My latest issue of Mojo magazine arrived today, and with it came a little insert called "Mojo Ultimate Jukebox: The 100 Singles You Must Own" (selected by Jon Savage, Lenny Kaye, Nicks Hornby and Tosches, and a bunch of other folks):
Their only real criteria was that they had to have been originally available on 7-inch vinyl, with a good b-side... Their choices aren't particularly surprising, given Mojo's predilection for the '60s and '70s -- and, uh, The White Stripes ("Fell in Love with a Girl" is #68).
I'll just list the top 10 here:
10. The Beatles: Paperback Writer
9. Booker T. and The MGs: Green Onions
8. ? and The Mysterians: 96 Tears
7. Link Wray and His Raymen: Rumble
6. Desmond Dekker and The Aces: Israelites
5. Smokey Robinson and The Miracles: I Don't Blame You At All
4. The Rolling Stones: Jumpin' Jack Flash
3. The Sex Pistols: Holidays in the Sun
2. Elvis Presley: (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
1. The Kingsmen: Louie Louie
As Hornby writes:
The glory of the 45 is that you don't have to be Marvin or Jimi to claim your place in pop history. You can blaze your way across seven inches of vinyl and then shoot off into oblivion -- just ask The Kingsmen.(Hornby picked The Premiers' "Farmer John" as his personal #1, by the way.) Posted by the wily filipino at March 29, 2003 07:14 PM