10 Songs You Can Name by Hearing Just One Word

Top-10-Songs-You-Can-Name-by-Hearing-Just-One-Word

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at songs that are instantly recognizable from just one random, and possibly nonsensical, word. One rule, the word can’t be the song’s complete title. Sorry, “Roxanne.”

#10: “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet” (1974)

Bachman–Turner Overdrive

According to multiple sources, “Baby” is one of the most commonly used words in pop music. With that in mind one wouldn’t think that hearing just that one would be very helpful in identifying one specific song over any other. But while that might be true for the generic word itself, that all changes when you hear it sung the way Randy Bachman does it on the Bachman–Turner Overdrive hit, “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.” Bachman had originally recorded the song like that as a joke for his brother who stuttered. However, when he later tried doing it straight, it just didn’t sound right, so the stutter was made permanent. And an instantly recognizable song was born.

#9: “Eye of the Tiger” (1982)

Survivor

You probably don’t even need any words at all when it comes to this track. That opening riff is all you need to hear to know it’s “Eye of the Tiger”. But if we’re talking about one specific word here, then “tiger” is the one that also gives it away. Now, given that we can’t think of many other songs where the word “tiger” is featured so prominently, the word itself is probably enough for most people to get the song. However, the way Dave Bickler sings it adds just that little bit more recognizability to it to make it very much worthy of this list.

#8: “Wonderwall” (1995)

Oasis

Oasis named their debut album “Definitely Maybe” and “maybe” turned out to definitely be a key word in identifying a couple of their songs. Now, we can’t talk about Oasis and the word “maybe” and not mention “Wonderwall.” One of the band’s biggest hits, the way Liam Gallagher elongates the “maybe” in the chorus instantly puts this track in the forefront of any listener’s mind. Although, we could see there being some hesitation in deciding if that “maybe” comes from “Wonderwall” or from the hit single from their first album, “Live Forever.” The latter also features a similarly elongated “maybe” from Gallagher.

#7: “Shout” (1959)

The Isley Brothers

Well, next up on our list is “Shout” by the Isley Brothers. Or should we say, weeeeeee-eeeeelllll, next up on our list is “Shout” by the Isley Brothers? Not only is this 1959 hit tune super recognizable from just one word - it just so happens to be the first word of the song. Actually, it’s even the first sound of the song. All we have to hear is that lengthy acapella and elongated “weeeeeell” and we will all be shouting out the name of this track in no time. Pun totally intended.

#6: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (1961)

The Tokens

While The Tokens made “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” a hit in 1961, the song actually began its life in 1939 as a song called “Mbube” and was written in Zulu. This fact comes in handy when we talk about the one word that makes the song so wonderfully recognizable… “a-weema-weh.” What does it mean, you ask? Well, nothing actually. It’s a nonsensical word that is assumed to have come from a mishearing of the original Zulu lyric “Uyimbube” which means “you're a lion.” So while the word isn’t actually a word, it is all you have to hear to name the song.

#5: “Bennie and the Jets” (1974)

Elton John

As that awesome scene in “27 Dresses” showed us, most people don’t actually know most of the lyrics to Elton John’s great 1974 track, “Bennie and the Jets.” However, while Jane and Kevin couldn’t agree on most of the words Elton is singing, they - and everyone else - know exactly how the chorus goes. Or more specifically how John sings the name “Bennie” in said chorus - adding a few extra stuttering B’s to the name. On its own just “Bennie” might not be enough for some people to know the song, but add a few stuttered B’s to the beginning of it and we’ll all be up on the bar screaming it out to the crowd.

#4: “Hooked on a Feeling” (1973)

Blue Swede

We can’t stop this feeling deep inside of us that “Hooked on a Feeling” is a song that is instantly knowable with just one word…. Ooga-Chaka. Okay, so maybe it isn’t really a word, but rather a hyphenated expression that was meant to sound like a Native American war chant. But putting the cringe-worthy cultural appropriation aside for a moment, there’s no denying its recognizability in the pop music cannon. Sing it, say it, or just see it written down…. Ooga-Chaka and “Hooked on a Feeling” go hand and hand. And let’s not forget that dancing baby (“Ally McBeal” fans will know what we’re talking about).

#3: “I Will Always Love You” (1992)

Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” was a record-setting smash hit back in 1992. And it has what has got to be one of the most iconic vocal moments in the history of pop music. Sure, the whole song is a singing master class. But what’s the moment we all know and wait for? That’s right. The music stops for just an instant and then we get the “I” in “I Will Always Love You”. But it isn’t just an “I.” It’s a 5 second vocalization of that one simple word that is instantly unmistakable.

#2: “All Star” (1999)

Smash Mouth

You don’t have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to know what song you’re listening to when you hear that very first lyric of Smash Mouth’s 1999 hit track “All Star.” The first word of the song is “somebody” - but not just any somebody. The way lead singer Steve Harwell sings it, with that slight pause between the “some” and the “body” makes this a very distinctive “somebody.” And one that immediately gives away what song it is. Although, if someone still can’t name the song after hearing that one word, we wouldn’t judge them or put up our finger and our thumb in the shape of an “L” on our forehead.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Wannabe” (1996), Spice Girls
Zigazig-ah: need we say more?


“Kokomo” (1988), The Beach Boys
Most of the Locations in the 1st Verse Would Work, But We Think Montego Is the Most Obvious

“Drop It Like It's Hot” (2004), Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell
A 6-Second Long Snoop. What Other Song Could It Be?

“Thunderstruck” (1990), AC/DC
The Word “Thunder” Hits You Like Thunder in This Classic Rock Track

#1: “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)

Queen

With Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the hard part isn’t finding one word that makes the song instantly recognizable, but rather picking just one of the words that does so. We can start with the 16th Century commedia dell'arte generic clown character. Did you know that’s what a “Scaramouche” is? Can you think of another song with the word “Scaramouche” in it? How about “Beelzebub” or “Fandango?” But we’re not done yet. While “mama” is a much more general music lyric, the way Freddie Mercury elongates it on multiple occasions in the second and third verse can only mean “Bohemian Rhapsody.”


Do you “believe” we missed any obvious ones? Let us know in the comments.