My favorite superhero songs

My favorite superhero songs? Glad you asked. While some of my favorite songs aren’t “about” superheroes, they at least have a reference to one.

Number 10: “Believe It or Not” was kinda corny, but the theme song from “The Greatest American Hero,” a 1980s comedy-drama, is a catchy song. Joey Scarbury’s song is a bit too soupy at times; it makes the list because it did make it to No. 2 on the charts.

Number 9: “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. While not really a song in homage to the Marvel “Iron Man” character, it is about a destruction seeking man who time travels, which is pretty close to what Robert Downey Jr.’s action character does.

Number 8: “Captain America” by moe. A strange band name and a weird song, but it’s catchy and fun. “Clark Kent ran for president, No one knew about the secrets locked in his head.”

Number 7: “Kryptonite” by Three Doors Down. While superheroes have superpowers, it’s refreshing when one has a weakness that they have to overcome. So it goes with Superman in Kryptonite. This song is both somber and powerful, sort of like Clark Kent.

Number 6: “Flash” by Queen was Freddie Mercury’s stab at super hero lore. Freddie liked to do theme songs. His epic “We Are The Champions” was specifically written for American football. This song was written for the 1980 “Flash Gordon” movie and is as theatrical as Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie was awful as best as I can recall, but the song lives on.

Number 5: “Superman” by Five For Fighting made the Top 20 and is still played on the radio. “I’m more than a bird, I’m more than a plane, I’m more than some pretty face beside a train, It’s not easy to be me.” Isn’t that true of all of us?

Number 4: “Magneto and Titanium Man” by Paul McCartney & Wings is a rather unusual superhero song. Macca tried a lot of things, some worked, some didn’t. This didn’t score well with his fans, but Paul’s stab at anything is usually better than most people’s best efforts.

Magneto, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo are Marvel characters who haven’t exactly made it big yet. But when they do, they’ll have the title song already in the can.

Number 3: “Spiderman” by the Ramones is simply the classic Spidey song played by one of the greatest garage rock ’n’ roll bands ever. I love the Ramones and their gritty song, which brought Peter Parker to life, albeit at 110 decibels.

Number 2: “Godzilla “by Blue Oyster Cult. Is Godzilla really a superhero? Depends on whom you ask. At times he destroyed everything in his path, but other times he was the hero saving humanity from pestilence, plague or Megaguirus. I love me some Godzilla.

Number 1: “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” by the Kinks is my Number Uno. The song is loaded with great lyrics, but here’s a sample: “Got to be a Superman to survive, Gas bills, rent bills, tax bills, phone bills, I’m such a wreck but I’m staying alive.”

The Kinks irreverent look at the Mother England, typical of British bands at the time due to the confiscatory government policies, is as timely today as ever.

Kelly Burke, master attorney, former district attorney and magistrate judge, is engaged in private practice. He writes about the law, rock ‘n’ roll and politics. These articles are not designed to give legal advice, but are designed to inform the public about how the law affects their daily lives. Contact Kelly at kelly@burkelasseterllc.com to comment on this article or suggest articles that you’d like to see.

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