“Cookie Puss” by Beastie Boys

Before hip-hop, the Beastie Boys were a hardcore punk band with the Pollywog Stew EP behind them, and then in 1983 came "Cooky Puss", a 12-inch on Rat Cage Records that stands as their debut single and their first stab at rap. It's a goof from the title down, a satirical riff on the Cookie Puss ice cream dessert, and it marks a changing of the guard: Adam Horovitz's first release with the group and drummer Kate Schellenbach's last.

The real payoff came later. British Airways used part of "Beastie Revolution" in a TV commercial without the band's permission, the Beasties sued and won $40,000, and the money rented them an apartment at 59 Chrystie Street in Chinatown, where they lived, rehearsed and recorded. That cash got the career rolling, and the address later became a song title on Paul's Boutique.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.