4 of the Priciest Guitar Tracks in Classic Rock History

A rock song isn’t a rock song without a killer guitar riff. However, some of the most well-known guitar riffs in the history of classic rock have been particularly expensive to produce, and even more expensive to license commercially. Let’s take a gander at just four of the priciest guitar tracks from classic rock music history!

1. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones

It’s not exactly surprising that this famous classic rock track is expensive. After all, it’s one of the most legendary songs in the genre and probably the most well-known song in The Rolling Stones’ discography.

Conan O’Brien famously featured the song on The Tonight Show for a segment about a mouse-shaped car. “Let me ask you a question: Is this appropriate music for a car that looks like a mouse?” O’Brien said. “No. Does it add anything at all to this comedy bit? No, it doesn’t. Is it crazy expensive to play on the air, not to mention the rights to re-air this clip on the Internet? Hell yeah.”

O’Brien later said that the use of the song cost NBC a whopping $1.5 million.

2. “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin

This legendary tune is simple in nature, but just because it features a simple guitar riff doesn’t mean it’s an amateur song. “Immigrant Song” features one of the most recognizable guitar tracks of the 20th century.

Unfortunately for many filmmakers, Led Zeppelin has historically been difficult to barter with for the use of this famous song in movies. When director Taika Waititi decided Thor: Ragnarok absolutely needed to feature the song, he was eventually able to convince the band to let his studio use it for a short clip. It wasn’t cheap, though. Featuring just a small snippet of the guitar riff from “Immigrant Song” in the film cost the studio around $2,000,000.

3. “Revolution” by The Beatles

It’s wild to think that a B-side could be so expensive. “Revolution” was the B-side to the deeply-loved single “Hey Jude” from 1968. It’s a bluesy little riff that also happens to be one of the most expensive guitar tracks in the history of music.

“Revolution” was famously featured in a 1987 Nike commercial with Michael Jordan. The whole thing was the first of its kind; traditionally, covers of famous songs were usually used for commercials. Nike decided to shake things up by using the original version of “Revolution”, and The Beatles’ label sued the company for $15 million. The case was later settled out of court for an undisclosed (and likely large) sum of money.

4. “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

AC/DC’s Angus Young is no stranger to penning some of the best riffs in classic rock. But his contribution to “Thunderstruck” is by far one of his very best. And this iconic riff is one of the priciest guitar tracks of all time. 

“Thunderstruck” has been used in a wealth of films through the years, from the Deadpool films to Varsity Blues. Allegedly, the guitar track for this song costs $500,000 at a minimum to use in film or television; even if it’s just an itty bitty snippet of the song.

Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage

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