The 10 Best Cowbell Rock Songs of All Time, Ranked

On April 8th, 2000, Saturday Night Live aired “More Cowbell,” a faux VH1 Behind the Music sketch that documented the 1976 recording session for Blue Öyster Cult‘s “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper.” It featured Will Ferrell as the band’s cowbell player Gene Frenkle (FYI – there is no Gene Frenkle), whose incessant cowbell playing irritates the band to no end, only producer Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken) wants more cowbell, proclaiming, “Guess what! I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!”

The sketch was an instant classic, with Ferrell and Walken breaking the other actors in the scene during filming (Jimmy Fallon, as the drummer, bit down on a drumstick to prevent himself from laughing out loud). “More cowbell” was added to the dictionary. Collider called it Walken’s funniest role, while Walken told Ferrell, jokingly, that he’d “ruined his life” with the sketch (“The waiter asked if I wanted more cowbell with my pasta bolognese”). The band themselves thought it was hilarious, with drummer Albert Bouchard admitting the band actually did debate having cowbell on the track. Thankfully, they did, creating one of the most iconic uses of the percussion instrument ever. But if “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” doesn’t cure your fever, here are the top 10 additional songs to sate your need for “more cowbell.”

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10. “We’re an American Band” — Grand Funk Railroad

The cowbell exists in a realm between a drum and a cymbal: lighter than a drum, less washy than a cymbal. Its sound cuts through the other instruments, unmistakable in tone, and, more often than not, takes on a hi-hat, metronome-type feel. That’s exactly what rings true — pun intended — in Grand Funk Railroad‘s 1973 classic “We’re an American Band.” As the song begins, it’s all drummer Don Brewer, laying down a funky rhythm with the glorious cowbell coming down steady on the quarter-notes before everyone else joins in. From there, the cowbell reappears after the chorus in much the same manner, creating a hook that drove the song to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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9. “Unbelievable” — EMF

EMF‘s “Unbelievable” from 1990 is a fun, utterly infectious, alt-dance/rock one-hit wonder, which most will remember for two key elements. The first is the explosive “Oh!” that kicks off the chorus, a sample of comedian Andrew Dice Clay‘s trademark shtick, okayed for use thanks to a fortuitous encounter with Rick Rubin of Def Jam Recordings. The second is the “heavy, rhythmic ‘thunking’” of the cowbell that immediately follows. Unlike “We’re an American Band,” the cowbell here has its own groove, an imaginative element that is an integral part of what makes the song’s high-energy vibe work as well as it does.

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8. “Low Rider” — War

You don’t even have to wait for the cowbell in the 1975 classic “Low Rider” from funk band War, where it has the unenviable task of setting the tone and pace of the track from the start. Of course, God’s gift to percussion absolutely nails it. As played by Papa Dee Allen, the cowbell has elements of its Afro-Cuban and cha-cha roots, in a cool, laid-back style that mirrors the entirety of the track to perfection. It is also the first track on the list where the drummer uses the cowbell to create varied accents by striking it in different places, going over and above the singular tone that is most often associated with it. Coupled with the prominent bassline from B.B. Dickerson, the syncopated, rhythmic cowbell brings the song together.

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7. “Drive My Car” — The Beatles

There is no other band that has influenced rock music like The Beatles, with their frequent experimentation with sounds creating a legacy of music with astonishing variety. So it’s little wonder that they would take the cowbell and masterfully use it to drive the groove of “Drive My Car.” It’s the most prominent feature of the tune, with all due respect to Paul McCartney‘s deceptively simple jazz-style block chords in the chorus. There’s nothing particularly fanciful about it, just a straightforward quarter-note beat, but it just works in context, adding to the whimsical nature of the opening track of Rubber Soul.

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6. “Little Sister” — Queens of the Stone Age

If the persistent and hypnotic metronomic drive of the cowbell in Queens of the Stone Age‘s “Little Sister” sounds a little different, that’s because it is. It’s actually a jam block, not a cowbell, creating a wooden sound as opposed to the metallic clang of the conventional cowbell. So why, then, is it on the list? Two words: Gene Frenkle. When Queens of the Stone Age played on Saturday Night Live on May 14, 2005, Will Ferrell was the host, his first return to the show since leaving in 2002. And as the band was playing the song, Ferrell came out, reprising his famed “More Cowbell” role — big curly hair, skintight brown top, the whole shebang — and pounded on his cowbell, which carries through the entirety of the tune. There is also the fact that a cowbell is more often used in live performances of the track, but you can’t deny the power of Gene Frenkle.

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5. “Hair of the Dog” — Nazareth

If you don’t know “Hair of the Dog” by Nazareth by name alone, this might refresh your memory: “Now you’re messing with a son of a bitch.” “Son of a Bitch” probably would have made far more sense, both as the song and name of the album it’s from, but, as singer Dan McCafferty recalls, “The record company went ape shit” and wouldn’t allow it. Lucky for the powers that be that they didn’t take issue with the song’s defining cowbell. It locks in with the heavy drum beat, setting the pounding, no-nonsense rhythm from the start, as raw and straightforward as the no-holds-barred attitude of its lyrics.

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4. “Moby Dick” — Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin‘s John Bonham is one of rock’s most creative drummers, and nowhere is that showcased as much as it is in “Moby Dick” from Led Zeppelin II. The instrumental track opens and closes on the heavy, blues-based riff from the trio of Bonham, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones, but in between is an epic 4 minute and 25 second drum solo (at least on the record: live it stretched anywhere from 6 to 30 minutes). The steady cowbell comes through during those aforementioned riffs, but during the solo it becomes part of the rotation of percussion, used more as an accentuating presence than as a persistent undertone, as wildly manic as the drummer himself.

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3. “Honky Tonk Women” — The Rolling Stones

Arguably the most iconic cowbell in the history of music, the Rolling Stones put the “cow” in “cowbell” with “Honky Tonk Women” from 1969. The two-bar, syncopated ostinato (a short, constantly repeated rhythmic pattern) creates that laid-back, country-western/funk vibe that defines the song. It dances with Charlie Watts‘ loose drumming in a counter-rhythm, another deceptively simple sound that complements the song to create a fullness that feels like a Saturday night at a country bar in Nashville.

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2. “Go!” — Tones on Tail

How did an English post-punk band, Tones on Tail, land so high on a list that includes Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones? Listen to 1984’s “Go!” and all will be revealed. Like “Low Rider,” the cowbell in “Go!” has variances, but it goes above and beyond. Drummer Kevin Haskins actually uses multiple cowbells tuned to specific pitches, like a cowbell xylophone if you will, that creates a melody over the driving bassline. It’s unconventional, a playful scale that works as a cadenced focal point in the post-punk/new wave groove, perfectly matching the upbeat optimism the song protrudes.

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1. “Rock of Ages” — Def Leppard

There may be no other song that defines 1980s glam/hard rock quite like Def Leppard‘s “Rock of Ages” from 1983’s Pyromania. And there may be nothing that defines the song itself than its iconic intro, the coupling of Mutt Lange‘s “gunter glieben gluachen globen” (which apparently means absolutely nothing) with Rick Allen‘s steady, high-impact quarter-note cowbell. While it makes its appearance throughout the song (and famously throughout the entire album, with “Foolin'” another excellent example), the cowbell introduction to “Rock of Ages” is all it needs to land top spot here.