Song · Sonic Youth
“Superstar” by Sonic Youth
Released 1994
“Superstar” by Sonic Youth appears on 7 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1994 and 2024. It was first released in 1994. Its best result is #47 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #190 alternative song of 1994.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Carpenters - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Sonic Youth cut their "Superstar" in 1994 as a salute to the Carpenters, and it has since become one of the versions of the song people know best. Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell wrote it, working from an idea Rita Coolidge had while watching how groupies and rock stars got along in the late '60s.
Thurston Moore takes the vocal and plays guitar and piano, Lee Ranaldo layers guitar, piano, synthesizer and tape, Kim Gordon plays bass and Steve Shelley rounds out the lineup. The band produced it themselves, with John Siket engineering.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 97 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 | 107 |
| 1994 | 79 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994 | 106 |
| 1994 | 47 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1994 | 50 |
| 2008 | 98 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2008 | 106 |
| 2008 | 50.5 | ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA | Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2008 | 51 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 618 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2024 | 84 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Superstar" by Sonic Youth.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.