8 songs you may not know have been sampled

Have you ever been listening to a song and heard a melody, lyric, or guitar riff that sounds familiar, but you can’t figure out why? Chances are that the artist sampled part of that song from other artists. This means that a piece was taken from one audio track and was reused as an instrument or sound recording in a different song. Here’s a list of 8 songs that you may not know have been sampled.

1. Green Day’s “Basket Case” – Lil Wayne’s “Hot Revolver”

Lil Wayne samples Green Day’s lyrics from “Basket Case” in his song “Hot Revolver.” Listen to 0:16 in “Basket Case” and then listen to 0:22 in “Hot Revolver” to hear the sample.

2. My Chemical Romance’s “Cancer” – Jack Rootes’ “The Ballad of Crows”

Jack Rootes samples My Chemical Romance’s lyrics and melody from “Cancer” in his song “The Ballad of Crows.” Listen to 0:00-0:35 in “The Ballad of Crows” and 1:42 in “Cancer” to clearly hear the sample.

Jack Rootes – The Ballad Of Crows

3. Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” – 5 Seconds of Summer’s “Social Casualty”

5 Seconds of Summer sampled Fall Out Boy’s guitar melody from “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” is their song “Social Casualty.” Listen to 0:05 in “Social Casualty” and 0:47 in “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” to hear the sampled part.

4. Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” – Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby”

Probably one of the most famous samples, and copyright cases, Vanilla Ice samples Queen and David Bowie’s beat from their rock hit “Under Pressure” in his song “Ice, Ice Baby.” Both samples start at 0:00 and happens throughout each song.

5. Alice Cooper’s “Steven” – Disturbed’s “The Sound Of Silence”

Disturbed samples the piano melody from Alice Cooper’s “Steven” in their cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” Listen 0:00 of “Steven” and 4:00 of “The Sound of Silence” to hear the sample.

6. Motley Crue’s “Too Hot for Love” – Fall Out Boy’s “American Beauty/American Psycho”

Fall Out Boy samples the guitar riff from Motley Crue’s “Too Hot for Love” in their song “American Beauty/American Psycho.” Listen to 0:37 of “Too Hot for Love” and 0:14 of “American Beauty/American Psycho” to hear the sample.

7. Reel Big Fish’s “All I Want Is More” – Blink 182’s “The Only Thing That Matters”

Blink 182 samples Reel Big Fish’s melody and lyrics from “All I Want Is More” in their song “The Only Thing That Matters.” The sample can be found at 0:58 of “All I Want Is More” and 0:49 of “The Only Thing That Matters.”

8. The B-52’s “Rock Lobster” – Panic! At The Disco’s “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time”

Panic! At The Disco sampled The B-52’s bass melody from “Rock Lobster” in their song “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time.” The samples start at 0:01 in “Rock Lobster” and 0:00 in “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time” and occur throughout both tracks.