Examples of songs with a riff include “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones, “Day Tripper” by the Beatles, “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, “Back in Black” by AC/DC, “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a song. In rock it is often pitched low on the guitar and carries much of the song’s energy.
Riffs are not only a rock idea. Jazz and R&B bands built whole tunes on them in the 1930s and 1940s, and a song whose main melody is a repeated instrumental riff is called riff-driven. Here are classic examples from jazz, blues, early rock and roll and rock.
1. “Jumping at the Woodside” (Count Basie)
Count Basie’s band used many riffs in the 1930s, and this tune is one of the examples. The Basie band’s riff-based variations in head arrangements could get quite complex.
2. “Now’s the Time” (Charlie Parker, 1945)
Charlie Parker’s 1945 bebop number is built on a riff. Four years later the same riff came back as the R&B dance hit “The Hucklebuck,” which shows how easily a good riff travels between songs.
3. “C Jam Blues” (Duke Ellington)
Duke Ellington’s tune is a rifftune: the melody is little more than one short figure repeated over a blues. Oscar Pettiford’s “Blues in the Closet” is another.
4. “In the Mood” (Glenn Miller)
Glenn Miller’s hit had an earlier life as Wingy Manone’s “Tar Paper Stomp.” Like the songs above, it uses a twelve-bar blues riff.
5. “Boogie Chillen” (John Lee Hooker, 1948)
John Lee Hooker used a riff he learned from his stepfather for this 1948 record. It was later adapted for many rock and roll songs.
6. “La Bamba” (Ritchie Valens, 1958)
René Hall’s playing on Ritchie Valens’ 1958 version, on a Danelectro six-string bass guitar, is one of the very early examples of a riff-driven rock and roll record.
7. “Rumble” (Link Wray, 1958)
Link Wray’s 1958 instrumental is the other early contender for the first riff-driven rock and roll song.
8. “Johnny B Goode” (Chuck Berry)
Chuck Berry’s song is listed with the Kinks, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones among the classic riff-driven rock songs.
9. “Day Tripper” (The Beatles)
“Day Tripper” is the Beatles’ entry among the classic riff-driven rock songs. As in other riff-driven songs, the repeated riff anchors the song in the listener’s ears.
10. “You Really Got Me” (The Kinks)
The Kinks’ song is another classic rock example, where the riff is brought to the front of the music.
11. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones)
The Rolling Stones have two songs on the classic list: “Satisfaction” and “Brown Sugar.” In riff-driven songs like these, the riff is often the main melody that stays with the listener.
12. “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin)
Led Zeppelin also appear twice, with “Whole Lotta Love” and “Black Dog.” Both are riff-driven classics of the era.
13. “Smoke on the Water” (Deep Purple)
Deep Purple’s song fits the BBC Radio 2 description of a riff closely: the main hook, heard at the start and repeated throughout.
14. “Back in Black” (AC/DC)
AC/DC’s title track is another classic riff-driven rock song. Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle” belongs on the same list.
15. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana)
Nirvana’s song shows the riff-driven approach carrying on into later rock.
What Makes a Riff
- Short and repeated: David Brackett calls riffs “short melodic phrases”; Richard Middleton describes them as figures “repeated to form a structural framework.”
- The main hook: BBC Radio 2 described a riff as the “main hook of a song,” often heard at the start and repeated throughout.
- Related terms: in classical music a repeated phrase is called an ostinato, and in jazz a repeating accompaniment figure is often called a vamp.
- Call and response: riff-driven songs often use call and response, which gives them a circular rather than linear feel.
Final Thoughts
Riffs link swing bands, blues players and rock groups: “Boogie Chillen” fed rock and roll, and “Now’s the Time” became “The Hucklebuck.” For related devices, see these songs with ostinato, these songs with power chords and these songs with call and response.
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