Key Takeaways

• Essential Elements: A great horn rock song requires horns, rock instruments, and a strong rhythm.
• Top Artists: The list features well-known bands like Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears alongside lesser-known acts.
• Song Criteria: Only songs with at least two horns were included, emphasizing ensemble pieces.
• Historical Impact: These tracks have secured their place in music history through their unique sound and arrangements.

The parts that make up a great horn rock song aren’t too complicated. Horns, foremost, are necessary. Songs must also include elements of rock ‘n’ roll, whether it’s the basics — guitars, bass and drums — or additional keyboards and other instruments. Finally, it has to move.

In the list below of the Top 35 Horn Rock Songs selected by the UCR staff, the expected names — Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Van Morrison — show up often. But there are some lesser-known artists, though not lesser songs, here as well.

One note: In addition to keeping the list pinned to rock artists (so no R&B, which would have greatly expanded the number), the songs had to include at least two horns. A single saxophone or a flugelhorn solo wasn’t going to cut it. These are ensemble pieces, adding extra oomph to the music and securing their place in history.

35. The Replacements, “Can’t Hardly Wait” (From Pleased to Meet Me, 1987)

When 1985’s Tim didn’t live up to Sire Records’ commercial expectations, Minneapolis punks the Replacements were next paired with Ardent Studios producer Jim Dickinson, who worked with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Big Star during his long career. For “Can’t Hardly Wait,” Dickinson enlisted the Memphis Horns for the ‘Mats’ funkiest track.

34. Wings, “Silly Love Songs” (From Wings at the Speed of Sound, 1976)

Playing on his mid-’70s reputation for pushing out radio-friendly romantic hits, Paul McCartney didn’t hold back on the lead single from Wings’ fifth album, Wings at the Speed of Sound. “Silly Love Songs” begins with the grinding of factory machines and ends with an exultant “I love you” refrain reinforced with trumpet, sax and trombone.

33. Blood, Sweat & Tears, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (From Blood, Sweat & Tears, 1968)

Blood, Sweat & Tears quickly rebounded after losing three founding members, including Al Kooper, shortly after their first album’s release. The remaining members recruited singer David Clayton-Thomas and rushed out a second LP before year’s end. The result was a No. 1 album and a No. 2 hit with a cover of “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.”

32. The Rolling Stones, “Rocks Off” (From Exile on Main St., 1972)

Exile on Main St.‘s tattered opener signals the double album’s murky mix and late-night working-through-it aura. In addition to the five Rolling Stones, “Rocks Off” features now-regular contributors Bobby Keys (saxophone) and Jim Price (trumpet and trombone) laying into the darkly soulful groove with primal muscle and precise timing.

31. Genesis, “No Reply at All” (From Abacab, 1981)

Phil Collins first worked with Earth, Wind & Fire’s horn section, known as the Phenix Horns, on his 1981 debut solo album Face Value. He was recording Genesis’ 11th album, Abacab (also from 1981), around the same time and enlisted the quintet for “No Reply at All,” their most forceful move toward the commercial radio they’d soon conquer.

READ MORE: Top 100 Rock Songs of All Time

30. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, “I Don’t Want to Go Home” (From I Don’t Want to Go Home, 1976)

Written and produced by E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, the title song of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ debut album owes much to Bruce Springsteen’s savvy blend of ’60s soul and ’70s FM radio rock. (Springsteen wrote two songs on the LP.) “I Don’t Want to Go Home” features New Jersey’s Miami Horns.

29. R.E.M., “Can’t Get There From Here” (From Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985)

For their genre-pushing third album, R.E.M. ditched their usual American producers and studio and went to London to work with Fairport Convention and Nick Drake producer Joe Boyd. The result: Fables of the Reconstruction‘s erratic mix of post-punk, college rock, jangle pop and, on “Can’t Get There From Here,” horn-splattered funk.

28. The Beatles, “Got to Get You Into My Life” (From Revolver, 1966)

Inspired by Motown and their newfound creative freedom in the studio, the Beatles integrated horns into “Got to Get You Into My Life” as the song took shape over two months during the making of Revolver. It was the first time the group used a horn section. Paul McCartney has noted that it isn’t a love song but instead “an ode to pot.”

27. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “What’s Your Name” (From Street Survivors, 1977)

The original Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup’s final album will forever be clouded by the plane crash three days after the LP’s release that claimed the lives of three band members. But Street Survivors is a soulful celebration and expansion of their Southern rock, aided by the Muscle Shoals Horns on songs such as “What’s Your Name,” its first single.

26. Spiral Starecase, “More Today Than Yesterday” (From More Today Than Yesterday, 1969)

Sacramento-based Spiral Starecase placed three songs in the Billsboard 100 in 1969 and early 1970 before calling it quits later that year. (They reunited in the mid-’70s for live performances.) The biggest, the No. 12 “More Today Than Yesterday,” anchored the quintet’s only album, fittingly named after their only Top 40 hit. The horns are elevating.

25. Spirit, “Mr. Skin” (From Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, 1970)

Spirit’s ambitious fourth album,Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus,would initially meet indifference upon its release in 1970 as its progressive mix was both ahead of and behind popular tastes. “Mr. Skin,” a radio-friendly funk song first released as a B-side reached No. 92 when it became an A-side three years later.

24. U2, “Angel of Harlem” (From Rattle and Hum, 1988)

The band recorded “Angel of Harlem,” written about Billie Holiday at Memphis’ Sun Studio with backup from Memphis Horns during their tour that catapulted them to worldwide stardom.

The decade where music hit its groove.