Ten Great Electric Piano Rock Songs

I decided to write an article about electric piano rock songs. This article is my 75th blog post. I feature a mix of major hits, minor hits, album tracks and an outtake from classic rock artists. This article is similar to my previous articles “Ten Great Piano Rock Songs by Ten Different Singers” and “Ten Great Electric Piano Elton John Songs”. We’re going back five decades.

Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image (1970)

It opens with an interesting electric piano effect. A synth effect briefly appears before going away when the singing starts. The singing is accompanied by electric piano, bass and drums. A few other instruments briefly come in during the first verse. The song gets more rocking during the chorus featuring additional instruments. After the first chorus, there’s a light guitar solo with prominent electric piano accompaniment. The song concludes with a rocking guitar solo.

Empty Pages - Traffic (1970)

It opens with the combination of organ and electric piano. Steve Winwood sings the song and plays electric piano & organ. There is another organ part played by Chris Wood. The organ is loud in parts of the song giving a dramatic effect. Close to the two minute mark, there is a long electric piano solo. The opening notes of the solo remind me of a similar part Elton John played in his song “Dreamboat”. A little after the three minute mark, Steve Winwood lightly sings along to the melody for about 20 seconds before resuming the chorus. This is the only song on the list not to feature any guitar. That doesn’t prevent the song from rocking as it rocks well with its keyboard parts.

Midnight Creeper - Elton John (1973) 

The song has a horn intro and then the intense guitars played by Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone are in the forefront. The horns come back in the chorus. The chorus is catchy. At the two minute mark, there is a prominent horn part, followed by Davey’s guitar solo. During the guitar solo, there is back and forth between the guitar and the horns. There is another guitar solo at the end of the song. This solo features prominent interjections by the horns. While Elton’s electric piano isn’t the loudest instrument, he gives good accompaniment with his rock playing.

Black Night - Bob Seger (1975)

This is an intense rocker with some musical similarities to the previous song. It’s an example of the Bob Seger rock sound. It opens with the guitars which are driving the song. We soon hear some accompaniment from the electric piano. Just after a minute there are a few prominent notes by the electric piano. A bit before the halfway mark, there’s an electric piano solo. After the last verse, the song seems to stop and then comes back for a guitar solo. Bob features the same effect in “The Fire Down Below” which was released the following year.

New Kid In Town - Eagles (1976)

The song opens with the electric piano which is instantly joined by acoustic guitars. The acoustic guitars are the loudest instrument, but the electric piano provides good accompaniment. Soon, the electric guitars and organ appear. Glenn Frey sings in a gentle warm way. Don Henley’s backing vocals provide good support. A rockier electric guitar comes at the three minute and 21 second mark. This song has a slight Mexican influence which can be heard in some of its guitar parts. 

All For Leyna - Billy Joel (1980)

Following the opening electric piano notes, we are soon joined by strong guitars. Billy plays a good electric piano effect which comes throughout the song. This song rocks so well and Billy gives us great rock electric piano playing. Just after the three minute mark, a prominent synth part also played by Billy appears. It goes away and comes back at the end of the song.

You Make My Dreams (Come True) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (1980)

The song opens with Daryl’s electric piano. He soon starts singing. Daryl expresses his excitement in his soulful singing. There is an instrumental break just after the halfway mark featuring a more prominent guitar part. This is a fun light pop rock song that mixes electric piano and guitar well.

All Right - Christopher Cross (1983)

It opens with a mix of guitar and synth and soon the electric piano appears. The electric piano is most prominent during the verses. Michael McDonald’s backing vocals are heard during the choruses. There is a powerful guitar solo by Steve Lukather making the song rock more. The electric piano accompanies the solo well. This song has a good mix of electric piano, synth and guitar.

Goin’ Home - Toto (1989)

This is an unreleased song from 1989 until it was released in 1998. The song opens with electric piano notes played by David Paich which is soon joined by all the instruments. There are backing vocals sung which is followed by original Toto lead singer Bobby Kimball’s vocals. They have two call and responses which also happens in the second verse. Similarly, during an instrumental section, there is a call and response between Steve Lukather on guitar and David Paich on electric piano. This song has a fun energetic feel.

When I See You Smile - Bad English (1989)

The song opens with Jonathan Cain’s electric piano. John Waite sings with minimal subtle instrumental accompaniment that includes acoustic guitar and keyboards. The song then has the addition of heavy guitars, drums and synth just before the chorus which continues going into the chorus. The second verse starts off similar to the first verse, but with added drums. The song then goes through the same musical changes which happened in the first verse. At about the three quarter mark, we have a strong guitar solo by Neil Schlon. The song closes with the same electric piano notes that opened it.

I tried to feature a balance of different types of rock in this article. They include pop rock, soft rock, hard rock and progressive rock. Also, there is a form of popular rock music known as yacht rock which is on this list. The term was coined in the 2000s, but it refers to music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The songs on this list I’d classify as yacht rock are the ones by the Eagles, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Christopher Cross and Toto. Electric piano may not be a common rock instrument, but it has a long and diverse history in the genre.

Ten Great Songs Featuring David Paich

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David Paich is a keyboardist and founder member of the American rock band Toto. He sang their most popular song “Africa”. Toto is a band of session musicians, thus David has a prolific session career playing on numerous albums. In this article, I am featuring ten songs David has played keyboards on including one song by his band Toto. David is joined by most of his original Toto bandmates on some of the non-Toto tracks on this list. I had previously featured two songs David Paich played on in my article “Ten Great Piano Rock Songs by Ten Different Singers”. 

These Days - Jackson Browne (1973)

This song begins with just Jackson and his acoustic guitar with some slide guitar parts. It continues that way until just before the chorus when David Paich’s piano comes in at just under a minute. David’s piano is a welcome addition that makes the song whole. He gives good accompaniment including being a good match for David Lindley’s slide guitar. 

Put Out the Light - Joe Cocker (1974)

This is a soulful rocker featuring David Paich’s piano, wacky guitars, horns and powerful backing vocals. Joe Cocker sings with such passion. While the piano isn’t the loudest instrument, it has a great presence including some glissandos. The saxophone is there throughout a lot of the song including some solos. 

Doctor Wu - Steely Dan (1975)

This is a piano driven soft rock song with a jazz influence as Steely Dan are a jazz rock band. David stated that he played on this song, so I’m assuming that the piano part is his. David is joined by his future Toto bandmate Jeff Porcaro who also plays on the next two songs. There is a saxophone through sections of the song including a solo. The guitar part is subtle. The piano playing is cool and melodic. The sax and piano goes in a more jazz direction towards the end of the song.

Lido Shuffle - Boz Scaggs (1976)

This is a popular song by Boz Scaggs which is co-written with David Paich. Elton John is an influence of David Paich which comes through in this song as it sounds like an Elton John song including its piano. The song features the bass and drums in the first twenty seconds until all the instruments come in. There are horns which are most prominent during the chorus. David is playing all the keyboards on this song which include piano and synths. He is joined by another future Toto bandmate, bassist David Hungate. Boz sings powerfully with his high voice. There are prominent synth parts in the last minute of the song which David doubles with his piano. Having both piano and synths gives a foreshadow of Toto’s sound. 

Manuela Run - Toto (1978)

I’m now including a song by David Paich’s band Toto. This is a song from their 1978 debut album (which also features their hit song “Hold the Line”) which he wrote, played on and sang lead vocals. It opens with David’s piano riff which is played throughout the song. David sings “round” in an interesting way. Bobby Kimball sings good backing vocals. It also features good synthesizer playing by Steve Porcaro and a guitar solo by Steve Lukather. It has a unique end with a few piano notes followed by a closing door. This song is both pop rock and progressive rock.  

The Retreat - Elton John (1980)

This is a great Elton John ballad about the American Civil War. The guitar is played by fellow Toto member Steve Lukather. It has Elton’s piano and singing for up until the end of the first verse. The full band comes in from the first chorus featuring prominent organ by David Paich and interesting guitar parts by Steve Lukather. The organ continues throughout the song and adds to it. There is a synthesizer by James Newton Howard which comes in during the last minute of the song. The synthesizer goes back and forth with the organ and then with the guitar. 

Allies - Heart (1983)

This song features David Paich on piano and synth. It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain and this song is somewhat reminiscent of the Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin’” with its combination of piano and intense guitars. It opens with the piano and is soon joined by Ann Wilson’s voice. The strong guitars come in as brief interjections in the first verse before fully coming in during the chorus. Ann sings powerfully on this song, especially in the harder rocking parts. The verses are piano driven. There is a section with David’s piano playing with his synth which reminds me of Toto. This is an intense ballad featuring powerful rock piano. 

New York Minute - Don Henley (1989)

This is an epic six and a half minute song which has a jazz influence. It opens with an orchestra that’s arranged by David Paich with flourishes of his piano. Following that there are keyboard notes which are soon joined by Pino Palladino’s bass and David’s piano. Jeff Porcaro’s drums and Pino’s bass have some jazz vibes. David’s piano too does this in the verses. Close to the two minute mark, Danny Kortchmar’s guitar brings rock to the song which goes away in the second verse and comes back for the chorus. African-American Christian vocal group Take 6 provide backing vocals during the chorus. At around the three minute and forty five second mark, the trumpet appears and has some notes throughout the remainder of the song. 

There Is No Greater Love - Wayne Watson (1992)

As a Christian, I was pleased to find out that David Paich played on a Christian song. The opening orchestra notes are similar to the previous song. This song has the simple arrangement of piano and orchestra. Piano and orchestra without any guitar, bass and drums is not my favourite arrangement as that runs the risk of it being a boring ballad for me. Thankfully, that is not the case here. David plays his piano powerfully. 

Please Forgive Me - Bryan Adams (1993)

David Paich’s acoustic piano comes for a short moment at the start of the song. What appears to be an electric piano replaces it until the chorus where the acoustic piano comes back. The acoustic piano is powerful when it returns. The chorus rocks with strong guitars and some hard hitting piano. This is a powerful rock ballad.  

David has played on a variety of different rock styles featured here being pop rock, soft rock, hard rock, progressive rock, jazz rock and rock & roll. There is also a Christian song featured. These songs cover a twenty year period from 1973 to 1993. I’m a fan of piano in rock music and piano is featured in all of these songs. David played piano on all the songs except one which is played by Elton John. This is fitting as Elton is a hero of David’s. These songs showcase David Paich’s great piano & keyboard playing as well as his skills as a songwriter, singer, arranger and producer. 

Ten Powerful Rock Ballads by Bob Seger

Having written an article “Ten Powerful Rock Ballads by Elton John”, I decided to write a similar one

about Bob Seger. I have also written a Bob Seger article like this, that being “Ten Great Bob Seger

Songs by Ten Different Piano Players”. These songs also feature piano. I made a selection of Bob

Seger songs that I consider to be both ballads and rock songs. Some songs have more emphasis in

its ballad aspects, while others have more emphasis on its rock aspects. I feature a mixture of his

hits and album tracks. I feature songs credited with his band the Silver Bullet Band as well as solo

songs. Not all songs credited with the Silver Bullet Band feature them, and I’ll specify if that’s the

case. The first seven songs are credited with the Silver Bullet Band with the remaining three songs

being solo.

Mainstreet (1976)

This song is recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, a group of session musicians in Alabama. This is a great song which has a brilliant guitar riff played by Pete Carr. The piano plays alone for half a second which is then joined by Pete Carr’s guitar riff which continues to come throughout the song. It has the Bob Seger sound of piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and organ. The piano and organ is played by Barry Beckett. The piano brings a gentle feel and the organ has a relaxed, lounge atmosphere. About two minutes into the song Pete Carr delivers a captivating guitar solo. I like it how some of the lyrics say “Sometimes Even Now” as “Sometimes” and “Even Now” are two other Bob Seger songs I love. Near the end of the song Bob shoutingly sings “down on Mainstreet” in a long way. The organ does some good effects at this part.

The first song in my similar Elton John article is “Candle in the Wind”, and I think both songs sound

alike. They both have a similar length. In fact, I had described Elton John & Bob Seger performing

these songs together one after the other in my article of an imaginary concert by them called “Elton

John & Bob Seger Live in Concert”. 

The Famous Final Scene (1978)

This song uses the same set of musicians as the previous song. It opens with piano which is soon

joined by electric guitar which gives a rock vibe. The electric guitar plays the same riff as the piano in

a different way. We are then joined by Bob singing with it being mainly piano backing him. The

electric guitars come back about a minute into the song. There are some strings and an organ. The

guitar parts played by Pete Carr are rocking and powerful. In the last minute of the song, the piano

does a few good rock notes accompanied by the drums. 

You’ll Accomp’ny Me (1980)

This is a softer song whose guitar parts are all acoustic. This song seems like soft rock. The acoustic

guitar is played by Bob. The opening of the song is mainly acoustic guitar with brief bits of keyboards

in the background until the piano comes thirty six seconds in. Bill Payne plays piano, organ and

synthesizer on this song. His piano parts bring energy to the song. In parts of the song, the organ

becomes prominent and does something good. This is the first song on this list to feature Silver

Bullet Band musicians, being bassist Chris Campbell and drummer David Teegarden. 

The live version from the 1981 live album “Nine Tonight” is even better with its powerful piano played by Craig Frost. This song is from his successful “Against The Wind” album which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, having been released in 1980. The next song is another hit from the same album.

Fire Lake (1980)

Bob Seger described this song as “R&B meets country” and while those elements are there, I’d

place it as soft rock. The electric guitar parts have an interesting effect. Don Henley, Timothy B.

Schmit and Glenn Frey of the Eagles sing backing vocals. They sing supporting effects and at the

two and a half minute mark sing “who wants to go to fire lake” which they repeat several times. This

song is recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and features piano by Barry Beckett and

organ by Randy McCormick (who played the piano on “Old Time Rock & Roll”). 

Like a Rock (1986) 

This is the title track of Bob Seger’s 1986 album and is a hit song. It opens with acoustic guitars with

subtle slide guitar parts by Rick Vito. The song is more rock than the previous two songs. Silver

Bullet Band member Craig Frost’s organ has a presence in the background. Bill Payne’s piano

comes in just before the chorus. In the chorus, Russ Kunkel ramps up his drums. In the bridge, Bob

sings much more intensely. Following this, Rick Vito gives the first of two incredible slide guitar solos.

Bill Payne gives good piano accompaniment to the slide guitar solos. I like it how Bob seemingly

makes a reference to his other hit “Against The Wind” with the line “Hard Against the Wind”. This

song goes on for an epic five minutes and fifty seven seconds. 

Miami (1986)

This is a song about the Cubans immigrating to America during the 1980s. It’s melodic and has a pop rock feel. It opens with drums, which is joined by the other instruments in a second. Bob Seger plays the piano in this song. He plays it well in a melodic way. The guitar part is an acoustic guitar. The song has good organ and horn parts, as well as Alto Reed’s saxophone playing. Craig Frost’s organ plays a good riff throughout the song. There is good harmony vocals by Don Henley. About the halfway mark, Brazilian percussionist Paulinho Da Costa plays good percussion with his hands. There is a brief moment where it’s just percussion and Bob’s singing. Bob brings his piano notes back in a good way a few seconds later. Near the end of the song, there’s a bit of rock piano playing by Bob Seger which is good to hear as he rarely plays rock piano. Bob’s rock piano notes here sound like the piano notes at the end of Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender”, which isn’t surprising as I remember reading Bob Seger speak highly of that song when praising Jackson Browne’s songwriting.

Always In My Heart (1991)

This song opens with piano played by Bruce Hornsby who had some hit singles credited with his then backing band The Range from 1986 - 1990. Bruce plays very good piano in this song. He moves the piano notes into good places musically which enriches the song. Bob sings powerfully. This song is recorded with session musicians except for Craig Frost’s synthesizer strings. It is reminiscent of Bob Seger’s popular song “We’ve Got Tonight”. We’ve Got Tonight was recorded with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and this song was produced by Barry Beckett (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section keyboardist) and Bob Seger.

Wait For Me (2006)

This is a solo song as are the remaining two songs on the list. It opens with drums joined by piano a

few seconds later. This is the signature Bob Seger rock ballad sound featuring piano. It’s played by

frequent collaborator Bill Payne. Bob delivers the good lines “No matter how far, no matter free”. Bob

sings with such soul and passion in this song. He plays a good rocking guitar solo. If this song was

released during Bob’s classic period, I think it would have become a big hit. I’d say the same thing

about the next song.

I’ll Remember You (2017) 

This song has the Bob Seger sound of piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and organ. It is similar to

his 1980 piano ballad “Good For Me”, so it seems like a rockier version of that song. The piano and

organ is played by Reese Wynans. Bob sings very powerfully in the song, most noticeably in the

choruses. The backing vocalists support Bob well and Kenny Greenberg gives intense rocking

guitar. Reese features his organ throughout the song. He plays some of his piano notes hard in an

effective rocking way. 

Maire (2017)

This song has the familiar Bob Seger piano ballad sound, while also sounding unlike anything he’s

ever done before. The piano is played by Steve Nathan. The song does rock with the piano and

drums giving a rock vibe. There are acoustic guitars including the acoustic flamenco guitar played by

Rob McNelley. Rob’s flamenco guitar parts appear in the last minute of the song. The flamenco

guitar is one aspect that makes it sound different to other Bob Seger songs.   

I hope you enjoyed my selection of Bob Seger rock ballads. I featured songs from every decade

from the 1970s to the 2010s. The 2020s isn’t featured as it’s only just beginning and there’s no new

Bob Seger songs so far. I’m sure Bob Seger would release his next album in this decade featuring

more powerful rock ballads worthy of this list. Feel free to give your thoughts on these songs or any

other Bob Seger rock ballads you like that are not featured here. 

Toto Tribute Album

In this post, I will write of an imaginary album I'd like to see (the first of more posts like this to come). This album is a tribute album to the Rock band Toto by successful names in Classic Rock, with some being very big names. For those of you unfamiliar with Toto, Toto is an American Rock band formed in 1977 whose hits include ‘Africa’, ‘Rosanna’, ‘Hold The Line’, ‘I Won’t Hold You Back’, ‘I’ll Be Over You’. When Toto formed, their line-up was Steve Lukather - guitar & vocals, David Paich - keyboards & vocals, Steve Porcaro - keyboards & vocals, David Hungate - bass, Jeff Porcaro - drums and Bobby Kimball - lead vocals. In the current line-up Steve Lukather, David Paich and Steve Porcaro remain with Joseph Williams as their lead vocalist. The songs I selected come from their original line-up except for ‘I’ll Be Over You’ that’s from 1986. As I like Piano in Rock music, and also when the singers themselves play it, I am envisioning most of the singers playing Piano. I will give some ideas of how their versions of the songs can go in the section about the songs.

As this is a personal selection of mine there are some Toto songs highly regarded or popular not included here. Some of what I write about these songs will be short giving the reader more room for imagination for these covers. This list comprises 12 Toto hits and album tracks by artists that I think could make a version of these songs that I’d like. What's interesting is that most (if not all) of these artists have worked with at least 1 of the Toto members as a session musician and some even appeared on a Toto album. However, I won't be listing their connection with Toto as that will make this post go on too long.

Elton John & Bob Seger - Rosanna

I'll start with my 2 favourite singers Elton John & Bob Seger. This version would have Elton's original band members who are still with him Davey Johnstone (Lead Guitar) and Nigel Olsson (Drums) as well as the Original Members of Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band who are still with him Alto Reed (Saxophone), Craig Frost (Organ) and Chris Campbell (Bass) with Elton on Piano, Bob on Guitar and a horn section like on the original. As the original had 2 lead vocalists, I envision Elton singing Steve Lukather's part and Bob Seger singing Bobby Kimball's part. The synth solo section would be replaced with back and forth interaction between Alto Reed and the Horn Section.

Michael McDonald - Make Believe

Michael McDonald was the singer Toto originally wanted who's closely connected to them and I think that he could really sing a great version of this song with his powerful voice with him obviously playing Piano.

Boz Scaggs - Georgy Porgy

Toto Keyboardist David Paich co-wrote some songs with Boz for his successful “Silk Degrees” album and as Boz even recorded an unreleased Toto song (until it appeared on the “Toto XX: 1977-1997” album) ‘Miss Sun’ which became a US hit, this song which David wrote could have been something Boz did as it has a Rock/Soul feel. As Michael McDonald and he have similarities and toured together, I put their 2 songs together.

Don Henley - I’ll Supply The Love

This song suits Don Henley's voice and I can imagine him singing this. He would play Drums on this and I envision his version being less Progressive Rock than the original.

Richard Marx - It’s a Feeling

It's time for a real ballad to slow things down. Richard would play Piano on this.

Journey - Hold The Line

This would be interesting as both Toto & Journey were popular American bands around the same time whose work went into Pop Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock and they both were influenced by Jazz.

The Doobie Brothers - Manuela Run

This song could be done a bit like their hit ‘The Doctor’, but wouldn't have a section in the song where the Keyboards stop. The Doobie Brothers recently had Keyboardist Bill Payne who'd done session work for them join their touring band, so he'd play Piano and Organ and this version wouldn't have the synths of the original.

Jackson Browne - I’ll Be Over You

Jackson would play Piano on this song and I think his voice is a bit like Steve Lukather who sang the original.

I originally intended Glenn Frey to cover this song, but as he tragically passed away recently I had to choose someone else for this song. Interestingly, Glenn lived above Jackson in the early 70s in LA. RIP Glenn Frey.

Billy Joel - Africa

Even though this song has strong World Music influences, I think it has a bit of a Billy Joel vibe. The original had only a little Piano, but in this version after the intro the Piano would kick in more prominent than the original and be there for the whole song. The original is a bit like Billy's 'River of Dreams' which has a similar intro and he'd bring more of that song into this version including a Piano solo similar to that one.  

REO Speedwagon - I Won’t Hold You Back

Their lead singer Kevin Cronin would play Piano on this and this version would sound more like their hit ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’.

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood - St. George & the Dragon

Eric would sing the verses (Bobby Kimball part) and Steve would sing the choruses (David Paich part). Steve could sing the "I Can Tell By The" lines at the end very powerfully. I'm envisioning Steve playing Organ and/or Piano on this song. The Guitar parts would be altered to Eric's style.  

Steely Dan - 99

Donald Fagen would play Piano and this version would sound like a track off their debut album “Can’t Buy a Thrill” by using that style of arrangement. This would be interesting as Steely Dan is an influence of Toto.

What did you think of it? Are there other covers you'd like to see? Think a different song better suits an artist I chose? Have other ideas of where these covers could go? Have ideas of Producers for a song or the whole album? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments. Hope you liked this post.