1. Money, Pink Floyd
2. For the Love of Money, O’Jays
3. Money (That’s What I Want), Barrett Strong
4. Money for Nothing, Dire Straits
5. Loan Me a Dime, Boz Scaggs
Honorable mention: She Works Hard for the Money, Donna Summer; Take the Money and Run, Steve Miller; Can’t Buy me Love, Beatles; Money, from Cabaret; Money Honey, the Platters; First I Look at the Purse, Contours/J. Geils; Funky Dollar Bill, Parliament; Blue Money, Van Morrison
We could work in the Allman Brothers again, for the paycheck on Friday thing, but we have to chill for at least a few pages. No, this is Pink Floyd’s moment, cash register sound and all, which was kind of unnecessary. The song carries the full self-flagellative power of our love/hate with the almighty dollar. It’s Floyd, with the helicopter sounds, phone calls, kids singing and all, and we love it.
The O’Jays, with songs written by Hall of Famers’ Gamble & Huff, had their healthy issues with corporate life. Their Backstabbers is another classic, with advice about those who do not wish us well, for monetary or romantic reasons.
Oh Barrett Strong, you had Motown’s first hit with Money, which the Beatles covered later. And you co-wrote some of the BEST songs of all time: Grapevine, War, Smiling Faces, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, and more. Thank you, good sir.
And Boz, we love you, man. Your time with the Steve Miller Band and even, yes, your disco phase. We’re sure your pals hated you for Lowdown and Lido, but screw ‘em. Good songs. And Loan Me a Dime is just fantastic, 13 minutes of blues heaven, with guitar by – uh oh, here they are again - Duane Allman.
After I did my list I looked around online for others; here's a great top 35 money song list.
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