Song · Them
“Gloria” by Them
From the EP Here Comes the Night (1965)
“Gloria” by Them appears on 8 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1987 and 2012. It was first released in 1965 on the EP Here Comes the Night. Its best result is #27 on the WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,787 alternative song of all time.
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Van Morrison dreamed up "Gloria" in 1963, and the next year he hauled it into the studio with his band Them. Dick Rowe produced it, it slipped out on the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go", and it later turned up on the Here Comes the Night EP.
This is garage rock stripped to the studs: a young Northern Irish singer with a sneer, a tune so plain any kid with a cheap guitar could learn it by the weekend, and a swagger that never asks permission. It did modest business at first, only creeping to number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, but it outlived its chart life many times over. It became a garage rock standard in rock bands' sets everywhere, and critics keep ranking Them's original among the best songs ever cut.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 60 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1987) | 100 |
| 1991 | 834 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1996 | 91 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1996) | 100 |
| 2007 | 624 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2011 | 683 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 212 | WYEP | WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown | 500 |
| 2012 | 700 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2012 | 27 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) | 885 |
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