No, it’s not a joke. This really is a list of the Top 10 Rock 'n' Roll Bagpipe Songs. You might be surprised to learn that more than a few stars – including some of Scottish and Irish descent – have incorporated the centuries-old instrument into this new fad (historically speaking, of course) called rock music. Before we begin, it’s important to note that, under strict Ultimate Classic Rock regulations, this list contains only songs that feature 100 percent real bagpipes; tracks with instruments that sound like bagpipes (Big Country’s ‘In a Big Country,’ Slade’s ‘Run Runaway,’ etc.) were dispatched to the highlands to be drawn and quartered. Aye. Now, let it bleat.

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    10

    ‘Come Talk to Me’

    Peter Gabriel

    From: ‘Us’ (1992)

    Gabriel’s ‘Us’ album begins with the distinctive squeal of bagpipes, which slice their way through the mechanical beat that keeps ‘Come Talk to Me’ lurching forward. The pipes aren’t the only Gaelic flavor added to the song: Sinead O’Connor provides backing vocals.

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    9

    ‘Are You Ready to Rock’

    Wizzard

    From: 1974 single

    Following his work with the Move and Electric Light Orchestra, Roy Wood formed the glam band Wizzard, whose performances seemed to include every crazy idea its founder ever hatched: warpaint, costumes, puppets, dancing gorillas, roller-skating angels, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria. The group’s music had a similar everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach, including multiple drummers, horns, strings and bagpipes – which close out this 1974 single, a Top 10 hit in Britain and Ireland.

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    8

    ‘The Silent Boatman’

    Parliament

    From: ‘Osmium’ (1970)

    Top 10 Rock 'n' Roll Bagpipe Songs? George Clinton’s Parliament? No, we’re still not kidding. Bagpipes take the spotlight for two stretches in this psychedelic-soul-folk-rock ballad, which closes the group’s debut album. The instrument’s presence is most likely due to the influence of Ruth Copeland, a British musician who wrote the song and co-produced ‘Osmium’ with Clinton.

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    ‘Tomorrow’

    U2

    From: ‘October’ (1981)

    ‘Tomorrow’ -- the centerpiece of U2’s second album, which tackles heavy topics like faith and God -- includes some religious elements, but it's mostly about the death of Bono’s mother, who died when he was young. The uilleann pipes (Ireland's national bagpipes) lend the early part of the track a misty, funerary tone, which eventually bursts into a furiously rocking finale.

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    6

    ‘Hair of the Dog’ (live)

    Nazareth

    From: ‘IT’SNAZ’ (1981)

    This is an important distinction: The original studio version of this cowbell classic doesn't include bagpipes. But in concert, frontman Dan McCafferty performs the song’s talkbox solo with help from bagpipes. The singer has said that the transformation came about as a goofy way to pay tribute to the band’s homeland of Scotland.

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    5

    ‘Anthem’

    The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

    From: ‘The Impossible Dream’ (1974)

    Scottish rocker Alex Harvey tapped not one but two bagpipers from the London Scottish TA Regiment to assist on the appropriately titled 'Anthem.' The pipes, in lockstep with an ethereal chorus of vocalists, bring the song's martial coda to a soaring conclusion.

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    3

    ‘Sky Pilot’

    Eric Burdon & the Animals

    From: ‘The Twain Shall Meet’ (1968)

    The seven-minute album version of Eric Burdon's antiwar epic showcases the Animals frontman at his most experimental. Following the opening verse and chorus, a guitar solo fades into sound effects of fighter planes and explosions, eventually leading to the distinctive bray of bagpipes. The music comes from a secret recording Burdon made of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards playing ‘All the Bluebonnets Are Over the Border.’ Rumor has it that the uncleared usage earned him a nasty letter from U.K. royalty. Some people will do anything for bagpipes.

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    3

    ‘Celtic Ray’

    Van Morrison

    From: ‘Beautiful Vision’ (1982)

    The Northern Irish singer pays tribute to his Celtic heritage on the opening track of 1982’s ‘Beautiful Vision.’ And to Irish up his coffee, Van the Man adds some wistful uilleann bagpipes. Like memories of times gone by, the pipes waver in and out of focus throughout the tune. Morrison later recorded the song with the monsters of Irish folk, the Chieftains.

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    2

    ‘Mull of Kintyre’

    Paul McCartney & Wings

    From: 1977 single

    The former Beatle pays tribute to the Scottish Kintyre peninsula – home to a farm estate he's owned since 1966 -- in this massive U.K. hit. McCartney enlisted local help for the folksy ballad in the form of bagpipers from Kintyre’s Campbelltown Pipe Band. Following its 1977 release, the Scottish paean sold more than two million copies in the U.K. to become Britain’s bestselling single ever (eclipsing the Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’). It’s still the bestselling non-charity single in the country’s history.

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    1

    ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)’

    AC/DC

    From: ‘T.N.T.’ (1975)

    Nothing else could, or should, top this list of the Top 10 Rock 'n' Roll Bagpipe Songs. The story goes that producer George Young heard that the Scottish-born Bon Scott had been in a pipe band when he was younger and thought he could play bagpipes on the track. But Scott was a side drummer in the group and had never laid a finger on the pipes. Still, he managed to produce what you hear on ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top,’ including an extended solo in the middle and a call-and-response section with Angus Young’s guitar. After Scott's death, Brian Johnson refused to sing the song with AC/DC. Is that out of respect for Scott or because he’s afraid of the bagpipes? Either way, fair enough.

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