Classic Rock Songs You Didn't Know Were Hidden In Modern Hits

On the face of it, classic rock hasn't had much presence when it comes to the relatively modern art of music sampling. A practice that was pioneered during the early days of hip-hop in the late 1970s and early 1980s, sampling generally involved DJs and producers making loops and beats from pre-existing records that breakers could dance to and MCs could rap over. In those early days, producers, who were predominantly Black and creating music for block parties in major cities, most notably New York, the records often came from their parents' collections and were typically soul, R&B, and jazz. Artists such as Bootsy Collins and James Brown became instrumental in shaping the sound of the new urban genre.

Rock samples seemed relatively rare, and when rock did successfully cross over with hip-hop, it was a notable event for both sets of listeners, such as with Run-DMC and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. However, since then, rock has increasingly underpinned hip-hop and pop in general in recent years, thanks to increased sampling and interpolation (in which lyrics and melodies of earlier works are worked into contemporary songs). Some classic rock tracks, such as Mountain's "Long Red," have been sampled countless times, while in the 21st century songwriters are increasingly looking back to the '60s, '70s, and '80s for inspiration. Here are five classic rock tracks that you may have heard more often in modern times than you realize.

Mountain's "Long Red" wasn't a huge commercial hit in its own right, but has come to be regarded as a classic thanks to the huge number of producers who have turned to it for samples. The same might be said of Billy Squier's "The Big Beat," which sank like a stone on its release in 1980. It has, however, enjoyed a remarkable afterlife among beatmakers. It made a notable early appearance in Run-DMC's "Here We Go" in 1983, but usage exploded after it was included in 1986's "Ultimate Breaks & Beats," a compilation of tracks known for their drum breaks that early hip-hop DJs would spin for breakers to bust a move to. The song also formed the foundation of several key rap tracks later in the decade, most notably the battle tracks UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne," and Roxanne Shante's "Roxanne's Revenge."

Since then, "The Big Beat" has been sampled hundreds of times. The track dominated the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 2003, providing the fat drums that underpin the signature Jay-Z banger "99 Problems" (among the other samples you will find, of course, Mountain's "Long Red"), and also pioneering grime rapper Dizzee Rascal's stripped-back breakthrough "Fix Up Look Sharp," which manages to strip the song of its rock roots while losing none of its swagger. Squier himself is proud of the track's place among the foundational break beats of hip-hop. In 2006, he told Vintage Guitar: "It has taken on its own cult of personality, and I'm kind of like the Robert Johnson of hip-hop! It's very cool" (via The Financial Times).

The British-Sri Lankan alternative hip-hop artist M.I.A. enjoyed an incredible commercial breakthrough in 2007 with her single "Paper Planes," which sold millions of copies worldwide and earned its creator a Grammy nomination. The song is famous for its chorus, which is replete with gunshots and cash register chings between bars of M.I.A.'s faux-braggadocious vocal. But from the moment the beat kicks in, the song is instantly recognizable, with a descending, off-kilter loop that perfectly underscores the track's satirical political commentary, which mocks the demonization of migrants.

The sample comes from "Straight to Hell," a 1980 track by British punk band The Clash. A track which is also concerned with migration, it is a perfect match for the theme of "Paper Planes" — it just so happens to sound incredibly cool too. Producer Diplo explained the choice: "I just thought that The Clash and M.I.A. were the same kind of artist. And I wanted to reference The Clash on an M.I.A. record because they're both [from] London, they're punk, and they'd be world music. We just kind of made up the hook, and honestly we didn't even finish that song. If you recognize it, the verse is the same eight lines, twice. And the second verse is the same eight lines, twice. We never finished the verses, we just repeated it. But, it worked" (via American Songwriter).

Sometimes songwriters don't need to base their whole composition around another piece of music; instead, just sprinkling in a reference or two is enough to summon the memory of a classic song. That's the case with "Scared To Live," the 2020 ballad by R&B superstar The Weeknd (born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) from his fourth album "After Hours."

The minimalist track has been praised for taking its inspiration from the big classic ballads of the past, an inspiration that shines through despite its modern production sheen. And if you were under any misapprehension as to where The Weeknd's source material might be found, the climax of the song features the repeated line "I hope you don't mind," which is lifted wholesale from Elton John's 1970 tearjerker "Your Song." 

The Weeknd's interpolation employs both the melody and the original lyrics written by John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, with both John and Taupin being named as songwriters on the track. John has revealed himself to be a big fan of The Weeknd and of the use of his song, telling the BBC's Zane Lowe: "I'm so blown away, I mean, just to be part of his record ... For someone my age and as someone who loves what he does, I'm so thrilled and I just love him. I just think ... I was watching a couple of things this morning that were the same old stuff, the rap stuff and I was thinking, 'Good old Abel, he's making music. He's making proper music'" (via Billboard).

The Beatles are a rock institution that is famously reticent to license its music, with recordings from the band's catalog rarely appearing in TV shows, movies, and ads. That policy is generally the case when it comes to giving sampling permission, too; Lil Wayne's 2007 track "Help," for example, which samples the Beatles track of the same name, had to remain on the unofficial compilation "Tha Carter 3 Sessions," rather than receive a commercial release.

But for some artists, the Fab Four make an exception. And that was the case with former Odd Future vocalist Frank Ocean, who was able to gain the Beatles' blessing to use a subtle sample of its 1965 ballad "Here, There and Everywhere" for his delicate 2017 track "White Ferrari."

Ocean has admitted that he struggled with writer's block in the making of his albums "Endless" and "Blond," and credits listening to the Beatles for helping him push through it. "I want to thank the Beatles for almost single-handedly getting me out of writer's block," he said on his radio show "Blonded" (via NME). Indeed, "White Ferrari" includes the phrase "spending each day of the year," which is very similar to "Here, There, and Everywhere's," "making each day of the year," suggesting the song was also the starting point when it came to penning the lyrics. Ocean also borrows melodic phrasing from the Beatles' song. John Lennon and Paul McCartney are listed as songwriters on the track.

The crunk era of the mid-2000s produced a bevy of club bangers that remain some of the most party-friendly music of the 21st century. And "Let's Go," a 2004 smash that broke into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, featured three of the biggest names of the period: Trick Daddy, Lil Jon, and Twista.

The trio's lyrics are unapologetically low-brow, revolving around the evergreen rap topics of cash, guns, and partying, with their in-your-face performances delivered with an intensity that feels like a threat (indeed, several of the refrains are). The track also benefits from a rock-rap beat that's fittingly unhinged. Produced by Jim Jonsin and Bigg D, it features a sample lifted from the opening bars of Ozzy Osbourne's solo hit "Crazy Train," which has been credited for its crossover appeal.

Speaking to Hip-Hop DX in 2022, Trick Daddy recalled that Osbourne was happy to offer sample clearance and was pleased for his music to be put to a new use. The Black Sabbath legend enjoyed royalties from the evergreen track, but charged the younger artist very little at first. "Of course, I gave him his share ... But as far as upfront money, it was pennies," Trick Daddy said.