In 1999, the iconic music of the 90s was coming to an end. Fortunately, the decade went out with a bang. These are four of the best rock songs that came out in 1999, which are so good it’s likely that every 90s kid still knows them by heart today.
“Heavy” by Collective Soul
On Collective Soul’s fourth studio album, Dosage, is “Heavy”. The song was written by the band’s lead singer, Ed Roland.
Videos by American Songwriter
Interestingly, the word “heavy” does not appear anywhere in the song, which says in part, “Complicate this world you wrapped for me / I’m acquainted with your suffering / All your weight it falls on me / It brings me down / All your weight it falls on me / It falls on me.”
“Heavy” is Collective Soul’s final No. 1 single.
“Higher” by Creed
“Higher” is part of Creed’s sophomore album, Human Clay. Band members Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti are the writers of “Higher”. It became Creed’s second No. 1 single. It remains among their most popular songs today.
A song with direct references to Heaven, “Higher” says, “So let’s go there / Let’s make our escape / Come on, let’s go there / Let’s ask, ‘Can we stay?’ / Can you take me higher / To a place where blind men see? / Can you take me higher / To a place with golden streets.”
“American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz
One of Lenny Kravitz’s most noteworthy songs, “American Woman” is part of his fifth album, appropriately called 5. It is also on the soundtrack for the blockbuster film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
“American Woman” was first released by The Guess Who in 1970. It was written by band members Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Jim Kale, and Randy Bachman.
The song says, “American woman, stay away from me / American woman, mama let me be / Don’t come hanging ’round my door / I don’t wanna see your face no more / I got more important things to do / Than spend my time growin’ old with you.”
“Last Kiss” by Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam released one single in 1999, and it’s “Last Kiss”. Written by Wayne Cochran, “Last Kiss” is on No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees. Proceeds from the record benefited those impacted by the Kosovo War.
A tragic song about love lost, “Last Kiss” says, “I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss / I found the love that I knew I would miss / But now she’s gone, even though I hold her tight / I lost my love, my life that night.”
Cochran first released his own version of “Last Kiss” in 1961.
Photo by: Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
More The List
-
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Surfaris Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – SEPTEMBER 2: Spin Doctors attends 10th Annual MTV Video Music Awards on September 2, 1993 at the Universal Ampitheater in Universal City, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) -
Members of the Goo Goo Dolls arrive at the My VH1 Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000. (Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect) -
A-Ha singer Morten Harket in London, 1994. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) -
Madonna in concert at Wembley Stadium. The Blond Ambition World Tour. London, England. 20th July 1990. (Photo by Murray/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) -
Looking trim but also looking all of his 36 years, Paul Anka last night seemed intimidated at first in cool vastness of Maple Leaf Gardens. But he eventually warmed up the evening with a medley of hits from 20 years ago, says Noah James. -
Neal Schon of Journey at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 3, 1981. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
