Most people know what it’s like to be emotionally moved by a piece of music: your heart flutters, goosebumps spring up on your arms, maybe your eyes even get teary. But for a musician discovering what will become their lifelong passion, hearing the right song can feel like seeing the world in technicolor for the very first time. (In fact, that’s exactly how Ozzy Osbourne once described his first time hearing a certain iconic British band.)
Behind every groundbreaking, pioneering, and inspirational rock star, there is another musician who lit the fire in them first. If these tracks never existed, perhaps these rock stars would have developed entirely different sounds (or opted out of music altogether).
Videos by American Songwriter
John Lennon: “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley
John Lennon once said that hearing “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley for the first time changed his life. “I was just completely shaken by it,” the late musician said, per Elvis.com. Lennon was immediately taken not only with Presley’s swagger and talent but also with his unique fusion of blues, rockabilly, and country. This all-American mash-up would find its way into both The Beatles’ and Lennon’s discographies.
Roger Waters: “Sam Stone” by John Prine
John Prine and Pink Floyd don’t seem like an obvious musical pairing at first, but lyrically, they couldn’t be more similar. Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters frequently cites Prine as a major influence on his songwriting, from the dark, sardonic humor to the critiques of war and its effects on people on and off the battlefield, themes Prine touches on in his 1971 track “Sam Stone”.
Stevie Nicks: “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield
Long before she was the tambourine-shaking frontwoman of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks was a California student who enjoyed listening to Buffalo Springfield while driving around town. She once credited the 1960s folk-rock band for teaching her how to sing harmonies, which would become a prominent feature in her music both in Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist in the years that followed.
Bob Dylan: “House Of The Rising Sun” by The Animals
Bob Dylan might have been a folk darling pre-1965. But in the latter half of the decade, he became a full-blown rock star. Electric versions of traditional ballads, like The Animals’ rendition of “House Of The Rising Sun”, inspired Dylan to combine his two musical loves into one distinct subgenre. Sure, Dylan had to suffer through a few “Judas” remarks in the beginning. But we’d say it worked out in the end.
Ozzy Osbourne: “She Loves You” by The Beatles
Ozzy Osbourne and The Beatles might sound worlds apart, stylistically speaking. But in a 2019 interview transcribed by Blabbermouth, Osbourne admitted that the first time he heard “She Loves You” by the Fab Four totally changed his life. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” Osbourne said. “I was walking around with a transistor radio on my shoulder. ‘She Loves You’ came on. I don’t know, it just went, ‘Bang! That’s what I want to do! Wouldn’t it be great?’”
The Prince of Darkness said he described his love for The Beatles to his son by saying, “Imagine you go to bed today, and the world is black and white. Then you wake up, and everything’s in color. That’s what it was like.”
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