Oldies Music 108: More Cowbell!

More Cowbell!

Will Ferrell, Christopher Walken, and Blue Oyster Cult -- it's a combination that guaranteed one of the internet's most popular video clips, specifically this Saturday Night Live parody of Behind The Music, which deals with the bizarrely loud cowbell on BOC's legendary smash "Don't Fear The Reaper." Since then, an entire (small) industry has been built up around songs with cowbell in them, and this playlist is designed to highlight the glory days of the percussive instrument, a time when Latin, funk, metal, psychedelia and bubblegum artists all paid homage. They all had a fever. And the only prescription... was more cowbell. (Click on the song title to download the song or buy the CD it's on, then create your own legal playlist for your iPod or other device.)

1. Dale Hawkins, "Susie Q"
   Rare early Louisiana rockabilly featuring Elvis' James Burton on guitar and some unnamed genius on the instrument in question.
2. Mickey and Sylvia, "Love Is Strange"
   A good early example of cowbell in rock: tied inextricably to Latin beats.
3. Ricky Nelson, "Hello Mary Lou"
   A great example of rockabilly cowbell and a clue that the instrument was becoming more acceptable.
4. The Tremeloes, "Here Comes My Baby"
   Rides the instrument very hard, especially at the end of every verse. It's almost impossible to play this song without it.
5. Strawberry Alarm Clock, "Incense and Peppermints"
   Rare psychedelic cowbell, so necessary to the beat that the song stops for it on occasion.
6. Jimi Hendrix, "Stone Free"
   Right from the opening, cowbell makes its mark as the main engine of this beat.
7. Hugh Masekela, "Grazing In The Grass"
   Perhaps the ultimate cowbell song... here, it's played almost continuously and yet with broken timing, like a jazz instrument!
8. The Beatles, "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey"
   The Beatles had already used a lot of cowbell (including an entire "cowbell trilogy" in their early years), but this exuberant raveup takes it right over the edge.
9. The Chambers Brothers, "Time Has Come Today"
   The last word in psychedelic cowbell, with a long and echo-drenched solo of sorts.
10. Blood Sweat & Tears, "Spinning Wheel"
    Integral to the funk-jazz beat, the instrument really gets notice here.
11. The Rolling Stones, "Honky Tonk Women"
    Perhaps the most famous use of cowbell in an opening...
12. Mountain, "Mississippi Queen"
    ...unless you count this one. The birth of cowbell in metal?
13. Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Down On The Corner"
    No surprise that America's most rustic rockers would lean so heavy on the instrument.
14. Vanity Fair, "Hitchin' A Ride"
    This song has one of the more drastic shifts in tone for a pop song of its time, and cowbell actually features in both.
15. Stephen Stills, "Love The One You're With"
    So up front is the percussion here that the cowbell almost becomes a lead instrument in the last verse.
16. Wadsworth Mansion, "Sweet Mary"
    A near-forgotten bubblegummy classic that uses the sound to its catchiest advantage.
17. Grand Funk Railroad, "We're An American Band"
    A percussionist's dream, what with that opening drum solo and loads of you-know-what.
18. Blue Swede, "Hooked On A Feeling"
    This group directly pilfers the percussive riff from the Beatles' "Drive My Car," but it's never sounded better. Ooga-chaka!
19. Sweet, "Little Willy"
    A great example of how to use cowbell to strengthen the hook in your chorus.
20. Three Dog Night, "Black And White"
    A joyous celebration of racial harmony, and also a monster workout for the instrument. The opening alone is practically a master's course in rock cowbell.