First Album, First Song: The 150 Best Lead-Off Tracks

Lead Off Track
Albums clockwise from upper left: Crosby, Stills & Nash self-titled, Fleet Foxes, self-titled, Patti Smith, Horses, Stevie Wonder, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, Brandi Carlile, self-titled, Run-D.M.C., self-titled. Courtesty of the artists

By Bruce Warren, WXPN

Over the years, some bands who’ve released recording debuts have launched their careers with a single from the album that, in many cases, was the first song on the first side of their record. In the business, these songs are called “lead-off tracks,” denoting the first in a series of songs on an album. Many of these tracks spawned major hits: from Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love,” “Chuck E’s In Love” by Rickie Lee Jones and Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why,” to Foo Fighters’ “This Is A Call” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” by Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Still others, while not major radio hits, have had lasting influence on pop music. “Radio Free Europe” by R.E.M., “Illegal Smile” by John Prine, “Push It Along” by A Tribe Called Quest and “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground come to mind.

From rock and soul to R&B and rap, we’ve collected 150 of these lead-off tracks into one playlist. Listen below.