Mallet Worthy:

18 Amazing Songs With A Gong

Author’s note — Alternate titles of this article that were under consideration:

• “Gongs in the Key of Life”
• “Another Somebody Did Somebody Gong Song”
• “Take the Gong Way Home”
• “Look What They’ve Done to My Gong, Ma”
• “The Gong Song” (sorry, Sisqó)
• “Gongsta’s Paradise”
• and “Hail, Hail, the Gong’s All Here”.

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Back in 2012, I was in the midst of purchasing a Toyota Prius when I noticed a small gong sitting by the entrance of the dealership.

Once my deal was finalized, I said I was ready for that gong, only to be told there was a slight problem: they couldn’t find the mallet.

I said I would wait, but that I was not leaving until they found it. A few minutes later, they presented me with the mallet and I gave the gong a big whack.

Thirteen years later, that Prius has over 171,000 miles on it and I’m still driving it.

And it all started with a dream and a gong.

If it’s not already apparent, I’m always down for a good gong hit, in life or in music.

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The idea that such an unwieldy monstrosity from the ancient civilizations of central China would find its way into modern music around 6,000 years later seems unlikely—and reason enough to love it.

Whether it’s a single bang and reverberating splash, or a shimmering roll:

It’s almost always the start or finish of something epic, mystical, or both.

Or the song is in some way a reference toward an Eastern culture, and the gong is an obvious way of reinforcing that. Or all of the above.

If it’s a prog-rock concert and no gong is present, an immediate demand for a refund would be totally understandable.

Here are some great songs of various genres that feature the gong.

And no, “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” by T. Rex is not on the list—for the simple reason that it has no gong in it, oddly enough.

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“The Day Begins” (Beginning) / “Nights in White Satin” (End)

These two bookend Days of Future Passed.

“The Day Begins” starts this seminal orchestral rock journey with 34 seconds of a gong strike, but in reverse, so it’s a long fade-in to the first chord.

The Moody Blues weren’t the first to use a gong, but the massive exclamation point that concludes the album seems to declare: something legendary just happened.

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“What Is and What Should Never Be” (Gong at 3:37)

Alternating between extremes of mellow and tumultuous, the torturous ride seems to be over as the last note of the final chorus rings, ending in a somewhat docile manner. 

Then, after a brief pause, the silence is punctured by Page’s emphatic guitar chords, followed by an ominous gong, ushering us into a raucous encore ending.  Rock and roll, people.

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“Love to Love” (Beginning)

A majestic orchestral rock masterpiece whose sheer beauty is not praised enough.

The opening gong is a gateway into the transcendent journey upon which we are about to embark.

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“Dream On” (4:12, toward the end)

The final line:

“Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away”

…fades into a wobbling keyboard line, making the closing gong splash the only proper punctuation for this magnum opus.

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“Open Sesame (Groove With the Genie)” (Beginning, twice)

The gong is used for obvious reasons on this underrated scorcher, which appears on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Also, pretty sure there’s a cuíca in there—but we digress.

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“Jungle Boogie” (Beginning)

Can’t explain why a gong fits here.

It just does.

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“The Hottest Gong in Town” (End)

From the Shanghai Surprise soundtrack.

George channels old-time jazz in a way more expected from McCartney. It’s great—and it’s not on Spotify, but it is here:

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“Fanfare for the Common Man” (Beginning at 9:10)

But of course.

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“I Don’t Know” (Beginning, and at 4:09)

Opens with a gong hit played backward.

Slowly building to a crash, followed by Randy Rhoads’ guitar assault. You are officially being notified: it’s on.

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“Walk Like an Egyptian” (0:12)

Subtle, but it’s there.

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“A Love Supreme Pt. 1 – Acknowledgement” (Beginning)

Of course there are sweeping gong rolls here.

We’re about to hear something transcendent and never-to-be-repeated.

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“Bohemian Rhapsody” (End)

Would there have been any other way to end this?

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“My Thang” (Beginning)

From Hell, where 10 of the 14 tracks begin with a giant gong hit.

Whether it makes sense or not.

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“Exploration in Terror” (Beginning)

A gong splash on beats one and three creates a throbbing, eerie pulse.

Strange. Effective.

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“Behind the Mask” (Beginning)

Not the kind of song you expect to begin with a gong.

But somehow, it works.

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“Miracles Out of Nowhere” (0:10 and End)

You knew these guys would have at least one gong song.

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“East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (End)

A cover of a Duke Ellington tune that ends with a gong instead of a cymbal splash.

Because…Steely Dan.

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“Pastime Paradise” (End)

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death –

— (interrupts self)

Wait, – this isn’t Coolio. What’s going on here?

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My Spotify “Gong” Playlist:

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As of this sentence, the word “gong” was mentioned 39 times in this article.

There. Now it’s an even 40.

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