If you’re in the mood for some good old American country music, this is one of the best you’ll find. The Charlie Daniels Band pull out all the stops in this Bluegrass country song filled with crazy fiddles, violins and banjos. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” topped U.S. charts back in 1979, and for good reason.
The song tells the story of a boy that’s dared to a fiddling match with the Devil himself, and the Devil is stunned by the boy’s abilities. Like we said, good old American country.
"Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band
The Five Man Electrical Band were a Canadian rock group from the 70s, and their hit single "Signs" made this somewhat unknown band quite popular in the US. Their song, released in 1971, reached number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 4 in Canada.
The record the single was released in was certified gold, propelling this Canadian quintet straight to the top. Even if only for a very short time. "Signs" was written by the band's lead singer and guitarist, Les Emmerson, while road-tripping in California. The famous anti-establishment tune had a second wave of fame when rock band Tesla covered it nearly twenty years later. The song made it to the top ten, again.
"Dueling Banjos" by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell
Maybe you won't remember this instrumental 70's hit, but you're bound to remember the infamous 1972 film that made it so popular - the American thriller, 'Deliverance'. Now, this film is wildly disturbing, and one of its most shocking scenes is accompanied by the folk song hit, "Dueling Banjos".
Even though the original composition was written by Arthur Smith, the film version of the song, which was the one to reach number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, was arranged and recorded by Steve Mandell and Eric Weissberg. The catchy bluegrass hit also reached number five on the Hot Country Singles chart.
"Timothy" by The Buoys
The Buoys were an American pop/rock band from the 60s and 70s, and they hit it big in 1970 when they recorded the famous song "Timothy". Written by Rupert Holmes, who was also the man who wrote "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", "Timothy" was a very catchy, albeit dark rock song about cannibalism. The thing was, it took radios and listeners a while to realize it.
The song reached number 17 on the US Billboard charts, and stayed there for eight whole weeks before radios across the country started to ban it once they caught on to the lyrics. Apparently, the popular song was about men who got trapped in a mine and start eating poor old Timothy! The Buoys tried to convince everyone that Timothy was a mule, but nobody believed it.
"The Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy
Even if you're not a 70's child, you must have heard the rocking Thin Lizzy song, "The Boys Are Back in Town". Thin Lizzy was a rock band that formed in Ireland and they had a wildly successful hit with this 1976 classic. It was named one of the 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stones magazine and reached number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Ironically, Thin Lizzy didn't want to release the song at first, saying that they weren't planning on putting it on that particular album. However, after their manager heard it, they saw a golden opportunity, and boy, were they right. However, this was the last US hit these rockers produced.