1. Eagles – Desperado
Desperado is one of those piano rock songs that simply stay with you when you once hear them. It was released in 1972, and it is one of the most famous songs by Eagles, along with “Hotel California”, of course. Maybe it’s interesting to say that this song was primarily written about Don Henley’s friend named Leo, but lyrics were later changed and it was Jackson Browne who suggested that they should do Western version instead. Henley and Glenn Frey then went on to add some new words, and Desperado was born.
2. The Who – Who Are You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4
Pete Townshend has written this song after the accident he had. Essentially, it talks about him meeting Paul Cook and Steve Jones after he has had one bad meeting with Allan Klein. Townshend, Cook and Jones went out, and they were partying and drinking. Later, Townshend was found by policeman, who wanted to let him go, but under one condition: Townshend had to walk on his own two feet. “Who Are You” was released in 1978, but it was re-released in 1998, this time featuring a “lost verse”.
3. David Bowie – Life on Mars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v–IqqusnNQ
When we talk about piano rock songs, there is absolutely no way that we can skip “Life on Mars” because obviously, that’s good music! It was released in 1971 on Bowie’s album “Hunky Dory”. This song is considered to be one of the masterpieces of its genre, and it is quite unusual because of its lyrics. many people have described it as a mixture between Salvador Dali’s painting and some Broadway musical. When you hear it for the first time, you really have to ask yourself what the hell is going on, but if you just listen to the song for a few more times, you’ll soon see that everything you need to do is just relax and let pictures change in front of your eyes.
4. The Beatles – Hey Jude
The Beatles are arguably one of the all-time greatest rock bands, so it is no wonder that they are featured on this list of best piano rock songs. Their song “Hey Jude” was released in 1968, and ever since then, it is one of their best songs. Originally, “Hey Jude” was called “Hey Jules”, and it was written by McCartney when he wished to comfort John Lennon’s son, because his parent were divorcing and he was really in a bad place. This song was really important to McCartney, because prior to recording, he was singing it to anyone who would listen to him. Be that as it may, the quality of “Hey Jude” has been confirmed when it was introduced to “Billboard’s All-Time Top 100 Songs”, and it is ranked at 10th place.
5. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Although this Queen’s masterpiece it features a guitar solo, I had to put it on a list of piano rock songs, because through the first half of the song, piano seems to be the only instrument we hear. It was released in 1975, and it features no chorus. Also, Freddie Mercury never actually explained lyrics of the song. In fact, he declined to do that every time someone asked him. This is just another layer of mystery that’s surrounding this song, and it’s making it one of the best songs ever recorded.