to become the most popular genre of music in the world and for Daddy Yankee to become its most influential artist. “Gasolina” was just the start for Daddy Yankee, who has gone on to create many more decades of innovative, fresh and extremely popular music for every club and block party around the world. On this week’s episode hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss the success of “Gasolina” and are joined by their Rolling Stone colleague, Julyssa Lopez, who wrote a 2022 cover story on Daddy Yankee. Together they dive into Daddy Yankee's career and the evolution of reggaeton, highlighting its rise to global dominance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Base never thought “It Takes Two” would become a massive hit. He and DJ E-Z Rock were just aiming to make a neighborhood party record, straight from the streets of Harlem, to get bodies moving in their local clubs and skating rinks. But “It Takes Two” blew up into a monster hit around the world, forever changing hip-hop. The music business was shocked when this raw rap anthem crashed into the U.S. Top 40, with zero crossover or compromise. “It Takes Two” transformed history, yet it’s also a dance-floor banger that never fails to light up a wedding or party. This song changed the way people thought about hip-hop, at a time when it was still considered a fad; it also altered the way people thought about sampling, reviving James Brown for a new era. On this week’s episode hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss how “It Takes Two” changed pop history, and why it lives on. They’re also joined by a special guest: Rob Base himself, as he tells the story of how the song came together. But like everyone else, Base was stunned when their street beats conquered the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2003, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were not only emerging as one of the most stellar bands in a particularly thrilling New York rock scene, but also as one of the most exciting bands in the world. Their breakout hit "Maps" would be a major pop crossover moment, joining the lexicon of great and timeless rock and roll love songs. At the band's helm was Karen O, the firecracker of a lead vocalist whose songwriting, style and stage presence has influenced an ever-growing list of rock and pop stars in her wake. She met drummer Brian Chase while attending Oberlin and later connected with guitarist Nick Zinner at NYU. When the three combined forces in 2000, it would lead to the arty-punk tour de force that was their debut album Fever to Tell and some of the most talked about gigs around NYC during the Meet Me in the Bathroom era. On this week’s episode hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and are joined by their brilliant colleague Julyssa Lopez to meditate on what makes the song (and its legendary video) so iconic, while also breaking down Karen O's legacy as one of the great vocalists and frontpeople in rock history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s episode hosts Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield break down Jeff Buckley's "Grace" as well as his much-too-short career due to his tragic passing at age 30. The pair are joined by Rolling Stone senior writer David Browne, who penned the 2001 biography about Jeff and his father Tim Buckley titled Dream Brother: The Life and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley. Browne had been an early fan of the younger Buckley, having been one of the singer's first interviews. In the early Aughts, Buckley’s heartbreaking cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" became a radio staple and minor hit for the singer. Upon the release of his debut album however, Grace performed poorly and received mixed reviews, with Buckley's emotional intensity being a turn-off to some critics and listeners. When Buckley died it felt like a young singer-songwriter's promising, burgeoning career was cut much too short. At the time of his death, Buckley's place in music was still unclear. No one could have anticipated that three decades on, Buckley would more famous than ever. Thanks to the internet, millennial and now Gen Z fans have emerged as a massive audience for Buckley's music. His sweeping romanticism mixed with the lore surrounding his passing has made him a tragic hero of sorts, on par with Kurt Cobain, Elliott Smith and River Phoenix. Buckley not only showed incredible promise as a songwriter but also as an interpreter of great music, and there was so much more he was working to showcase on his sophomore album, which ended up being released posthumously.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s episode of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs, hosts Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield discuss the story of “Be My Baby,” breaking down the song’s massive impact on pop history. The song comes in at #22 on Rolling Stone’s list and is as universal as a pop song can be. It’s the song that made Ronnie Spector a timeless rock & roll legend, a teenage girl from Spanish Harlem who packed a lifetime of raw power into three minutes. Ever since Ronnie belted “Be My Baby” in 1963, it’s been the classic that sums up the whole Sixties girl-group era, with Phil Spector’s lavish Wall of Sound production – but it’s never left the airwaves. It’s been the foundation for artists from Brian Wilson to Bruce Springsteen to Lana Del Rey. You hear it everywhere, from Scorsese movies to goth clubs to hair metal, from the Ramones to Beyoncé. This week Rob and Brittany are joined by a true legend: Jeff Barry, who co-wrote “Be My Baby.” The Barry/Greenwich team cranked out a host of Sixties girl-group smashes for stars like the Crystals (“Then He Kissed Me”), the Dixie Cups (“Chapel of Love”), the Chiffons (“I Have a Boyfriend”), and the Shangri-Las (“Leader of the Pack”). Barry discusses the making of “Be My Baby,” the early Brill Building songwriting days, and his long career from pop to soul to country.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Bush has always been a fiercely original art-pop icon. But with “Running Up That Hill,” she achieved a new kind of feat. “Running Up That Hill” was a massive Top Ten hit, dominating U.S. radio all over the summer of 2022—even though it was a song she released back in 1985. Her classic synth-goth anthem sounded ahead of its time in the Eighties, but only Kate Bush could make it a song that STILL sounds ahead of its time nearly 40 years later. In this week’s episode of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs, hosts Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield discuss the long, incredible legacy of Kate Bush and “Running Up That Hill.” They’re joined by their brilliant Rolling Stone colleague Julyssa Lopez, a Kate Bush expert and longtime hardcore fan, to discuss why “Running Up That Hill” speaks to our moment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of our 500 Greatest Songs podcast, we dive into the unique chemistry Missy Elliot and Timbaland have had throughout their careers. In the Nineties, Missy and Timbaland were just a pair of kids from Virginia — but they ended up changing the sound of hip-hop and pop forever. The two geniuses would collaborate on production for their friends and eventually on Missy Elliott's own successful string of albums and major hits. The most inventive of them remains to be "Get Ur Freak On," the lead single off 2001's Miss E...So Addictive. This week Brittany and Rob dig into everything that makes "Get Ur Freak On" so iconic: the experimental production that fuses dancehall with bhangra, Missy's inventive wordplay, the surprise samples and of course that inimitable creative chemistry she shares with Timbaland. The pair also celebrate the impact the two have had on music since they burst on the scene, whether it’s their reinvention of Aaliyah's career, the trippy, avant-garde music videos for Missy's own hits, or Timbaland's world-shifting touch on pop music in the aughts. Later, Sheffield has a conversation with the so addictive Miss E herself, delving into her early musical partnership with Timbaland, their creative process, and the making of her debut album 'Super Duper Fly.'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week our hosts Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield look at an Eighties dance-floor classic, from one of the all-time biggest pop legends: Madonna’s “Into The Groove.” It wasn’t Madonna’s first single (that was “Everybody”) or her first hit (that would be “Holiday”), but “Into The Groove” is the one that instantly evokes Madonna in her raw, gritty early days. It’s a cheap, fast, in-your-face disco anthem that hits as hard as punk rock, from the hungry young Madonna, aiming to sum up the whole history of dance music in one song. “Into The Groove” is still the song at the heart of her lifelong bond with the club scene and the dance community. It’s the one that where she sings right into your ear: “You can dance, for inspiration.” For this episode Brittany and Rob are joined by one of the most brilliant music writers around, Suzy Exposito, a longtime journalist for Rolling Stone and the L.A. Times. They break down the song’s impact on club culture, including the goth world (the dancing boy in the music video became an iconic goth figure in himself!). They’ll also seek to answer the questions of why we’re all so obsessed with this song? Why does it loom so large over Madonna’s other hits? Why is it the gateway drug that hooks so many generations of Madonna fans? Take a listen to find out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs list is one of the most popular — and most-argued over — features the magazine has ever produced. It’s a trip through eight decades of pop music, from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello, Aretha to Ariana, hip-hop to art-pop, and beyond. Its rankings are hugely influential, and — if you disagree enough with them, at least — infamous. In the first episode of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs podcast, hosts Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield dive into the history, significance, and weird quirks of the list, zeroing in on its most recent version, from 2021. The hosts are joined by special guest and Rolling Stone staffer Angie Martoccio as they pivot to “Dreams,” the iconic 1977 Fleetwood Mac song that finished 9th on the most recent version of the 500 Greatest Songs list. In recent years, the Stevie Nicks masterpiece found new life — and a new audience — as a tik-tok mainstay and Gen-Z touchstone, but its history runs deep. The hosts delve into the fascinating story of the song, placing it within the context of the nonstop romantic drama that was Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s. Amazingly, Nicks wrote the song “in about 10 minutes,” as a mystical elegy to her fading relationship with Lindsey Buckingham. But its legacy is so much greater than that story would suggest — it’s a testament to making great art amid turmoil, and to the singular, shawl-clad sorcery of Stevie. “Dreams” sums up everything we love about her in four brilliant minutes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.