A complete collection of Stephen King’s favourite songs
Renowned author Stephen King is synonymous with bone-chilling horror and captivating storytelling. But beyond his famed literary works, King also harbours a keen interest in music, a passion he’s shared through various platforms over the years. Over time, a comprehensive collection of King’s favourite tunes has emerged, offering a new perspective on the mind behind our scariest stories.
Out of King’s list appears a particular penchant for disco music, which the writer admitted saw him lose favour with his more guitar-orientated companions. “I got into a lot of arguments in the 1970s with rock purists who absolutely hated disco,” the writer said.
Whilst he may have paid a high price, King ensured he didn’t deprive himself of disco’s groovy pleasures. “I thought to myself, if people hate me and if they want to downgrade my musical taste, I’ll just have to live with that and cry hot tears of shame on my pillow.”
King’s appearances on Desert Island Discs and BBC Radio 6’s Paperback Writer have illuminated the tastes of a man who refuses to be confined to just one genre. Straight-up rock classics jostle alongside more obscure tracks, and amongst his crème de la crème of songs are those that have remained with him since an early age.
King expressed a particular affinity for the Beatles‘ ‘She Loves You’, a song he felt “has travelled the best over the years”. King recalls the track sounding “totally fresh” when he first heard it at 16, and on the power of its simplicity, he said, “It just gets in, it has only one thing to say, and it says it.”
Another legend in the form of Bruce Springsteen graces King’s list on more than one occasion, with the heartland rock pioneer’s ‘Ramrod’ getting a specific shout-out. “It’s just straight-ahead rock and roll,” King confessed. “I think it’s what Bruce Springsteen does best. Just guitar-driven balls-to-the-wall rock.” Whilst by no means the defining category, several numbers on his list allude to a serious head-banger; someone who makes the walls shake when they switch on the turntable.
However, sprinkled among the prog-rockers and foot-stompers, we see crooning R&B ballads, soulful laments and glitzy pop statements. Gathered together in one eclectic compendium, from anarchic British punk to bluegrass folk, we present to you the complete, ultimate and unabridged collection of Stephen King’s favourite songs.
Stephen King’s favourite songs:
- ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ – AC/DC
- ‘At the Hop’ – Danny and the Juniors
- ‘Pink Houses’ – John Cougar Mellencamp
- ‘The New Girl in School’ – Jan and Dean
- ‘Dance Little Sister’ – Rolling Stones
- ‘That’s the Way I Like It’ – KC & the Sunshine Band
- ‘Dirty Water’ – The Standells
- ‘Louie Louie’ – The Kingsmen
- ‘It Came Out of the Sky’ – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- ‘Secret Agent Man’ – Johnny Rivers
- ‘Anarchy In the UK’ – Sex Pistols
- ‘Needles and Pins’ – The Searchers
- ‘S.O.B.’ – Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
- ‘My Sharona’ – The Knack
- ‘Worries’ – Langhorne Slim
- ‘Fast Girl’ – The Tractors
- ‘Beautiful Wreck’ – Shawn Mullins
- ‘Wild Weekend’ – The Rockin’ Rebels
- ‘Mrs. McKenzie’ – Janis Ian
- ‘Step It Up & Go’ – Alvin “Youngblood” Hart & Teenie Hodges
- ‘Shake’ – Sam Cooke
- ‘Stars on the Water’ – Rodney Crowell
- ‘Carlene’ – Phil Vassar
- ‘I Shot Your Dog’ – Fred Eaglesmith
- ‘Seeds’ – Bruce Springsteen
- ‘Ramrod’ – Bruce Springsteen
- ‘Galveston Flood’ – Tom Rush
- ‘1952 Vincent Black Lightning’ – Richard Thompson
- ‘Can Your Pussy Do The Dog’ – The Cramps
- ‘Bayou Tortous’ – James McMurtry
- ‘Baby Come Back To Me’ – The Manhattan Transfer
- ‘Diamond Shoes’ – Tift Merritt
- ‘Manifesto No. 1’ – Shooter Jennings
- ‘She Loves You’ – The Beatles
- ‘Desolation Row’ – Bob Dylan
- ‘Choctaw Bingo’ – James McMurtry
- ‘Middle of the Road’ – Pretenders
- ‘Barrier Reef’ – Old 97’s
- ‘Pon De Replay’ – Rihanna
- ‘When The Stars Go Blue’ – Ryan Adams
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