There have been plenty of songs written about nearly every member of the Animal Kingdom, but have you ever noticed that monkeys get an inordinate amount of love? Some of the greatest songs in the history of rock involve primates. Often it’s symbolic as it is in Aerosmith’s Monkey on My Back, which is a song Steven Tyler and Joe Perry wrote about drug addiction.

This week’s B List takes a look at the ten best songs involving monkeys…

10. Theme From The Monkees – The Monkees

The four leads in an NBC sitcom entitled The Monkees were introduced to the world in 1966 through a theme song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Mickey Dolenz was the only one of the four Monkees to actually perform on the track.

9. Proudest Monkey – Dave Matthews Band

Proudest Monkey came out of an impromptu jam the band played as a soundcheck for a gig at Williams College in 1993. The song went through many changes before it was recorded for 1996′s Crash. After being shelved for a number of years, Proudest Monkey has gotten plenty of love from Dave and the band in 2006 and 2008.

8. Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters avoided the sophomore slump in a big way with the release of The Colour and The Shape in 1997. Among the gems on the classic album is the anthemic My Hero, Dave Letterman’s favorite song – Everlong and this quick and catchy rocker that still gets tons of airplay on rock radio 12 years later.

READ ON for the seven best songs regarding monkeys…

7. Tweeter and the Monkey Man – Traveling Wilburys

The Traveling Wilburys, the ubergroup made up of Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison recorded this gritty song about a drug dealer named Tweeter and her partner in crime after a group writing session for their first album back in 1988.

6. Shock The Monkey – Peter Gabriel

You could be excused for thinking this song is about animal rights, but according to author Chris Welch’s The Secret Life of Peter Gabriel, Shock The Monkey is a love song that deals with jealousy. Shock The Monkey was released off of Gabriel’s fourth self-titled album back in 1982 and quickly found its home on the airwaves zooming to #1 on the Billboard Rock Radio.

5. Sleepy Monkey – Widespread Panic

When Michael Houser, John Bell and Dave Schools recorded their first single together in 1985, Coconut Image, they put another original composition named Sleepy Image on the B-side. Coconut Image soon became Coconut while Sleepy Image soon became Sleepy Monkey and nearly 25 years later the band still performs both tunes in concert. Sleepy Monkey features a nice reggae groove and John Bell often raps Bob Marley lyrics during performances of the tune.

4. Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys teamed up with producer Rick Rubin to write a catchy song about a cocktail for their debut album License to Ill and the album went on to become the first rap album to hit #1 on the charts and the best selling rap album of the ’80s. Brass Monkey is still a staple of the B-Boys’ live set and a crowd favorite.

3. Monkey Gone to Heaven – The Pixies

The Pixies’ first major label single was one of the finest efforts of their career – 1989′s Monkey Gone to Heaven. UK’s Melody Maker picked Black Francis’ environmentally-themed masterpiece as the Single of the Year in 1989 and the song was also near the top of Rolling Stone and NME’s lists as well.

2. Everybody’s Got Something to Hide, Except For Me & My Monkey – The Beatles

There’s so much to love about this masterful tune from The Beatles’ White Album, but Paul McCartney’s constantly changing syncopated bass line sticks out as one of the best he’s ever come up with. Between McCartney’s slick line, Ringo’s mashing, John Lennon’s biting words and George Harrison’s gritty leads it’s no wonder this incredibly crafted song has been covered by so many artists.

1. Monkey Man – Rolling Stones

One of the more intense Jagger/Richards songs on record, Monkey Man features Richards playing a savage riff while Jagger delivers passionate lyrics that may or may not be about our animalistic tendencies in regards to sex, drugs and rock and roll. Filmaker Martin Scorsese epic use of Monkey Man at the peak of 1990′s Goodfellas only added to this song’s mystique.

Honorable Mention: Sleeping Monkey – Phish, Apeman – The Kinks, I Wanna Be Like You – Louis Prima, Monkey – George Michael, Anything by Gorillaz, Monkey and the Engineer – Jesse Fuller, Monkey On My Back – Aerosmith, Leave My Monkey Alone – Warren Zevon, Too Much Monkey Business – Chuck Berry

Scott Bernstein

Scott Bernstein co-founded Hidden Track in October 2006 and was managing editor until taking over as EiC in January 2008. Scotty also writes for Relix Magazine and curates YEMblog.com.

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