Drop yer cocks and grab yer socks; the man is about to come around! There has always been a “damn the man” undertone in certain genres of music over the course of history. What about those songs that embrace “the man” though? There have been some man-sized hits from the early days of doo-wop to today’s kid-friendly Katy Perry music. After hours of tireless research, late nights and hundreds of millions of phone calls to influential politicians with deep pockets, a list has been compiled of ten songs that have some “man” in their moniker.
10. Isaac Hayes – “Soul Man”
This “man” won a Grammy in 1967 when the civil rights movement was still in full swing. It was a sign of the times and an extension of Isaac Hayes’ inspiration in witnessing Detroit race riots on television. R&B duo Sam and Dave put the song into action at Stax Records and the rest is lyrical history. To add humor to things, a movie with the same title was released in 1986 wherein a white dude takes tanning pills and gets a Jheri curl just to get a full-ride scholarship to Harvard Law. Black Moses must have been cool with the movie, as his song was on the soundtrack.
9. James Brown – “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”
Drop the fitted suit and narrow tie and don a big-collared, sequined jumpsuit for the hardest working man in show business. James Brown wailed out about “A Man’s World” in 1966 and is thus attached to what is by far the most chauvinistic song on this list. The irony here is that the piece was co-written by Betty Jean Newsome, who was a backup singer for Brown and an all around amazing woman (another list, another time).
8. Johnny Rivers – “Secret Agent Man”
Mystery surrounding the clandestine world came to light in the mid ’60s when British spy series Danger Man aired in the U.S. as Secret Agent. The opening credit song was made popular by Johnny Rivers. It can also double as a super-spy karaoke ditty that any James Bond wannabe can use to score some pelt in a hole-in-the-wall bar.
7. Soundgarden – “Spoonman”
On to real life, “Spoonman” was a huge hit on this group’s fourth album Superunknown and actually saw life in the movie Singles (1992) as an acoustic jam. The story behind the song is it was a tribute to Seattle by way of Santa Cruz street performer Artis the Spoonman, who would perform songs with a set of spoons. Cool story? The acoustic version of this song is cooler than the full electric one and worth checking out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0mYZswIU5M
6. R.E.M. – “Man on the Moon”
Staying in the ‘90s, Georgia alt rockers R.E.M. had a man song that was a conspiracy theorist’s wet dream. This song tackled oh-so-touchy topics like staging the moon landing and old school funny man Andy Kaufman faking his death. Kaufman and the R.E.M. boys are probably holed up in a Hollywood basement drinking Mai Tais and laughing the whole thing up.
5. Alice in Chains – “Man in The Box”
When it came to speaking your mind in the ‘90s and giving the one-fingered salute to political a-holes like Tipper Gore, Alice in Chains took a stab at censorship and was a large success for the band early in the decade. The combination of whiny hullabaloos and poignant lyrics thrown together by Lane Staley and Jerry Cantrell created a grunge era mainstay. The hit even managed to make its way onto the Rock Band 2 playlist.
4. T.I. – “Rubber Band Man”
Want something drrrrrtier than time travel and gnarly metal? Fast forward to 2003, grab a 40 and get crunk. T.I.’s “Rubber Band Man” is positive proof that you can rhyme man with man, man. Dude waxes intellectual about droppin’ mofos and slingin’ that yayo. If the grime seems a little hard to digest, Detroit’s Spinners busted a funky jam with the same name and have a comparably more palatable sound.
3. Black Sabbath – “Iron Man”
If sex sells then violence is a close second. The godfathers of modern metal have made an art of creating epic, dark rock ‘n’ roll, and “Iron Man” is no exception. Giving inspiration to metal heads and shitless lay-abouts everywhere, this song has an infectious guitar riff made even more popular by Beavis and Butt-Head, as well as an opening set of lyrics instantly as recognizable and as equally badass as the mystique surrounding a killer band like Sabbath. The premise behind the song includes time travel and rage, and makes one wonder what the fuck those guys were really on back in the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LjbMVXj0F8
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show – “I Can Make You a Man”
Next is a song that comes from a time in musical history that had a lot of prudish blowhards standing on their heads. When The Rocky Horror Picture Show launched in 1975, the rock opera was the staple of a number of bands. But none really tackled the issue of sexuality quite as eloquently as Dr. Frank-N-Furter and crew. The song spoke of creating the perfect fellow with the physical prowess of a lion(meow!). Its burlesque attitude and playful lyrics coupled with Peter Hinwood as Rocky were the perfect combination of sex and sweat, making any horny housewife want to ditch her man and take a stab at this one’s chiseled physique.
1. Johnny Cash – “When the Man Comes Around”
The first song on the list comes from the Man in Black himself, and was one of the last songs he ever wrote. Arguably the best “man” song to date, the eerie premise of Death riding on a pale horse would make the hair on anyone’s neck stand up. The opening lyrics are spoken and create that feeling just before puking when saliva starts to build up in the mouth. “And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder…” says Johnny Cash, then breaking into song with acoustics and his bellowing voice. The deep pounding of the piano in the background draws an unnerving foreshadowing to his death in 2003.
There will always be a need for “man songs” just as much as we need the air that we breathe or a good Chuck Norris joke. All tracks considered, there are a shitload of “man” songs out there.
Here’s 20 honorable mentions:
- “Piano Man” by Billy Joel
- “How I Could Just Kill a Man” by Cypress Hill
- “Rocket Man” by Elton John
- “Eggman” by the Beastie Boys
- “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
- “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson
- “Ape Man” by the Kinks
- “Macho Man” by Village People
- “Better Man” by Pearl Jam
- “Man of Constant Sorrow” by Dick Burnett
- “Milk Man” by Aphex Twin
- “Too Many Men” by Wiley
- “Moustache Man” by Cake
- “The Man in the Iron Mask” by Billy Bragg
- “Garbage Man” by the Cramps
- “Wild Man Blues” by Louis Armstrong
- “Hey Man, Nice Shot” by Filter
- “Mellow, My Man” by the Roots
- “Crackerman” by the Stone Temple Pilots
- “Back Door Man” by the Doors.
