B5Erik

For me, it was August of 1977. I was a 9 year old kid at a day camp, and went to check on my camp counselor when he was hanging out in his VW van. He was hanging out with 4 or 5 people and listening to an 8 Track tape, which I had never heard before. I was blown away at how cool the music was, then I was stunned to find out WHO it was.

I've been a fan ever since.

You wanted the best, you got the best! The hottest band in the world - KISS!!!
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"Firehouse"

This, of course, led to me searching for other bands that played similar music, and I quickly discovered Led Zeppelin, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, etc - all of which I still love!


What one song shaped or changed your taste in music?

.

Ayre

Tommy Roe - Dizzy.

circa 1969. 99% of you probably won't know who that is, but his was that ultra bubblegum pop singer. Hooks so huge you were smothered by them and your mind dumped by the road when the song finished.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gofeaMhvw4Y

All Music Guide

Brain Stew

Mine would have to be Black Dog by Led Zeppelin. I don't mostly listen to hard rock anymore, but prior to hearing that song I had no opinions on music beyond the Top 40.

The amazing work of LZ caused me to eventually listen to the Rolling Stones, The Who and many many many incredible bands.

wendersfan

JAA

Late 60's . . . The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night

It had everything for me, a great pop groove, but a hard edge as well (the very thing that would make me love Lennon for years to come). This song prepped my tastes for everything else that came later (Led Zeppelin, early Aerosmith, ec...).

rw2516

Over The Hills And Far Away . 1973 I was 15. Was already listening to bands that got AM play like Steppenwolf, Creedence, Stones. One day heard Over the Hills on the AM station and thought it was the coolest song I'd ever heard. Had a paper route at the time and did a run on my collections to get the cash to buy all five Zeppelin albums($4 a piece new). Had to go to a head shop(The Olde Curiosity Shop) to find them all in one place. First time there. Discovered many other artists browsing through their bins(Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Humble Pie, Savoy Brown, Traffic, etc.) and the guy who owned the place turned me on to Beaker Street, KAAY Little Rock, AR. Started listening every night. Still remember hearing Sabbath's Iron Man and Gypsy by Uriah Heep for the first time on Beaker Street.

Decker

I was really turned off of "hard rock" in the mid-80s. I just couldn't stand the "hair bands" that were rampant in my teen years and the mind numbing shit that was in heavy rotation on MTV in those days (Motley Crue's Home Sweet Home was #1 on the video countdown day after day; man I hated that song).
Anyway, my taste went very poppy as a result (though I was still a big fan of Classic 70's rock). One day, I went to see The Dead Pool, the last Dirty Harry film and a song was playing that made me sit up in my seat and take notice. It was "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns & Roses. That song had such energy, fire, drive. There was nothing corporate or monotonous about it. I decided that there was a future for hard rock right then.

argh923

Two songs as a kid, growing up...one that got me into rap, and one that got me into rock, and those were "Nuthin' But a G Thang" by Dr. Dre, and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.

Hiro11

For me, it was more a combination of songs.

When I was 8, I used to listen to the radio for hours hoping that they'd play either The Cars' "Let's Go" or the Human League's "Don't You Want Me".

When I was 11, I stole my sister's copy of the Pretty in Pink soundtrack because I loved Echo and the Bunnymen's "Bring on the Dancing Horses" so much.

Finally, when I was 13, I moved to middle school and my unbelievably hip new friend Ashley Cripse played me Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", Suicidal Tendancies "Institutionalized", Mission of Burma's "That's When I Reached for My Revolver" and REM's "Radio Free Europe" in one year. Done.

Hollowgen

I'd have to say either "When The Levee Breaks" or "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin. Just the fact that both songs incorporate a bunch of different musical styles... I love to rock out, but I love epic songs like this too. That, and the awesomeness of Led Zeppelin's almost flawless catalogue cemented my addiction to music in place.

Triple S

I feel silly picking such an obvious choice, but what the hell, Zeppelin and the Beatles have already made appearances.

Oasis - Wonderwall

starseed1981

The Beatles - Dear Prudence

atlantamoi

The Beatles - Help!

My aunt had some of their albums in her home and it was all I wanted to hear as a kid. I could choose any song off that album, but I'll go with the kickstarter.

TGM

Tscott

I don't know about the ONE song, but I remember my best friend playing his older sister's Depeche Mode tape. "Master and Servant", because it had dirty lyrics, and "Blasphemous Rumours", for its dark tale and controversial religious theme, were two songs that got me away from just accepting what was played on the radio, and interested in finding stuff that'd surprise me and make me think.

Rocketdog2000

Perhaps a bit embarassing to list, but it would probably be something by The Monkees. Those were the first actual records I owned, given to me by one of my Aunts. From there I graduated to KISS and Alice Cooper.

However, if you really want to go back to the beginning - the absolute first music I remember listening to and wanting to hear again was the soundtrack to 2001 : A Space Odyssey. When I was about 4 or 5, my father had the album, and I used to listen to it with him - and make him play, particularly "Also Sprach Zarathustra", over and over again. I can say, without a doubt, that that is where my true (and unending) love of music has stemmed from.

atlantamoi

Some might say the other two artists you mention are more embarrassing . Don't be embarrassed to say the Monkees. Their debut album has a HUGE place in my early love of music. It's still a great recording.

rw2516

Agreed. The second album, More of The Monkees, is the 12th biggest selling of all time. Whether they played their own instuments on the early recordings or not doesn't matter. They are just really, really good 1960s pop/rock records and (like it or not) will probably outlast most of the other recordings listed in this thread.

TimJS

Clash City Rockers , one of their worst, but the very 1st song on the US version of their 'debut' LP, by the 3rd powerchord the stereo was cranked and the walls were shaking. I'm real glad mom & dad weren't around.

Don't know about "shaping" my musical tastes, as they change with some regularity, but it was the right song at the right time. Didn't appreciate the Pistols till later, and discovered Stooges, Velvets, etc. long after they were history. The La's Son Of A Gun reawakened a sence of discovery, but this was, again, after the fact.

Michael Corvin

Up until the early 90's I was big into pop music. The likes of Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Boyz II Men and such(yeah, I know). A friend/co-worker brought a mix-tape into work one night of rock music, most of which I was indifferent to, except for this one track he had on there that just blew my mind. The musicianship, the vocals, the bizarre ending... I'd never heard anything like it and single-handedly turned me on to a new genre.

Dream Theater - Pull Me Under

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DaveWadding

Probably Travis Tritt's cover of Take IT Easy. The Eagles are far and away my favorite band. Or, more recently - Santana - Smooth (guitar playing like I'd never heard in my life...totally blew my mind.)

covenant

all due to Queen

Our highschool mascot was the Tennessee Walking Horse...dubbed the Champion.
So naturally when "We are the Champions" came out it was the school song.

Next I saw Flash Gordon in the theater and had to have the soundtrack.

it was a slippery slope from there to ACDC, Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio.....

Arpeggi

Sonic Youth-Teenage Riot.

TripWire

my musical tastes sucked till 94..but

Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs

a combination of the video and the song, was so wtf to me that everything changed past that.

UAIOE

My musical taste was hit and miss till about 96-97, but I can say that "Pump up the Jam" by Technotronic probably had a big influence on my later love of electronic music.


Also "Big Gun" by AC/DC did lead to a later liking of them.