RS 100 Songs: Name the Artist (3)

[C] Michael Jackson | Quincy Jones wanted to cut this from Thriller, thinking the intro was too long for radio.

[C] Marvin Gaye | Inspired by police brutality witnessed by Renaldo Benson, Marvin almost didn't record this Motown masterpiece.

[A] Bob Dylan | At six minutes long, radio stations initially refused to play Bob's electric breakthrough that changed rock forever.

[A] Wilson Pickett | Steve Cropper wrote this with Wilson at the Lorraine Motel where MLK was later assassinated.

[B] Patti Smith | Bruce gave Patti his unfinished song; she added poetry about desire, creating punk's greatest love song.

[B] Smokey Robinson | Stevie Wonder created the circus-themed track first, then Smokey added lyrics about hiding heartbreak behind laughter.

[A] Frankie Valli | Four Seasons were breaking up when Frankie went solo with this, launching his second career.

[A] Bobby 'Blue' Bland | Duke Records' house band created this template for soul ballads that influenced everyone from Aretha to Otis.

[B] Levon Helm | The Band's enigmatic biblical allegory featured Levon's Arkansas drawl making Canadian Robbie Robertson's lyrics authentically American.

[C] Johnny Cash | June Carter wrote this about falling for Johnny while both were married to other people.

[C] Aretha Franklin | Originally by Otis Redding, Aretha transformed this plea into a feminist anthem, spelling out exactly what she wanted.

[C] B.B. King | Roy Hawkins wrote it, but B.B.'s Lucille guitar and world-weary voice made blues mainstream in 1969.

[B] Christina Aguilera | Linda Perry wrote this in her living room; Christina's vocal vulnerability earned her a Grammy for female pop.

[D] Karen Carpenter | Richard wrote this for Karen; her pristine alto made even country music fans embrace the siblings.

[D] Luther Vandross | Luther's only top five pop hit came after years of singing backup for Bowie, Bette, and Chaka.

[A] The Everly Brothers | Boudleaux Bryant wrote this; the brothers' harmonies influenced Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and every harmony group since.

[D] Jackie Wilson | Jackie's energetic stage moves while performing this led to his fatal heart attack onstage in 1975.

[C] John Fogerty | CCR's Vietnam protest took aim at draft-dodging elites; politicians still misunderstand its message at rallies.

[D] Sam Moore | Sam & Dave's Memphis soul masterpiece was written during Detroit riots as celebration of Black pride.

[D] Sly Stone | Sly's integrated band preached unity while America burned; this became the Family Stone's biggest hit.

[C] David Ruffin | Smokey Robinson wrote this for his wife, but Temptations' version with David's lead became Motown's anthem.

[D] Prince | Prince removed the bass line at the last minute, creating that distinctive hollow sound that defined 1984.

[B] Janis Joplin | Erma Franklin recorded it first, but Janis's raw Monterey Pop Festival performance made it legendary.

[D] Solomon Burke | Dirty Dancing revived this Atlantic Records deep cut, proving Solomon's church-trained voice was timeless.

[B] Stevie Nicks | Written after John Lennon's murder and her uncle's death, that guitar riff samples police sirens subconsciously.

[B] John Lennon | Yoko Ono co-wrote this peace anthem, though she wasn't credited until 2017, decades after John's death.

[B] Paul Rodgers | Bad Company's debut single was recorded in Ronnie Lane's mobile studio using The Who's old equipment.

[B] Steve Perry | Journey's power ballad became history's most downloaded twentieth-century song thanks to The Sopranos finale.

[C] Little Richard | The original lyrics were too raunchy for 1955, so Dorothy LaBostrie rewrote them during a lunch break.

[A] Gregg Allman | Written during Allman Brothers' darkest period, Gregg's road-weary vocals defined Southern rock mystique.

[A] Don Henley | Mike Campbell's rejected Tom Petty demo became Henley's meditation on aging and lost innocence in Reagan's America.

[B] Al Green | Written in fifteen minutes, Al's silky vocals made this the ultimate slow dance song for five decades.

[C] Freddie Mercury | Record executives called this six-minute opera-rock epic commercial suicide until DJ Kenny Everett played it fourteen times.

[A] Nina Simone | A 1987 Chanel commercial resurrected this 1958 recording, making Nina an unlikely UK chart sensation.

[B] Bono | Inspired by Ethiopian refugee camps, U2 nearly scrapped this when mixing became impossibly complex.

[C] Bruce Springsteen | Six months of obsessive studio work nearly bankrupted Bruce before this became New Jersey's unofficial anthem.

[A] Patti LaBelle | Labelle's New Orleans prostitute tale shocked 1974; Christina, Pink, Mya, and Lil' Kim's version shocked 2001.

[D] Sam Cooke | Written after being turned away from a whites-only motel, this became the soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement.

[B] Robert Plant | Led Zeppelin never released this as a single, yet guitar stores worldwide still ban customers from playing it.

[C] Tom Waits | Bruce Springsteen's cover made it famous, but Tom's original captured late-night romance with future wife Kathleen.