A cowbell song immediately stands out whether the listener is thinking about the cowbell or not. It’s an instrument that you cannot avoid easily and often becomes an element that glues the song together when the right part is played.
The cowbell song that everybody talks about is “The Reaper” by the Blue Oyster Cult. This idea of cowbell being the brunt of a joke came from the Saturday Night Light sketch with Will Farrell and Christopher Walkin. The catch phrase “more cowbell” is an exaggeration because it’s generally not the instrument a producer spends much time discussing in the studio.
All jokes aside, the following songs can’t live without a cowbell. If one were to play the song live without the cowbell, most listeners would notice something wrong, and some would know that the song needs more cowbell.
What Makes a Good Cowbell Song?
A good cowbell song includes rhythm instruments with parts complemented by the cowbell. The guitars or keyboards are either colored by a syncopated cowbell part, locked down by driving downbeats, or laid back with upbeats on the cowbell.
The cowbell sound is important, too. The songs on this list have a variety of styles of cowbell ranging from traditional Cuban-style bells to modern rock cowbells.
Click this link for more on different types of cowbells and other gear recommendations.
Driving Downbeats
Cha cha is a Cuban style that has been a great influence on American pop music. It’s very likely that the origins of rhythm and blues are the straight beat of a cha cha on top of blues changes.
Several songs on the list below have cowbell with a downbeat quarter note rhythm. This may seem uninteresting by itself, but it adds so much in the context of the rest of the rhythmic and melodic parts.
Listen for how the downbeat cowbell part holds together the more complex syncopated guitar, keyboard, and bass lines. The rhythmic contrast is especially supported by the contrast in sounds against the cowbell.
Simple is sophisticated.
Syncopated Rhythms
The funkier songs often have more syncopation through eighth and sixteenth notes. For example, a cowbell song like “Hey Ladies” by the Beastie Boys features several different syncopated cowbell parts (see number 4 on the list).
A lot of percussionists adapt Afro-Cuban and other Latin rhythms for pop songs. Rhythms like the mambo bell or cascara don’t need to be quoted perfectly to establish an interesting cowbell part. For more on this idea, check out “Batuka” by Santana (see number 7 on this list).
Related: Latin Drumming Fundamentals for Drum Set
YouTube Playlist for Cowbell Songs
The following playlist includes the 15 songs shared in this list.
Notation Key for Cowbell Song Beats
Use the notation key below for the cowbell song drum beat examples. The cowbell is either notated above or below the staff. Cowbell played by the drummer within the drum beat is notated above the staff. And cowbell below the staff is an overdubbed cowbell or at least not played by the drum set player.
Some of the cowbell parts are notated with an “x” as the note head. This means that either the cowbell is played on the flat surface of the bell away from the opening. It could also mean that the cowbell is muted while being played. Listen to the original track, and compare it to the notation to interpret what’s shared in this article.
1. Hair of the Dog by Nazareth
The cowbell on this song is a downbeat part. Contrasts the featured guitar riff that includes a balance of syncopation and downbeats.
This song is like a rock cha cha. The feel of the drum beat drives at common cha cha tempo, and the guitar rhythm follows a montuno-like pattern. The drum part in the chorus (not notated here) even plays a slap conga part.
Once the guitars enter the song, the ride cymbal part evolves to add a kind of rock rumba pattern. It combines rhythmic elements of the pailas part for a bolero and the cha cha cowbell to establish a simple yet sophisticated drum beat for an awesome song.
2. Good Times Bad Times by Led Zeppelin
This is one of the most iconic drum beats, period! And the cowbell part is a non-negotiable. If you leave it out of the song, people will know, which is the essence of a good cowbell song.
The intro has a brief but crucial part. It’s a sort of rock mambo bell part that would be really cool for an entire song. This part, however, is only played two times in the intro.
Speaking of the intro, the hi-hat part is played with the foot. This part establishes a simple eighth note rhythm, which is soon taken up by the cowbell for the main groove of the verse.
3. Jive Talkin’ by the Bee Gees
Most of these songs have cowbell throughout the song. But the rhythm played on this Bee Gees hit is only during the breakdown. It’s a simple part that adds a lot to funk up this classic disco groove.
The upbeat cymbal accents and downbeat kick and snare are staple characteristics of the disco drum beat. This breakdown’s cowbell part includes a bit to support the cymbals and the drums.
4. Hey Ladies by the Beastie Boys
The main cowbell rhythm the Beastie Boys added to this song off Paul’s Boutique has a go-go beat vibe. It’s one of two main cowbell rhythms in this song and plays compliment to the classic cowbell fill.
The second cowbell rhythm seems borrowed from a bongo bell pattern commonly played by a bongocero in a salsa ensemble. This pattern is played during the chorus of the song and has another part that messes it up in a good way.
What other cowbell song has such a featured fill? Like the second cowbell rhythm, this fill is similar to a fill played by a salsa bongocero. The stretched sixteenth notes may be confusing, so use the downbeats to stay in time.
5. Honky Tonk Woman by The Rolling Stones
Very few songs start with a cowbell intro (notated below). For that reason, this song would be number one on this list if we were ranking each cowbell song.
The cowbell part for “Honkey Tonk Woman” has a few rhythmic themes around which some variations are played. The becomes less complex as the verse comes in, and the chorus is very simple with hits on 1 + and 3 +.
Producer Jimmy Miller played the part to improve the groove, according to a RollingStone article. He played two cowbells for the part, but it can be interpreted as one cowbell if the player utilizes the edge and farther from the edge. Add a hand muted sound and an unmuted sound, and you can replicate this classic cowbell song fairly well.
6. Once in a Lifetime Live by Talking Heads
The live version from 1983 has a very clear cowbell part. It’s a different sound and rhythm from the studio version, but it still does the job for this iconic beat.
This rhythm is a good example of call and response. It’s sophisticated because of the simplicity and slight variation between each measure.
The call and response is also heard within each phrase as the high cowbell calls the low cowbell. Furthermore, this form persists when you consider the toms of the drum set groove and the cowbell part.
7. Batuka by Santana
If there was ever a rock ’n’ roll comparsa, this is it. This cowbell song is a highly adapted Afro-Cuban rhythm that works with the conga part to establish a groove that Santana and the band can rock out over.
The example is written in cut time to highlight the sides of the pattern. This call and response element of bell patterns goes back to the African influence on Cuban music.
The cowbells are likely a cha cha bell as the high sound and a mambo bell as the low sound. These are typical cowbells included in a timbale setup. Given that a rimshot on a timbale is added to the end of this cowbell part, the percussionist is likely playing the cowbell parts on a timbale setup.
8. Low Rider by War
This is a classic cowbell song. It’s a funky rock cha cha, and the cowbell part does not disappoint. It’s such an important part of the song that it starts the song and brings in the groove.
The part written below is the first two measures of the cowbell part. Most of the song is the first measure repeated until the occasional interjection of the second measure.
The whole song is a jam on the rock cha cha. The bass line and horn lines are highly syncopated. This contrasts well with the downbeat driven drum beat. The cowbell glues the drums and other rhythm parts to make this iconic groove.
9. Feeling This by Blink-182
Travis Barker’s beats are always topnotch, and one of the beats on this song includes a hip cowb part. For a cowbell song, this track uses the instrument in a subtle way, but it brings out the funk of the beat to give it a street feel.
The cowbell part is like a go-go funk rhythm that almost wants to become a bossa nova clave. Both measures are almost the same, but the first measure leaves out the downbeat on beat 1.
This pattern is played only once or twice a few times in the song. But it’s cool enough to share how well a go-go cowbell fits with a punk rock song.
10. We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister
This is my first cowbell song. I immediately thought of Twisted Sister when I got my first cowbell at age 13 or 114. That signature cowbell-driven intro drum beat is like no other.
When I think of more cowbell, I’m always drawn to this song because of the powerful metal groove. And the cowbell completes this intro groove that comes back in later in the song.
In reality, the cowbell was always the instrument on the kit that band mates hated during rehearsal. Before I could control my dynamics well enough to blend the volume of the cowbell, there were literally some painful moments jamming to songs like “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
11. Little Sister by Queens of the Stone Age
The cowbell on this song is actually not a cowbell. It’s a tone block — probably a Latin Percussion Jam Block. But it drives like a cowbell part and effectively could be replaced by a cha cha bell without many listeners noticing.
This drum beat is another rock cha cha like so many other cowbell songs. The driving downbeat style continues through the chorus where the snare drum picks up the jam block part.
Related: 30 Rock Drum Beats – I’ll Show You How to Make 100 More
12. Nightrain by Guns and Roses
Once again, we have another great sounding cowbell driving the intro drum beat. This part is so simple, yet it adds so much to the awesome melody from the guitars.
My favorite part is the kick and bass hits that weave in and out of the downbeats held together by the cowbell. Syncopation like these hits and the melody rhythm sometimes need a downbeat cowbell part to keep everything locked and solid.
In terms of production, the reverb on this cowbell song brings the bell part out to a space that changes the song completely. We can turn up volume, pan instruments right or left, and use reverb to change the depth of a sound we’re mixing. This is a classic sound in a well mixed sound on a great album.
13. Mississippi Queen by Mountain
Like “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “Nightrain,” this cowbell song is all in the intro. It’s another simple rhythm with a cowbell in your face. In fact, I think this is the most cowbell in the mix out of all of these songs on this list.
The drum beat on this song is worth checking out. Feel the straight shuffle that the kick drum sets up, and settle into the halftime backbeat.
The introduction has a fill with flams on the snare, filled in with eighths on the kick drum. This is an aggressive fill that doesn’t interrupt the groove. Keep the time solid through this phrase of the drum beat.
14. Down on the Corner by Creedence
This cowbell song starts with just the cowbell and the hi-hat on the downbeats. This is an especially pleasing combination of timbres, which can also be heard in the beginning of “Nightrain.”
The drum beat on this Creedence Clearwater Revival hit is simple, and the cowbell keeps it solid. If the cowbell were missing, perhaps we wouldn’t feel that bayou setting, near the water with boats coming and going.
15. Drive My Car by the Beatles
This Beatles hit cowbell song finishes off the list with another downbeat cowbell rhythm. Simple or not, take away the cowbell, and the average listener will object.
The cowbell used in “Drive My Car” sounds similar to the cowbell used in “Down on the Corner.” It’s not a particularly controlled sound that we enjoy from a modern cowbell sound, like the one heard on “Nightrain.” But it’s the one they had, and it works.
Final Thoughts
Cowbell is a special instrument because of the big impact it can have on a song regardless of the simplicity of its design. A well placed cowbell part can change a song to the degree that it becomes as essential as the lead parts.