Artists whose first single was the best thing they ever did.

B52s maybe yeah, only because the first one was so great, and so much of the rest was just slightly less so.

no way is tugboat g500's best single, but just my opinion. particularly if we're not just talking about singles as the subsequent work

I researching LL Cool J to see if "Rock the Bells" was his first single, thus qualifying him for this poll (it was his second, after "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), I was surprised to discover that "Mama Said Knock You Out" peaked at #17 on the singles chart. I figured that shit was #1 all the way.

― Pillbox, Wednesday, 15 October 2008 05:26 (26 minutes ago)

I think original version of "I Need a Beat" was his debut. The later, better known version was just them scratching with that record onto another record (kinda a wtf moment).

The original version of Rock the Bells is wildly different than the hit version. The original is where the "Jack the Ripper" line comes from. I've often wondered if MC Shan's Beat Biter was about the original Rock the Bells, and what prompted LL's so-called "remix" (a completely new song).

If I regret anything about any of my, uh, "work", it's my failure on this issue.

I researched and wrote the rough base story for VH1's Driven of LL, then it got shelved, I left the channel, then they revived finished and aired it.

In my version, I wrote as much as I could about T La Rock being the "1st LL", quote Jazzy Jay's statement that LL was T's replacement, and add T to the cast of characters for interviews -- but you know, VH1...

I later interviewed T La Rock and told him this. He claims he did get a call, but didn't make it to the cast of characters, mostly being written out.

Of course, "rock the bells" was a saying people had back in the 70s/early 80s for DJ's to play double copies of the intro to Bob James "Take Me to the Mardi Gras", which casued a string of records to be made based on this (Crash Crew's Bells, T La Rock's Breakin' Bells, Run-DMC's Peter Piper, etc.).

Oddly, the hit song entitled Rock the Bells has NOTHING to do with the Mardi Gras break, and people don't realize Peter Piper is supposed to be Jammaster Jay's (definitive) version of rockin' the bells.

If only The Pretenders had released "Kid" first instead of "Stop Your Sobbing"

Not complaining.

Yeah, Beat Biter is about Rock the Bells:

http://www.jayquan.com/shan.htm

JQ : The very next single was " Beat Biter / The Bridge " right ?

Shan : Yeah I was on tour with L.L. , and he played a tape for me - it was " Rock The Bells " , but I didn't pay attention that it was my beat . You know back then you didn't use someones beat or say words that sounded like somebody elses. When I figured that it was my beat it was on ! He had the nerve to play it for me too , so I just went at him .

This confuses me though because this was that short time when Burzootie was doing beats for Def Jam (after Jazzy Jay was cut out, but before Rubin was full swing on beats). Shan was always in Marl's corner, so seriously, I can't see how LL (Rubin/Burzootie) took Shan's (Marl's) beat consciously in any way.

Anyway, back on topic...

Damn PW, you are the personal-computer information on rap!

better believe it

Furthermore with the hippity-hop, I'll say "Potholes in My Lawn" by De La Soul

Well, credit to Jayquan and Troy L for more than half of that. I found their work and built on that, later conferring with Jayquan at the Oldschoolhiphop board, trading notes and whatnot. Those guys are on point!

The T La Rock story, from Jazzy Jay with Troy L interviewing:

http://www.thafoundation.com/jazzy.htm

Well LL was a replacement for T La Rock… I introduced Rick to Russell at the Danceteria and Rick was like, “Oh Russell’s so cool.” At that time I didn’t see the writing on the wall, that he was getting ready to step over me and make Russell his partner. So Rick came to me like, “I’m thinking about replacing T La Rock cause he’s a pain in the neck and I don’t think he wants to record with us anymore.” I was like, “Let me talk to T.” Rick was like, “Nah …I want you to listen to this guy.”

T La Rock told me this interview is the only place he's heard this story.

I know the Adrock of Beastie Boys takes credit for finding LL's demo in the floor at Rubin's dorm and bringing it to his attention, which fills in a blank (and the following confirms "I Need a Beat")

http://www.beastiemania.com/whois/ll_cool_j/

It all started in 1984, when LL Cool J took the time to mail Rick Rubin a demo tape. At the time James Todd Smith was 16 years old, Rick was still running his operation out of his dorm room at New York University. By this point, Rick had released T La Rock's "It's Yours"...It was from the address information on the T La Rock single that LL Cool J would get into contact with Rubin.

Excited to get a record deal, James called Rubin almost every day. Rick Rubin though had not yet come across the tape. When he did finally get a chance to listen to the tape, Rubin called LL Cool J on the phone and set up a meeting at his NYU dorm room. In his book, LL Cool J said the following about his first impression of Rick Rubin: "He laughed at my reaction to him and invited me up to a tiny room at the end of the hall. Mattresses were on the floor and records are tapes were thrown everywhere. I could see how my tape could have gotten lost. In fact, if it wasn't for Adrock of the Beastie Boys, I might still be sending in those tapes. Adrock had been chillin' in Rick's room, rummaging through all the tapes, and somehow he fished mine out and played it. I guess he liked what he heard and brought it to Rick's attention. My man Adrock: Good lookin' out, baby."

Rick and James would go on to spend $700 to record "I Need a Beat" and sell 100,000 copies of it...

Spice Girls - Wannabe

^ nfw

what was better than Wannabe

Speaking of Britney/Spice Girls/et al, TRL canceled November 16, 2008

On September 17, 2008, EVP of MTV Productions David Sirulnick announced on Last Call with Carson Daly that the final episode of TRL would be on November 8, 2008.

I was totally and completely obsessed with TRL in middle school. I didn't even have cable; I had to watch it at friends' houses.

I remember that the video for "The One" by the Backstreet Boys was on the countdown for more than 50 or 65 days or whatever the max was before a video would get retired, and I got really offended and sent a letter to MTV. Not because I didn't like BSB or the song anything. I guess I was a stickler for protocol. Some of my classmates also put together a little pop culture zine and I managed to write an entire editorial about it.

Great storiez PW. Kudos and such..

I never figured it out btw!!

pink floyd - arnold layne

'say you'll be there', 'who do you think you are' at least

they're amazing pop songs but they aren't life-changing like Wannabe was

2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This
Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

Bela Lugosi's Dead

Zager & Evans I guess.

Some of the ones mentioned above are wrong, wrong, wrong. Teenage Fanclub or Supergrass? NO WAY!

Monkees OTM. Howard Jones did "Hide & Seek" later on and that one is one of the best singles ever.

Most of these answers are wrong.

Factually.

(e.g. Loser wasn't beck's first single, Creep wasn't etc...)

If this question was about first tracks on debut albums, the correct answer would be Oasis.

No, no, no. Oasis peaked with "Wonderwall".

Fuck off.

Teenage Fanclub is absolutely bang-on right, good call that man.

Sugababes SUGARCUBES

^THIS!

No actually, Birthday was their second single, retract! RETRACT!

third

(in the UK at least)

Wikipedia claims it was their first outside Iceland, maybe it was just reissued?

Bela Lugosi's Dead

Never understood all the love for this song. I know it's prototypical goth and all, but I'll take "She's In Parties" or "In the Flat Fields" any day of the week.

AFAIK Birthday was the Sugarcubes first single released outside of Iceland. I think that the one that got released before was actually an Icelandic language version of the same song, so, um it sort of counts dunnit?

Magazine - shot by both sides

Rema Rema - Wheel in the roses

No one appears to have mentioned Elvis yet.....
And the Beatles? *runs away*

The Beatles would be the challop to end all challops.

Ugh, I just said 'challops'.

what have you become

(also otm)

Chapterhouse - "Pearl"
House of Love - "Christine"
Lush - "Scar" EP

"Shine On" was first, wasn't it?

Fairly sure Pearl's not Chapterhouse's first single either

Mark G, I don't think Rema Rema really count here!

Wikipedia says it is (Chapterhouse), for what that's worth...think you're right about House of Love...how about:

House of Pain - "Jump Around"

and

Terence Trent D'Arby - "Wishing Well"

Wikipedia says it is (Chapterhouse),

* Freefall (1990)
* Sunburst (1990)

* "Pearl" (1991)

Terence Trent D'Arby - "Wishing Well" "If you let me stay"

Suede - "The Drowners"
Gene - "For The Dead"
Bobbie Gentry - "Ode To Billie Joe"