Name a song/songs that you are able to identify by the opening riff. Mine -- Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper.

[debm55]

and Smoke on the Water.

[EYESORE 9001]

1. Smells like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

I used that opening riff as my ring tone for awhile. It drew lots of attention.

[debm55]

4. Thank you Eyesore 9001

[happybird]

104. Back when that song was new

I always thought for a second it was Peace Frog by the Doors coming on.

[EYESORE 9001]

121. I can see that

I’d never made that association

[Cartoonist]

2. Beethoven's Fifth

[debm55]

5. Thank you Cartoonist.

[sdfernando]

9. Hey Cartoonist...how about

Greig's Piano Concerto in Am ???

Maybe not as famous and the 5ths opening but definitely one of the most recognizable openings.

[samsingh]

3. Many - A Hard Day's Night.

[debm55]

6. thank you samsingh. I changed the OP so you can add more then one.

[chicoescuela]

109. That's a good one

[sdfernando]

7. Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty.

Editing because I almost forgot another of my favs....

Careless Whisper by George Michael.

[debm55]

8. Thank you sdfernando.

[Basso8vb]

10. Too Much Time on My Hands by Styx

[debm55]

11. Thank you Basso8vb.

[bbrady42]

12. Train in Vain - The Clash

Aka - Should I Say or Should I Go

[debm55]

13. thank you bbrady42.

[4TheArts]

14. Barracuda!

The marvelous Wilson sisters.

[debm55]

15. Thank you 4TheArts Great riff.

[hlthe2b]

16. This came to mind because of use in Michelob Ultra ad: Junior Walker and All Stars: Shotgun

[debm55]

17. Thank you very much hlthe2b.

[Wiz Imp]

18. Sweet Child of Mine by Guns n Roses

[debm55]

22. Thank you Wiz Imp

[Permanut]

19. Can't Get No Satisfaction..

The Rolling Stones

[debm55]

23. Thank you Permanut.

[hlthe2b]

20. Roll with the Changes (REO Speedwagon)

[debm55]

24. Thank you hithe2b

[chicoescuela]

110. Greatest album title ever- you can tune a piano but you can't tune a fish

[hlthe2b]

21. the ultimate: LAYLA (Derek and the Dominoes... aka Clapton)

[debm55]

25. Yery much so and Let it Rain by Derek and the Dominoes. Thank you , hithe2b

[rockbluff botanist]

26. American Woman

Guess Who had a lot of great songs.

[debm55]

33. Thank you rockbluff bolanist.

[Mz Pip]

27. Year of the Cat

Al Stewart

[debm55]

34. Thank you Mz Pip, When I was in college, that song was popular and the opening riff would tell you. so. Loved the song.

[CanonRay]

28. Maggie May

Rod Stewart

[debm55]

35. Great opening riff. Thank you CanonRay. You knew what was coming with the riff.

[Glorfindel]

29. Both Sides Now by Judy Collins

[debm55]

38. Thank you Glorfindel. Loved that song. If I remember correctly it was written by Joni Mitchell Great riff.

[TommieMommy]

30. We will rock you by Queen 👍

[debm55]

40. Thank you TommieMommy. Great opening riff. for a great song.

[Raven123]

31. Pretty Woman by the iconic Roy Orbison

[debm55]

41. Thank you Raven123. Wasn't that a great opening riff?

[Jrose]

32. 'Hard Day's Night'... Beatles,

and,
-'Billy Jean'... M. Jackson
-'Gimme Shelter'... Stones
-'Ride Like the Wind'... Chris Cross

[debm55]

42. Thank you Jrose, Four great opening riffs. thank you for all of them.

[electric_blue68]

117. Probably the First Chord of HDN 😄

[catbyte]

36. Wicked Game - Chris Isaak

[debm55]

43. Thank you catbyte. Terrific riff.

[whathehell]

37. Louie, Louie, and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. n/t

[debm55]

44. Thank you very much, whatthehell, for two classic riffs.

[whathehell]

50. You're very welcome, Deb!

[pnwest]

39. Heaven Beside You

Alice in Chains

[debm55]

45. Thank you pnwest.

[unblock]

46. Gimme some lovin -- Spencer Davis group (early steve winwood)

[debm55]

48. Thank you unblock.

[hlthe2b]

85. Here you go. I agree...(I developed my skiing listening to Winwood--mostly from "Back in the Highlife" era but also

all his old stuff with Spencer Davis, Traffic, and Blind Faith. 'Love it.

[unblock]

47. Many Beatles (and post-Beatles) songs have distinctive openings

They didn't waste a lot of time getting right to the point of the song.

Just a few:

Let it be
Imagine
Day tripper
Hey bulldog
Yesterday
Here comes the sun
Blackbird

[debm55]

51. Thank you unblock. great list. I would like to add one---Norwegian Wood. This Bird has Flown.

[unblock]

53. Good one. My parents actually sung this in chorus

My parents have always been heavy into classical music and some show tunes and maybe a few folk songs. I tried to get them into the Beatles a few times over the decades but no luck.

Then they told me they were rehearsing Norwegian wood for chorus, and of course they had never heard the song before (50 years after it first come out lol) but thought it was a beautiful song. Never too old to learn!

[debm55]

57. Do you know if it is the sitar that George plays in the riff? Thank you unblock.

[unblock]

62. Yes it is (pun on another Beatles song!) in fact it was the first

European/american song, or at least the first major European /american song to feature a sitar.

[moniss]

49. "I'd Love to Change the World"

Ten Years After. "Piece of My Heart" Big Brother and the Holding Company. "Pusherman" Steppenwolf. "Whipping Post" Allman Brothers Band. "Let's Live for Today" The Grass Roots. "Touch of Grey" Grateful Dead. "White Rabbit" Jefferson Airplane. "Let It Rain" Derek and the Dominos Live at the Fillmore. "Roll Me Away" Bob Seger. "La Grange" ZZ Top. "No Woman, No Cry" Bob Marley and the Wailers. "A Pirate Looks at Forty" Jimmy Buffett. "Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels)" Jim Croce.

[debm55]

60. Thank you excellent riffs and songs. Your list is great.

[brewens]

52. The electric piano intro to Supertramp: Bloody Well Right. That was my ringtone at my blood center job. :) n/t

[debm55]

61. Thank you very much, brewens. Great riff and song.

[LakeArenal]

54. Beatles again. I Feel Fine

?si=Myy28u51VFbqZUJv

[debm55]

65. Thank you Lake Arenal.

[subterranean]

55. Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group

There are, of course, many others I could name. Stairway to Heaven, More Than a Feeling, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, etc...

[debm55]

68. Thank you subterranean. I really like all your choices. Great Riffs.

[subterranean]

87. Also, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder!

Another great opening riff that just came to mind!

[debm55]

105. thank you subterranean. Love that song and Stevie.

[dchill]

56. Love Me Two Times - The Doors

[debm55]

71. Thank you dchill. I agree and I would like to add Riders on the Storm.

[DBoon]

58. Viscious - The Velvet Underground

[debm55]

70. Thank you DBoon.

[CrispyQ]

59. Sweet Jane from Lou Reed's Rock n Roll Animal -nt

[debm55]

72. Thank you CrispyQ I totally agree with you.

[electric_blue68]

118. Do you mean that dreamy, sort of sonic sparkle before the rawer section

[underpants]

63. This thread needs more cowbell

[debm55]

73. It does , it does. Thank you underpants.

[Clouds Passing]

83. ...

[underpants]

91. 🔔

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

64. California Girls

[debm55]

67. Thank you ArkansasDemocrat.

[True Dough]

66. Right here, deb!

One of my favorite tunes:

[debm55]

74. thank you True Dough. Another Led Zeppelin riff I liked came from the Immigrant Song.

[ProfessorGAC]

69. Too Many To Name

My wife is really good at this too.
She'll hear 2 notes, but (after all she's married to me for 44 years) can identify a song by the guitar tone.
There are tons of songs that apply.
The whole premise of "Name That Tune" was based on quickly ID'ing a song. I admit, though, that on that show, there were clues, too.
We do this when listening to the radio in the car, all the time.

[debm55]

78. Thank you, we play that too.

[ProfessorGAC]

90. One Example, Deb

When The Levee Breaks by Zeppelin.
All I need is that first kick drum. The slapback echo with the natural reverb is all I need to hear. It's not even a note. Just a thump. No mistaking it!

[debm55]

94. Thank You , I remember that drum lick

[redstatebluegirl]

75. Steppenwolf Born to be Wild

[debm55]

79. Thank you redstatebluegirl.

[Sneederbunk]

76. Bad to the Bone

?si=ayVt0qcTK6BUBmC_

[murielm99]

77. Old Time Rock N Roll

[debm55]

82. Thank you murielm99 All of Bob's songs have great riffs,

[Clouds Passing]

80. 😢

?si=HBLf0uYE93TjSBNG

[debm55]

81. Thank you Clouds Passing. If you don't mind I also like the riff to US and Them.

[Clouds Passing]

89. Love the sax riff too on Us and Them

[cloudbase]

84. Paint It Black-Rolling Stones

among so many others

[debm55]

88. Thank you cloudbase.

[jmowreader]

86. A lot of Iron Maiden songs

Wasted Years

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Aces High

Where Eagles Dare

(The last one is fun: The drum part in this song is EXTREMELY hard to do. According to Bruce Dickinson's bio, drummer Nicko McBrain was SO happy to finish the studio version of it because he thought he'd never have to play it again. Then the band made it the opening number on the next several tours. Oops.)

[debm55]

97. jmowreader--thank you very much. have never heard their music, though I heard of them as a group. Thank You for posting

the videos. It exposed me to a different type of music, Thank you

[k55f5r]

92. Seven Nation army

By The White Stripes.

[debm55]

96. Thank you k55f5r

[JoseBalow]

93. Low Rider

(3:40)

[debm55]

95. Thank you JoseBalow

[Beausoleil]

98. Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones

I've always had a good ear for music and can recognize many tunes after the first few notes. But this one is the first that comes to mind.

[debm55]

100. Yes , It does have a very distinctive riff. Thank you Beausoleil.

[OldBaldy1701E]

99. Wish You Were Here.

[debm55]

101. Thank you , that is beautiful , the riff and the song.

[Marigold]

102. You Really Got Me

The Kinks.

[debm55]

106. Thank you Marigold. and welcome to DU.

[FalloutShelter]

103. Sunshine Of Your Love

Cream

[debm55]

107. Thank you FalloutShelter. Loved that song and the riff.

[happybird]

108. Many!

SongPop is one of my favorite time killers, and I particularly like the Intros categories (it’s a game app similar to Name That Tune which uses actual clips of each song).

The first one that came to mind, though, is Wilson by Phish:

[Ferrets are Cool]

111. Money

25 or 6 to 4

[debm55]

113. Thank you Ferrets are great. Love Pink Floyd and Chicage or Chicago Transit Authority

[VMA131Marine]

112. Closer to the Heart - Rush

Aqualung - Jethro Tull
Golden Brown - The Stranglers
Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello
Are Friends Electric - Gary Numan
YYZ - Rush
Fly by Night - Rush
Pretty much any Rush song, if I’m honest.

[debm55]

114. Wow thank you VWS131 Marine Great list of songs and riffs. Terrific and thank you for your service.

[Figarosmom]

115. I got you babe

Sonny and Cher

Really just about every song that I like.

[debm55]

123. Thank you Figarosmom. Agree.

[Eugene]

116. Your Mama Don't Dance - Loggins and Messina

Head Over Heels - The Go Go's
Raindance - The Guess Who

[debm55]

124. Thank you Eugene for your choices.

[electric_blue68]

119. Thinking of two contrasting sonics - rawer, and more dreamy sounds -

Rawer
Heaven and Hell - The Who (Entwhistle)
The Real Me - The Who Quadrophrenia
Drums of Heaven - Midnight Oil

Dreamy
City of Blinding Lights - U2
Everybody Wants To Rule The World -
Tears for Fears

Before I acquired the albums way back when each of these songs' opening sequences would come on the radio - my ears would "pick up" metaphorical like an animal hearing a certain sound! 😄🩷

[debm55]

125. Thank you very much electric_blue68. Great choices. Great riffs.

[RainCaster]

120. 25 or 6 to four

[debm55]

122. Thank you RainCaster. Very good choice.

[morillon]

126. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix

I'll recognize it within the first 2 seconds. Just unmistakable.

[debm55]

127. Thank you morillon. Yes that riff is very unmistakable.

[claudette]

128. "I'll Be There For You"

Theme from Friends. love that song!

[debm55]

129. Thank you claudette. Great riff.