THE MOST INFLUENTIAL POP SONGS

ACCORDING TO BOB DYLAN

One of the greatest songwriters of all time has written The Philosophy of Modern Song (Nov. 1, Simon & Schuster), a meditation from Bob Dylan on 66 songs that changed social landscapes in music. “Music naggingly adheres itself in countless pinpoints of memory and emotion,” writes the 81-year-old singer-songwriter. “People can keep trying to turn music into a science, but in science, one and one will always be two. Music, like all art, tells us that one plus one, in the best circumstances, equals three.” Here are a few of Dylan’s picks of the most influential songs of our time. Go to Parade.com/dylan for more. —Dillon Dodson

“Tutti Frutti” (1955), Little Richard Written by Richard alongside Dorothy LaBostrie, it’s often recognized as a song that changed the world. With Richard’s iconic upbeat blues-boogie style, it arguably created rock ’n’ roll as we know it today. “He took speaking in tongues right out of the canvas tent and put it on the mainstream radio,” writes Dylan. “He’s saying that something is happening. The world’s gonna fall apart. ‘Tutti Frutti’ is sounding the alarm.”

“Volare (Nel blu, dipinto di blu)” (1958), Domenico Modugno Bobby Rydell had a hit with this Italian tune, but it was Modugno’s original version that won the first-ever Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1959. “Volare, it means, Let’s fly away into the cielo infinito [‘infinite sky’]. The entire world can disappear, but I’m in my own head.”

“London Calling” (1979), The Clash “London calling” referenced the BBC’s updates during WWII. But the Clash used the phrase to call out police brutality, global warming, the Cold War and “phony Beatlemania.” “Punk rock is the music of frustration and anger, but the Clash are different,” Dylan says. “Theirs is the music of desperation. A lot of their songs are overblown, overwritten, well-intentioned. But not this one. All hell is breaking loose, but the guy is still living by the river, which gives him hope.”