Top 11 Motorcycle Rock Songs Ever
If you enjoy riding as much as I do, you’ve probably noticed the connection a lot of rock songs have with motorcycles. But have you ever considered which ones are the best? Read along (or watch the video) as we cruise through my list of the top 11 motorcycle rock songs. Why 11? Every rider I know wants it turned up to 11. Maybe that’s due to hearing loss, but oh well. I’ve created playlists on Apple Music and Spotify, so feel free to listen along as you learn more about each of the songs below.
My Rules
That song you're all expecting to be #1? It's not even on the list. Why? While bikers are famous for not following the rules, this is my list and these are my rules and if you don’t follow them, you’re out. First of all, it's gotta be a rock song. I’m sure there are plenty of songs in other genres about motorcycles, but I’m not equipped to evaluate them–stick with what you know, right? Secondly, it must explicitly mention motorcycles or at the very least riding. Last rule, no artistic license for the pronunciation of the word motorcycle. I don’t care if you need a word that rhymes with pickle–not acceptable. I’m looking at you, Arlo Guthrie and Vince Neil. With that out of the way, let’s get to it.
This song is the first of an incredible four from artists with major San Francisco Bay Area connections. Not only are they from San Francisco, this song is specifically about being at Ocean Beach park in San Francisco. Maybe my selection of these artists shows my local bias, or maybe it's the amazing weather, legendary race tracks, and epic mountain roads. Whatever the case, this particular song only briefly mentions riding and even then it is only as a memory.
Visions of you on a motorcycle drive by
The cigarette ash flies in your eyes
And you don’t mind, you smile
And say the world, it doesn’t fit with you
I don’t believe you, you’re so serene
Careening through the universe
Your axis on a tilt, you’re guiltless and free
There’s also a recurring line that captures riding unlike any other. “I’ve never been so alone, and I’ve never been so alive.” From their 6x platinum 1997 self-titled debut album, its Third Eye Blind with “Motorcycle Drive By” is a song that starts slowly like riding along sweeping turns before quickly and steadily building up like a blast through the mountain twisties. Check out this fantastic live version below.
At number 10, the artist once hailed as the Godfather of Grunge, and by the way a longtime resident of Redwood City CA, goes straight to the blues on 1978’s “Motorcycle Mama.” It's the great Neil Young begging his bad girl to drop her kickstand, or “lay her big spike down” as he says, because every time she comes around on her bike he ends up in trouble. Considering she says she escaped from the county jail, as sung beautifully by Nicolette Larson, I think it's safe to say the danger is more attributable to the “mama” rather than her motorcycle, but that’s a lesson I’m sure the protagonist eventually learned on his own.
Well I’m here to deliver, I hope you can read my mail, oh yeah
I just escaped from the Memory County jail
I see your box is open and your flag is up
My message is ready if there’s time enough
Young was looking for a female singer to join him on this song so he went to his neighbor’s house, that of the great Linda Ronstadt. She recommended Larson for the job and Neil called her immediately, telling her he had been asking around and three people recommended her. Later that same year she would have a big hit of her own with “Lotta Love.” That song from her debut album reached number 8 on the Hot 100 and number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Sadly, Larson died in 1997 due to liver failure. Friends speculated depression led to her use of Valium which in turn led to her death. Regardless, she was an amazing vocalist and contributed so much to this song. Well chosen, Neil.
Nicolette Larson (1952-1997)
As great as Neil Young is however, there are no YouTube versions with Larson on vocals so I’m going to leave you with this superb live performance by Doublewide Kings.
Our number 9 comes to us from a Welsh alternative rock band. The song was inspired by the book about biker gang culture Rumble fish by S.E. Hinton. If you are familiar with ‘80s films you may have seen the film of the same name from 1983, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This same year, he also directed The Outsiders, also based on a book by Hinton featuring many of the same characters.
This 1992 song is an attack on consumerism and capitalism, comparing it to the feudal system of medieval times. It contrasts an upbeat tempo and soaring vocals against a somber commentary on society. For example:
Your joys are counterfeit
This happiness corrupt, political shit
Living life like a comatose
Ego loaded and swallow, swallow, swallow
Under neon loneliness
Motorcycle emptiness
If you want to stay positive, I highly recommend you gloss over the lyrics, but if you’re looking to get deep and contemplative on your ride, by all means, dive right into “Motorcycle Emptiness” by Manic Street Preachers on their album Generation Terrorists. Be sure to check out the live performance below from Glastonbury in 2014.
Number 8 is the third appearance by a Bay Area band, Berkeley's legendary punk band Rancid. Clocking in at just one minute 20 seconds, the song is over before you know it, but it does pack a punch in that all too brief recording. The song appears on their second album Let’s Go, released in 1994. The album peaked at 97 on the Billboard Hot 200 list. They would repurpose some of the lyrics to this track on their third album in their more popular song “Time Bomb.”
If you wanna make a move, then you better come in
It’s just the ability to reason that wears so thin
The song is dark as hell, which after all is consistent with the band’s catalog. Its the chorus “Sarah ceased existing long before she died, a fifth of bourbon and a motorcycle ride” that qualifies it for our list. Hey, don’t drink and ride, friends.
Number 7 is the debut song from a grammy winning album. Released in 1980, this song made it to number 2 on the charts and sat there for four weeks, unable to unseat Blondie’s “Call Me” from the American Gigolo soundtrack. Ironically, the B side to this song’s single was called “Minstrel Gigolo.” Originally, the genre was known as album oriented rock, or AOR for short, sometimes known as West Coast sound, but now popularly known as Yacht Rock. The lyrics paint a picture of anything but a retiree on a lazy sail. It's about the gun-wielding man on a murder spree, desperate to reach the border on his motorcycle.
I was born the son of a lawless man
Always spoke my mind with a gun in my hand
Lived nine lives, gunned down ten
Gonna ride, ride like the wind
With a little help from Michael McDonald, it’s Christopher Cross with “Ride Like the Wind.”
Next up, They’ve gotta run to keep from hiding, and they’re bound to keep on riding. At number 6, it's an all time classic dating back to 1970. You can find a few different covers of it by different artists and some, like Hank Williams Jr. and Kenny Wayne Sheppard do a pretty good job of it, but none of them can catch the original midnight riders, The Allman Brothers Band.
And I don’t own the clothes I’m wearing
And the road goes on forever
And I’ve got one more silver dollar
But I’m not gonna let ‘em catch me, no
Not gonna let ‘em catch the midnight rider
If their hometown of Macon, Georgia is within riding distance, be sure to get yourself some grub at H&H Soul Food. Outside this Macon institution, you’ll find an amazing mural of the Allman Brothers Band alongside founders Inez Hill and “Mama” Louise Hudson. Inside you’ll be treated to some amazing food. To quote Marshawn Lynch, “I can’t decide what I like better, the ambiance or the decor.”
Be sure to check out this live version by The Allman Brothers Band, recorded in 1991.
At 5 we have an artist that had hits with multiple bands both before and after his successful solo career. In his early days with Montrose, a few years before he would be known as the Red Rocker, San Francisco’s Sammy Hagar wrote Bad Motor Scooter for their debut album. Are debuts a recurring theme here? Not only was this the first single for Montrose, it was the first song Sammy Hagar ever wrote. The song begins with Ronnie Montrose playing his slide guitar simulating the sound of a motorcycle engine repeatedly upshifting. This song is the first on my list to use this technique, but not the last. The only thing that keeps this song from being number one on my list is the word “scooter.” I’m not sure why Hagar chose it, but that’s his business, not mine.
If you get lonely on your daddy’s farm
Just remember I don’t live too far
There’s a red bridge that arcs the bay, yes
You’ll be at my place in less than a day
Huh, so get on your bad motor scooter and ride
You have to check out this live version from Midnight Special in January of 1975 with slightly extended bass and guitar solos from Alan Fitzgerald and Ronny Montrose respectively. Sammy left the group the following month so this may well have been his final appearance with the band.
Number 4 is one that slipped by me for years until I noticed the phrase, “my big two-wheeler.” Released in 1982 on his album The Distance, and as a single in 1983, the song was inspired by a motorcycle trip he took to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About the trip, Seger said,
The first night it was 42 degrees in northern Minnesota; the second it was 106 in South Dakota and all I had on was my shorts, and my feet were up on the handlebars to keep them from boiling on the engine. It was just silence and feeling nature.
On his journey, at least in the song, Seger meets a woman in a bar and tells her of his plan to ride far, far away. She decides to accompany the rider on his journey, but when the temperatures drop she decides that she misses her home and he continues on his ride alone.
I too am lost and I feel double crossed
And I’m sick of what’s wrong and what’s right
We never even said a word
We just walked out and got on that bike
And we rolled
And we rolled clean out of sight
When he reaches the Continental Divide he has to make a decision to make and takes charge of his life.
No stranger to songs about the open road whether it's on four wheels like “Get out of Denver” and “Turn the Page” and “Hollywood Nights” or even three as in the opening line of “Fire Lake,” Bob Seger has created a number of certified roadworthy hits, and “Roll me Away” is the one that lands on our list. Peaking at #27 on the charts, many including Rolling Stone writer Dave Marsh consider this song to be the best of his considerable career.
A consumate musician, Seger delivers on any live performance you’re likely to find. Although the video below is blurry, the audio is quite good.
Number 3 has a title that is brief and gets right to the point. You might not expect a band with roots firmly planted in early ‘80s goth rock to venture into this genre, but in 1989 they did just that. From their self-titled fourth album, its Love and Rockets and their dark, industrial track simply titled, “Motorcycle.” At the end you’ll hear yet another instance of a guitar running through the gears. Lead singer Daniel Ash captures the essence of riding with the lines
I’m warm inside
On the motorbike
The wind is all around
On the motorcycle we are free
The motorcycle and me
Unable to find a live performance of this song, I am attaching the—believe it or not—official music video for this song. No fake performances here, just a seemingly never ending series of panning shots of the same Harley-Davidson, getting more and more distorted as time goes on. They definitely didn’t break the bank on the filming. You can even see one of the studio lights attached to the bike. If you remember MTV’s 120 minutes, you may recall this, shall we say minimalist, video. If I’m correct, the bike is a 1988 Harley-Davidson FXSTS. Let me know if I’m wrong in the comments section. I’m sure someone will without me asking.
At number 2 is a song first written and recorded by a legendary surf rock band. In 1963 Honda launched a campaign to change the image of motorcyclists from dangerous rebels to fun and friendly youngsters. “You meet the nicest people on a Honda" was the tagline. It caught the attention of The Beach Boys who wrote and recorded the song “Little Honda” for their 1964 album, All Summer Long.
It’s not a big motorcycle
Just a groovy little motorbike
It’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys
That two-wheeled ride
We’ll go into the hills
Or anywhere you want to decide
But it wasn’t their rendition that got the most attention. Though still in its infancy, the Honda marketing machine shifted into high gear. They gathered a group of studio musicians including the legendary Glen Campbell, instructed them to learn “Little Honda” and to create other Honda-themed songs. They called that group the Hondells and it was their version that hit number 9 on the US charts. Their album “Go Little Honda” includes instrumentals “Haulin’ Honda” and “Hon-Da Beach” while the remainder of the songs sound like second rate imitations of The Beach Boys in every way.
I have included an entirely different and more modern take on the song for my playlist. From their highly regarded album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is Yo La Tengo’s version of “Little Honda.” I really wish there was a good quality live version or even an official video, but we are going to have to settle for the audio and a long stare at the cover art.
Number 1 is a truly excellent song I only discovered in researching my list. It's a song that probably would have become far more popular had it been released before the artist’s untimely death at age 27. I’m referring to Jimi Hendrix and his song “Ezy Ryder”. While not explicitly associated with the film of the same name, though spelled differently, the song and movie are intertwined.
The song was first recorded in early ‘69, several months prior to the film’s release, however Hendrix had been shown an early screening of the film and he did contribute his song “If 6 Was 9” to its soundtrack. Here is an early live recording of Ezy Ryder from New Years Eve, 1969 at The Fillmore East.
The song is an excellent example of the shift Hendrix was making at the time toward funk rock. Its quick pace and duelling guitars along with lyrics about a man who says the free wind takes him higher makes “Ezy Ryder,” in my mind, the best motorcycle song of all time.
There goes ezy, ezy ryder
Riding down the highway of desire
He says the free wind takes him higher
Trying to find his heaven above
But he’s dying to be loved
I’m posting a couple different versions of the song as performed by Hendrix because they are notable in their own ways. As you probably noticed, I have tried to post live versions of all of these songs because the studio versions can be found on the playlist. Naturally, finding video of a song recorded just prior to an artist’s death is unlikely so the videos below are stills with different audio.
August 30th, 1970 was the last time Hendrix would perform in England, one month after his final performance in the U.S. The Isle of Wight music festival sought to be another Woodstock, but it largely turned out to be a disaster for those in attendance. A crowd of over 600,000 people crowded the tiny island. Cross winds blew the sound sideways across the audience making it inaudible for many. Frustrated, the crowd booed and jeered at the performers. Nevertheless, it boasted a stunning lineup including Chicago, the Doors, the Moody Blues, the Who, Miles Davis, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Sly and the Family Stone, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Free. Fortunately, the recorded audio quality is pretty good. If you’re interested in seeing the video from this performance, check it out on Prime Video. To my knowledge this is the only live version of Ezy Ryder with video. I am posting the audio from this concert below.
Hendrix finished the studio mix on August 22nd, 1970. Backing vocals were performed by Steve Winwood and Chris Wood from the band Traffic. That final studio track is presented below:
Honorable Mention
Speaking of Easy Rider, you’ve no doubt noticed the legendary song made famous in that movie is absent. Although it evokes the feeling of the ride and it will forever be linked to riding from its placement in the film, “Born to be Wild” actually makes zero references to motorcycles or riding at all. It's true. I was surprised myself. Here, see for yourself.
There are plenty of great songs that didn’t make my top 11 cut including classics like “Unknown Legend" by Neil Young, “Iron Horse/Born to Lose" by Motorhead, “Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue (don’t worry, this is the studio version), “Wheels of Fire” by Judas Priest, “Bat Out of Hell” by Meatloaf, and even “Riders on the Storm" by The Doors. In an odd coincidence, Riders was the final recording by The Doors prior to Jim Morrison’s untimely demise in 1971. Like Hendrix he would also die in Europe at age 27.
What do you think of the list? What did I leave out? What's on your list? Let me know in the comments.
