List of signature songs

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A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in that the artist usually has had success with other songs as well. A signature song may be a song that spearheads an artist's initial mainstream breakthrough, a song that revitalizes an artist's career, or a song that simply represents a high point in an artist's career. Often, a signature song will feature trademark characteristics of an artist and may encapsulate the artist's particular sound and style. Signature songs can be the result of spontaneous public identification, or a marketing tool developed by the music industry to promote artists, sell their recordings, and develop a fan base.[1] Artists and bands with a signature song are generally expected to perform it at every concert appearance, often as an encore on concert tours, sometimes being the last song of the setlist.[2]

Examples by artist

SongArtistReleasedNotes
"Sweet Caroline"Neil Diamond1969Written by Neil Diamond[3]
"I Am the Best"2NE12011Written by Teddy Park[4][5]
"Dancing Queen"ABBA1976Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson[6]
"You Shook Me All Night Long"AC/DC1980Written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Brian Johnson.[7]
"Beautiful"Christina Aguilera2002Written by Linda Perry.[8][9] Featured on Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped.
"Rose Garden"Lynn Anderson1970Written by Joe South[10]
"The House of the Rising Sun"The Animals1964Traditional folk song[11]
"Barbie Girl"Aqua1997Written by Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif, and Lene Nystrøm
"What a Wonderful World"Louis Armstrong1967Written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss[12]
"The Cattle Call"Eddy Arnold1934Written/recorded in 1934 by Tex Owens[13]
"Heat of the Moment"Asia1982Written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes[14]
"Never Gonna Give You Up"Rick Astley1987Written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman[15]
"Upside Down"A-Teens2000The band's first original release[16]
"Levels"Avicii2011Written and produced by Tim Bergling. Contains a sample of "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James.[17]
"I Want It That Way"Backstreet Boys1999Written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson[18]
"Working Class Man"Jimmy Barnes1985Written by Jonathan Cain[19]
"One O'Clock Jump"Count Basie1937A 12-bar blues instrumental written by Basie in 1937[20]
"Goldfinger"Shirley Bassey1964The title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger[21]
"Bela Lugosi's Dead"Bauhaus1979Considered the harbinger of gothic rock music[22]
"Loser"Beck1993Written by Beck and producer Carl Stephenson[23]
"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"Tony Bennett1953Written by George Cory and Douglass Cross[24]
"Johnny B. Goode"Chuck Berry1958Recorded January 6, 1958 at Chess Records[25]
"Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies"Beyond1993Written by Wong Ka Kui for the band's Rock and Roll album[26][27]
"Fantastic Baby"Big Bang2012Written by G-Dragon, T.O.P and Teddy[28]
"Rebel Girl"Bikini Kill1993Written by Kathleen Hanna, Billy Karren, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox[29]
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper"Blue Öyster Cult1976Written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser[30]
"Livin' on a Prayer"Bon Jovi1986Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child[31]
"I Dreamed A Dream"Susan Boyle2010Originally composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg with English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer for the musical Les Misérables.[32]
"Save Me"BTS2016Written by Kang Hyo-won; Ray Michael Djan Jr; Ashton Foster; Samantha Harper; Kim Nam-joon; Min Yoon-gi; Jung Ho-seok[33]
"Hallelujah"Jeff Buckley1994Originally written and recorded by Leonard Cohen in 1984[34]
"Margaritaville"Jimmy Buffett1977Recorded 1976 at Criteria Studios and Quadrafonic Sound Studios[35]
"Rhinestone Cowboy"Glen Campbell1975Originally written and recorded by Larry Weiss in 1974[36]
"Hero"Mariah Carey1993Written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff[37][38]
"Heaven Is a Place on Earth"Belinda Carlisle1987Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley[39]
"All by Myself"Eric Carmen1975Written by Eric Carmen[40]
"Lovefool"The Cardigans1996Written by members Nina Persson and Peter Svensson as the lead single from their third studio album First Band on the Moon.[41]
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"The Carpenters1970Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David[42]
"The Mercy Seat"Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds1988Written by Nick Cave and Mick Harvey[43]
"What'd I Say"Ray Charles1959Recorded on February 18, 1959[44]
"I Want You to Want Me"Cheap Trick1977Written by Rick Nielsen and produced by Tom Werman[42]
"Under the Milky Way"The Church1988Written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow).[45]
"Layla"Eric Clapton1970Written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon[46][47]
"Crazy"Patsy Cline1961Written by Willie Nelson[48]
"Walking in Memphis"Marc Cohn1991[49]
"Khe Sanh"Cold Chisel1978Their debut single, written by Don Walker[50]
"In the Air Tonight"Phil Collins1981Written by Phil Collins[51]
"My Favorite Things"John Coltrane1961Published in 1959 by Rodgers and Hammerstein[52]
"School's Out"Alice Cooper1972[53]
"Karma Chameleon"Culture Club1983Featured on the group's 1983 album Colour by Numbers[54]
"Achy Breaky Heart"Billy Ray Cyrus1992Written in 1990 by Don Von Tress[55]
"Beyond the Sea"Bobby Darin1968Written by Charles Trenet[56]
"I've Gotta Be Me"Sammy Davis Jr.1968Written by Walter Marks[57]
"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)"Doris Day1956Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans[58]
"Holiday in Cambodia"Dead Kennedys1980Written by Jello Biafra and John Greenway. Recorded 1979[59]
"Pour Some Sugar on Me"Def Leppard19873rd single from the 1987 album Hysteria[60]
"Smoke on the Water"Deep Purple1972Recorded in December 1971[61]
"Take Me Home, Country Roads"John Denver1971Written by Denver, Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert[62]
"Meet in the Middle"Diamond Rio1991Written by Chapin Hartford, Jim Foster, Don Pfrimmer[63]
"Falling In Love Again"Marlene Dietrich1930Composed by Friedrich Hollaender[64]
"My Heart Will Go On"Celine Dion1997Written by James Horner (music) and Will Jennings (lyrics)[65]
"Light My Fire"The Doors1967Recorded in August 1966[66]
"Through the Fire and Flames"DragonForce2005The opening track from their third studio album Inhuman Rampage[67][68]
"Bodies"Drowning Pool2001[69]
"Hotel California"Eagles1977Written by Don Felder, Don Henley, Glenn Frey[70]
"Bad Guy"Billie Eilish2019[71]
"One Day Like This"Elbow2008Written by member Guy Garvey for their fourth studio album The Seldom Seen Kid. Performed at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony[72][73]
"Mr. Blue Sky"Electric Light Orchestra1978Written by Jeff Lynne and recorded 1977 at Musicland Studios[74]
"Take the 'A' Train"Duke Ellington1941A jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn in 1939[75]
"Stay with Me"Lorraine Ellison1966Co-written by Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss[76]
"Lose Yourself"Eminem2002First hip hop song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song[77]
"The Final Countdown"Europe1986Written by Joey Tempest[78]
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"Eurythmics1983Written by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart[79]
"Bring Me to Life"Evanescence2003Written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges[80][81]
"Blueberry Hill"[82][83]Fats Domino1956Inducted into the National Recording Registry as a part of the 2005 class.
"Everlong"Foo Fighters1997Written by Dave Grohl[84]
"Respect"Aretha Franklin1967Originally written by Otis Redding in 1965[85]
"Solsbury Hill"Peter Gabriel1977Written by Peter Gabriel.[86]
"I Will Survive"Gloria Gaynor1978Written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris[87]
"Kick It in the Sticks"Brantley Gilbert2010Written by Gilbert, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip[88]
"Gee"Girls' Generation2009Written by Ahn Myung-won, Kim Young-deuk and Kanata Nakamura[89]
"You Don't Own Me"Lesley Gore1963Recorded September 21, 1963, Written by John Madara and Dave White[90]
"If Ever I Would Leave You"Robert Goulet1960From the Lerner & Loewe musical Camelot.[91]
"God Bless the USA"Lee Greenwood1984A popular American patriotic song[92]
"Rock Around the Clock"Bill Haley & His Comets1954Recorded April 12, 1954 at Pythian Temple studios[93]
"Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"Rolf Harris1957A popular Australia children's song
"Thanks for the Memory"Bob Hope1938Composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin[94]
"Stormy Weather"Lena Horne1933Written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler[95]
"I Will Always Love You"[96]Whitney Houston1992Written by Dolly Parton and originally released by her in 1974 with Houston's cover of the song later being recorded as a part of the soundtrack to the film The Bodyguard (1992). Inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2019.
"Ah! Leah!"Donnie Iris1980[97] Written by Mark Avsec and Donnie Iris
"Super Freak"Rick James1981Written by Rick James and Alonzo Miller[98]
"El derecho de vivir en paz"Víctor Jara1971Published in 1971 on the "El Derecho de Vivir en Paz" LP.[99]
"Soy rebelde"Jeanette1971[100] Written by Manuel Alejandro
"The Middle"Jimmy Eat World2001[101][102]
"Piano Man"Billy Joel1973Selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry[103]
"Rocket Man"Elton John1972[104]
"He Stopped Loving Her Today"George Jones1980Written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman[105]
"Don't Stop Believin'"Journey1981From their seventh album Escape[106]
"Billie Jean"Michael Jackson1983Released as the second single for the album Thriller on January 2, 1983[107]
"Fallin'"[108]Alicia Keys2001Released as a single on April 10, 2001, as a part of her debut album Songs In A Minor.
"Mr. Brightside"The Killers2004[109]
"Shame"Evelyn "Champagne" King1977Written by John H. Fitch Jr. and Reuben Cross[110]
"Louie, Louie"The Kingsmen1963Written by Richard Berry in 1955[111]
"You Really Got Me"The Kinks1964Written by Ray Davies and recorded in July 1964[112]
"Rock and Roll All Nite"Kiss1975Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in February 1975[42]
"Midnight Train to Georgia"Gladys Knight & the Pips1973Written by Jim Weatherly[113]
"Dengan Menyebut Nama Allah"Novia Kolopaking1992Written by Dwiki Dharmawan and Ags Arya Dipayana[114][115][116]
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"Cyndi Lauper1983Originally written and recorded by Robert Hazard four years earlier.[117]
"Stairway to Heaven"Led Zeppelin1971Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant[118]
"Imagine"John Lennon1971Recorded during May–July 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios[119]
"Great Balls of Fire"Jerry Lee Lewis1957Written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer[120]
"In the End"Linkin Park2001Recorded in 2000[121]
"Auld Lang Syne"Guy Lombardo1939A Scots-language poem written by Robert Burns in 1788[122]
"Cry Me a River"Julie London1955Written by Arthur Hamilton and first published in 1953[123]
"Coal Miner's Daughter"Loretta Lynn1970Based on the true story of Lynn's life growing up in rural Kentucky[124]
"Free Bird"Lynyrd Skynyrd1973First featured on the band's 1973 debut album[125]
Shackles (Praise You)Mary Mary2000Debut single by the duo, featured on their 2000 debut album
"U Can't Touch This"MC Hammer1990Samples "Super Freak" by Rick James[126]
"American Pie"Don McLean1971Written by Don McLean[127]
"Down Under"Men at Work1981[128]
"Can't Get You Out of My Head"Kylie Minogue2001From the artist's eighth studio album, "Fever", released in 2001[129]
"Nights in White Satin"The Moody Blues1967Written and composed by Justin Hayward, recorded October 1967[42]
"Ace of Spades"Motörhead1980Released as the only single from the band's fourth studio album[130]
"How You Remind Me"Nickelback2001The lead single from their third studio album Silver Side Up[131]
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"Nirvana1991The opening track and lead single from their 1991 album.[132]
"Bye Bye Bye"NSYNC2000Written by Kristian Lundin, Jake Schulze, and Andreas Carlsson[133][134]
"Wonderwall"Oasis1995Written by Noel Gallagher and recorded in May 1995[135]
"Wagon Wheel"Old Crow Medicine Show1994Co-written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor, recorded in 2003[136]
"Crazy Train"Ozzy Osbourne1980[137]
"Misery Business"Paramore2007Written by Hayley Williams and Josh Farro[138]
"Temperature"Sean Paul2005Written by Sean Paul Henriques, Adrian "IZES" Marshall and Rohan "Snowcone" Fuller

[139]

"You Enjoy Myself"Phish1988Written by Trey Anastasio, the song is a regular live feature.[140][141]
"La Vie en rose"Edith Piaf1945Awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998.[142]
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn"Poison19883rd single from the band's 2nd album and their only US No. 1[143]
"Every Breath You Take"The Police1983Written by Sting and featured on the band's final album[144]
"Dior"Pop Smoke2020Appears on all four of Pop Smoke's commercially released projects[145]
"A Whiter Shade of Pale"Procol Harum1967[146] The band's first record to be released
"Satin Sheets"Jeanne Pruett1973Originally recorded by Bill Anderson and Jan Howard[147]
"Gangnam Style"Psy2012Written by Psy and Yoo Gun-hyung[148]
"Bohemian Rhapsody"Queen1975Written by Freddie Mercury[149]
"Hello"Lionel Richie1983[150][151]
"The Gambler"Kenny Rogers1978Written by Don Schlitz in 1976 and recorded by several artists[152]
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"The Rolling Stones1965The band's first No. 1 in the US[153]
"Blue Bayou"Linda Ronstadt1977Written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson[154]
"Wind of Change"Scorpions1990Written by Klaus Meine, Herman Rarebell, and Rudolf Schenker[155]
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"Neil Sedaka1962Co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield[156]
"Closing Time"Semisonic1998[157]
"Thinking Out Loud"Ed Sheeran2014[158]
"Ol' Red"Blake Shelton2002Co-written by James "Bo" Bohon, Don Goodman, and Mark Sherrill[159]
"Lucifer"Shinee2010Produced by Lee Soo-man[160]
"You're So Vain"Carly Simon1972[161]
"Bridge over Troubled Water"Simon & Garfunkel1970Written by Simon[162]
"My Way"Frank Sinatra1969Originally written by French songwriter Jacques Revaux[163]
"When a Man Loves a Woman"Percy Sledge1966Written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright[164]
"All Star"Smash Mouth1999Featured in the 2001 film Shrek[165]
"I Got You Babe"Sonny & Cher1965The first single from the duo's debut album[166]
"Smalltown Boy"Jimmy Somerville1984Initially released with Bronski Beat, in 2014 re-recorded as "Smalltown Boy (Reprise)".[167]
"Black Hole Sun"Soundgarden1994Written by Chris Cornell[168]
"Wannabe"Spice Girls1996Written by the band, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard[169]
"Born to Run"Bruce Springsteen1975Released as the first single from his third studio album[170]
"Maggie May"Rod Stewart1971Co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton[171]
"Amarillo by Morning"George Strait1983Written by Terry Stafford[172]
"Sorry, Sorry"Super Junior2009Written by Yoo Young-jin[173]
"Chop Suey!"System of a Down2001Written by Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian.[174][175]
"I Don't Care"Eva Tanguay1922Recorded in 1905[176]
"Everybody Wants To Rule The World"Tears for Fears1985Released as the third single from their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair.[177]
"On the Good Ship Lollipop"Shirley Temple1934Composed by Richard A. Whiting with lyrics by Sidney Clare[178]
"My Girl"The Temptations1964Recorded by the Temptations in 1964[179]
"Tiptoe Through the Tulips"Tiny Tim1968Written by Al Dubin (lyrics) and Joe Burke (music)[180][181]
"Forever and Ever, Amen"Randy Travis1987Written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz and recorded in 1987[182]
"Hello Darlin'"Conway Twitty1970Written and recorded on November 18, 1969[183]
"Ice Ice Baby"Vanilla Ice1990Samples "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie[184][185]
"Bitter Sweet Symphony"The Verve1997Written by Richard Ashcroft and recorded January–March 1997[186]
"Y.M.C.A."Village People1978Written by Jacques Morali, Victor Willis and Henri Belolo[187]
"My Generation"The Who1965Written by Pete Townshend[188]
"Moon River"Andy Williams1962Composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer[189]
"Every Day I Have the Blues"Joe Williams1955Written by Aaron "Pinetop" Sparks and Milton Sparks[190]
"Save the Best for Last"Vanessa Williams1992Written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman and Jon Lind in 1989[191]
"Rehab"Amy Winehouse2006Written by Winehouse from her second album Back to Black[192]
"Stand by Your Man"Tammy Wynette1968Co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill[193]
"The Bund"Frances Yip1980Composed by Joseph Koo with the lyrics by Wong Jim[194]
"Maldita primavera"Yuri1981Cover of Italian-language song "Maledetta primavera".[195]
"Suckerpunch"Five Iron Frenzy2021[196][197]
"We'll Meet Again"Vera Lynn1939Written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles[198]

See also

References

External links