"Not alone for gold and silver / Is Arizona great / But with graves of heroes sleeping / All the land is consecrate!" — "Arizona March Song"
Gin Blossoms
Rainer Ptacek
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The goal of finding Arizona's 100 greatest songs was hardly easy. We asked our readers to tell us what songs have defined Arizona over the past century. As we combed through e-mail submissions, one thing became clear: Arizona's musical heritage is as diverse, fascinating, and complicated as the people who live here.
From the early Latino folk music and cowboy laments to the funky strut of the Broadway R&B circuit to the jangle pop of Mill Ave to protest songs of today, Arizona has never been in lockstep with national trends, instead offering a diverse — sometimes obscure — sound that refuses to be easily categorized.
In addition to submissions, we dove into New Times archives, consulted historians, musicians, record collectors, scoured blogs, and slipped into YouTube rabbit holes to complete this list, focusing on artists you might've heard any given night in a dusty nightclub or bar.
These are the sounds of Arizona.
1915: "Arizona March Song," Margaret Rowe Clifford/Maurice Blumenthal
1929: "Cowboy's Wife," Billie Maxwell (Victor)
1939: "Los Abonos," Los Carlistas, featuring Lalo Guerrero (Vocalion)
1951: "Navajo Squaw Dance," Ed Lee Natay, Natay — Navajo Singer (Canyon)
1956: "The Fool," Sanford Clark, single (MCI/Dot) (Read more about "The Fool.")
1958: "Rebel Rouser," Duane Eddy, single (Jamie)
1958: "Need You," Donnie Wood, single
1959: "Night Beat," The Nightbeats, featuring Pete Ronstadt, single (Zoom)
1960: "How Many Times," Patti LaSalle, single (MCI)
1961: "Cookin'," Al Casey Combo, single (Ramco)
1962: "Working on a Building of Praise," Reverend Louis Overstreet, single (Arhoolie)
1962: "Son, Don't Go Near the Indians," Rex Allen, single (Mercury)
1963: "Drifting Heart," Roosevelt Nettles, single (Chess)
1965: "It (Ain't No Big Thing)," The Jordan Brothers (Id)
1965: "Why Don't You Love Me?" The Spiders, featuring Alice Cooper, single ( Mascot)
1966: "Funky Broadway," Dyke and the Blazers (Artco)
1966: "El Mosquito," Eddie Dimas & The Upsets, single (Cristy)
1968: "Oh No," Mike Condello, Phase One (Sceptre)
1968: "Ho Ho, Ha Ha, Hee Hee, Ha Ha" (theme from The Wallace and Ladmo Show), Mike Condello
1969: "Standing on the Corner," Michael Liggins and the Soulsations, single (Ramco)
1969: "Function Underground," We the People, single (Mighty)
1972: "Bullets Don't Have Eyes," Eddie & Ernie (unreleased)
1972: "Tuba City," Dolan Ellis, single (Capo)
1972: "When I Start Drinkin'," Vernon Wray, Wasted (self-released)
1973: "Western Winds," Hans Olson, Western Winds (Joplin)
1975: "White Punks on Dope," The Tubes, The Tubes (A&M)
1977: "Teen Love Song," The Consumers, All My Friends Are Dead (In the Red reissue)
1978: "Naomi's Song," Jerry Riopelle, Live in the Round (Little Eskimo)
1979: "Tonight," Blue Shoes, single (self-released)
1980: "Jesus Entering from the Rear," The Feederz, Jesus (Anxiety)
1981: "Arizona, I Love You," Rex Allen Jr. (declared the unofficial state anthem)
1981: "Do the Hannigan," JFA, Blatant Localism (Placebo)
1981: "Bombs Away," Loosely Tight, Fightin' Society (Star Struck)
1982: "Low Rider Rap," Poor Boy Rappers, single (Raina)
1982: "I Love You," The Jetzons, Made in America (self-released)
1982: "Monster Stomp," Grant and the Geezers, single (self-released)
1983: "Out Out!" Tone Set, Calibate (MLP)
1983: "Death Song — Lament," R. Carlos Nakai, Changes (Canyon)
1983: "Open the Door," Gentlemen Afterdark, EP (self-released)
1985: "Exterminator," Mighty Sphincter, Mighty Sphincter (Placebo)
1985: "We Got Cactus," Bloodspasm (Read more about "We Got Cactus.")
1985: "Up on the Sun," Meat Puppets, Up on the Sun (SST)
1985: "Pizza and Beer," Dave Pratt and the Sex Machine Band, The Worst of Dave Pratt (KUPD)
1986: "Swing of Kings," Sun City Girls, Grotto of Miracles (Placebo)
1986: "Draining You of Life," Sacred Reich, Draining You of Life (self-released)
1986: "Doomsday for the Deceiver," Flotsam and Jetsam, Doomsday for the Deceiver (Metal Blade)
1989: "Found Out About You," Gin Blossoms, Dusted (San Jacinto) (Read more about "Found Out About You.")
1990: "We Don't Do That Anymore," Sidewinders, Auntie Ramos' Pool Hall (Mammoth/RCA)
1994: "One Man Crusade," Rainer (Read more about the music of Tucson legend Rainer.)
1994: "Yer Ropes," Giant Sand, Glum (Imago)
1995: "The Roach Clip," Phunk Junkeez, Injected (Interscope)
1995: "I Don't Need You," The Fells, single (Bag of Hammers)
1995: "Arizona Woman," Chico Chism, Raw as Hell (Cher-Kee)
1996: "True Feelings," Supermarket, single (Dump Koch)
1996: "Banditos," The Refreshments, Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy (Mercury)
1996: "Scottsdale," Chronic Future, Chronic Future (ULG/Tommy Boy)
1996: "Hung Over with Jenny," The Beat Angels, Unhappy Hour (Epiphany)
1996: "Jerking It to the Trashwomen," The Wongs, single (Rerun)
1997: "The Inner Flame," Rainer (Read more about the music of Tucson legend Rainer.)
1997: "Just to Hold On to You," The Pistoleros, Hang On to Nothing (Hollywood)
1997: "Down for Yours," NB Ridaz, The First Chapter (Def Jam)
1998: "Out of Here," Sleepwalker, Man on the Moon (Hayden's Ferry)
(
Read more about "Out of Here")
1999: "Goodbye Sky Harbor," Jimmy Eat World, Clarity (Capitol)
2001: "Concerto for Turntable," DJ Radar, single (self-released)
2002: "The Farm," Rainer (Read more about the music of Tucson legend Rainer.)
2002: "One More Minute," Authority Zero, A Passage in Time (Lava)
2002: "The First Single," The Format, EP (Western Thread)
2003: "Not Even Stevie Nicks," Calexico, Feast of Wire (Quarterstick)
2003: "Dale Earnhardt's Seatbelt," The Bled, Pass the Flask (Fiddler)
2004: "This Town," Reuben's Accomplice, The Bull, the Balloon, and the Family (Western Thread)
2004: "Dance On," Asleep in the Sea, Yeah, Okay (self-released)
2004: "¡Americano!" Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, ¡Americano! ( Emma Java)
2005: "Knee Deep," Job for a Cowboy, King of the Monsters (self-released)
