10. "Hound Dog Man" - Roy Orbison
There have been a ton of tribute songs to Elvis since his death in 1977, but at the risk of appearing repetitive, I decided to go with only one. That one was by Roy Orbison, and it was called "Hound Dog Man". It's the tribute to Elvis I found that sounded the saddest to me, but also the most hopeful. He says "play it again", like he'll see Elvis again someday. But of course, he's still sad about the death and you can really hear it in his voice. When the King of Rock n' Roll died, a lot of people felt this way. And in terms of artists, I think Roy conveyed it the best.
9. "Brickyard Road" - Johnny Van Zant
Johnny Van Zant is the younger brother of Ronnie Van Zant, the former lead vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd. On the day when Ronnie died in a plane crash with bandmate Steve Gaines, Lynyrd Skynyrd was put on hiatus. Johnny eventually took over as the new lead singer, and afterwards released Brickyard Road, an album containing a title track that wrenches at the heartstrings. Van Zant sings about his brother and the plane crash in a very soulful way. The personal connection of brother-to-brother really helps to move the listener. The song even mentions a "free bird", in reference to one of Skynyrd's most popular songs. It's those little touches and the familial connections that make for a winning tribute.
8. "Nightshift" - The Commodores
This one's a tribute to two legendary soul singers: Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye. Each of them has a verse dedicated to them, and then the same chorus to reference both of them after each verse. It's not easy to reference two people in one song and make it sound personable to both of them, but that's exactly what happens here. The song is organized very smartly, and reflects both singers in a positive, warm light. It was also The Commodores' only hit since Lionel Richie left the group in 1982. Remember what I said on Monday? Okay, maybe I shouldn't reference what I said on Monday if I want to get through this without a hitch.
7. "Late" - Ben Folds
You might remember Ben Folds from that one hit song that he and his band had, "Brick". Or you might remember him from his cameo on We're The Millers. Regardless, Ben Folds released a song called "Late" to honour fellow singer Elliott Smith, who died in 2003. And Ben Folds definitely has the chops to pull off a tribute song like this. Melancholy, but still enjoyable, Ben Folds' "Late" is a somber tribute to a great musician, by a great musician.
6. "I'll Be Missing You" - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans ft. 112
Yes, that's right. The song I singled out on my Monday post shows up on this list. I don't even like Puff Daddy, or P. Diddy, or whatever the hell he calls himself now. Poof Snazzy? Whatever. But this song is admittedly a very heartfelt tribute to Puff's friend and prodigy, The Notorious B.I.G., who died the same year this song was released. It also features Faith Evans, who was once tied to Biggie romantically. It also features 112, who were once featured Biggie on one of their songs, so... that's something, right? Anyway, the message might be simple, but I really do feel the emotion coming from Puff Daddy, which is a first. Of course Faith Evans and 112 are great on the track as well. A great tribute to an amazing rapper, taken way too soon.
5. "Would?" - Alice in Chains
This song was written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell, in tribute to the late lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. Wood and his band was highly influential in the Seattle music scene, which makes the death so tragic and personal to Alice in Chains, coming out of Seattle in 1987. The song was so strong for Jerry that he needed a lot of coaxing from lead singer Layne Staley to sing the opening part. But he did, and it just makes the song that much more emotional. Unfortunately, Staley would suffer a similar fate when he died in 2003 of a speedball overdose. Rest in peace to both of them.
4. "Let Me In" - R.E.M.
I wouldn't have pegged R.E.M. to do such a good Kurt Cobain tribute, but here we are now, and I have to say, it works just as well as any of their great songs. This is more of a subtle tribute to Kurt, and it deals more with the regret over his death than anything else, and how Michael Stipe felt that he could have done something to stop it, but didn't. It's a very dark song, and even has that grungy feel to it, with the low, distorted guitar and the deep vocals. I think it works on a lot of levels as a tribute, and it just goes to show that I should never underestimate R.E.M. again. Fantastic band. Fantastic.
3. "Tha Crossroads" - Bone Thugs n' Harmony
I still stand by my decision to put Puff Daddy on the list, but I also stand by my position that this song is way, way better as a tribute. This one goes out to Eazy-E, a member of gangsta rap group N.W.A. I think the reason that this one works better is that it's jsut a more talented ensemble overall. I mean, you could sense that Puff Daddy felt some emotion from Biggie's death, but not that much. And that's probably the extent of his emotional range. These guys have a lot more capability, with their melodic rapping. It's a lot more of a believable tribute song, and that's why it gets the nod over "I'll Be Missing You".
2. "Sleeps with Angels" - Neil Young
As the Godfather of Grunge, you'd expect Neil Young to do a fitting tribute to Kurt Cobain's death. And you'd be right. Because Kurt Cobain quoted Neil Young in his suicide note, Neil Young felt an especially large twinge of guilt from the whole ordeal. Just the use of grunge elements in his music here really hammers the message home, that he feels great pain with Cobain's death and wants to recover from it himself and help others recover. It's very sad, but also very soothing, from probably one of the most fitting artists for the job.
1. "Back on the Chain Gang" - The Pretenders
This tribute song sounds starkly different to the other ones, as you might notice. It doesn't sound sad or somber. It sounds happy. So, what's the deal here? Why is it my #1 song on this list? Well, first of all, The Pretenders are awesome. Secondly, the song sounds happy because it tries to do something different with the concept of tribute songs. It sounds happy because Chrissie Hynde is reflecting on previous memories of James Honeyman-Scott, whom this song is dedicated to. It's still a very emotional song, but The Pretenders make it work all the better with their different take on a tribute song. And it's that originality, while still managing to capture raw emotion, that does it for me.
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