It’s easy to look back at the original Guitar Hero as this polished, inevitable juggernaut. But honestly? It was a miracle it even worked. Back in 2005, Harmonix and RedOctane were basically duct-taping a dream together. They had no money, a plastic guitar that looked like a toy, and a setlist that almost didn't happen because licensing master tracks was an absolute nightmare.
People talk about the guitar hero one song list like it’s just a list of rock radio hits. It isn’t. It’s a weird, scrappy collection of 30 covers and 17 indie tracks that somehow defined a generation's taste in music. If you were there, you remember the "as made famous by" taglines. That’s the polite way of saying "we couldn't afford the real recording, so we hired some incredibly talented session musicians to mimic them."
And they did a terrifyingly good job.
The 30 Main Tracks: Where the Magic Started
The main setlist was broken into tiers. You couldn't just jump into the hard stuff. You had to prove you could hit three notes in a row on "I Love Rock 'N Roll" before the game would even let you look at the face-melting solos.
Here is how that iconic progression actually looked:
Tier 1: Opening Licks
This was the "don't embarrass yourself" stage. It was gentle.
- I Love Rock 'N Roll – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
- I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones
- Thunder Kiss '65 – White Zombie
- Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
- Infected – Bad Religion
Tier 2: Axe-Grinders
Things got a bit more rhythmic here. You had to start moving your hand.
- Iron Man – Black Sabbath
- More Than a Feeling – Boston
- You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ – Judas Priest
- Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
- Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top
Tier 3: Thrash and Burn
This is usually where the "Casual" players hit a wall.
- Killer Queen – Queen
- Hey You – The Exies
- Stellar – Incubus
- Heart Full of Black – Burning Brides
- Symphony of Destruction – Megadeth
Tier 4: Return of the Shred
- Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie
- Fat Lip – Sum 41
- Cochise – Audioslave
- Take It Off – The Donnas
- Unsung – Helmet
Tier 5: Fret-Burners
- Spanish Castle Magic – Jimi Hendrix
- Higher Ground – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- No One Knows – Queens of the Stone Age
- Ace of Spades – Motörhead
- Crossroads – Cream
Tier 6: Face-Melters
The final gauntlet. If you could beat these on Expert, you were basically a local deity in 2005.
- Godzilla – Blue Öyster Cult
- Texas Flood – Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Frankenstein – The Edgar Winter Group
- Cowboys From Hell – Pantera
- Bark at the Moon – Ozzy Osbourne
The "Cover" Controversy: Why It Sounded Different
You've probably noticed that "Bark at the Moon" sounds just a little off compared to the record. That’s because WaveGroup Sound—a production house in California—had to re-record almost everything.
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Back then, the technology to "strip" a guitar track out of a finished song didn't really exist for older recordings. If the original master tapes were lost or too expensive, the developers had to recreate the entire song from scratch so they could mute the guitar when you missed a note.
Marcus Henderson, the lead guitarist for the band Drist, actually provided the lead guitar for 20 of those 30 covers. He’s the unsung hero of the guitar hero one song list. Every time you nailed a riff in "Cowboys From Hell," you were actually playing along with Marcus, not Dimebag Darrell.
The Bonus Songs: The Secret Heart of Harmonix
While the main list had the star power, the bonus songs were where the developers got to show off. Most of these bands were actually side projects of Harmonix employees.
If you go into the "Store" and spend your hard-earned career cash, you unlock 17 master recordings (the real versions!). These tracks were often way harder and weirder than the main game.
- Fire It Up – Black Label Society (The first big "guest" master track)
- Get Ready 2 Rokk – Freezepop (A synth-pop classic from the developers' own circle)
- Cheat on the Church – Graveyard BBQ (Winner of the "Be a Guitar Hero" contest)
- Even Rats – The Slip
- Decontrol – Drist
- The Breaking Wheel – Artillery
There are also "hidden" tracks like Trippolette and Graveyard Shift that weren't even accessible through normal play—you needed a GameShark or some serious modding skills to find them.
Bark at the Moon: The Original "Through the Fire and Flames"
Long before DragonForce became a meme in Guitar Hero III, "Bark at the Moon" was the final boss.
Honestly, the chart was brutal. The HOPOs (Hammer-ons and Pull-offs) in the first game were extremely unforgiving. You had to be frame-perfect. Many players consider the original GH1 version of "Bark at the Moon" harder than its later iterations just because the game engine was so "tight" and wouldn't let you get away with sloppy finger work.
Moving Forward with the Classics
If you're looking to revisit the guitar hero one song list, you've basically got two options. You can dust off an old PlayStation 2 and find a working SG controller (good luck with the strum bar), or you can look into Clone Hero.
Clone Hero is a fan-made PC game that lets you import every single song from the original game. It’s the best way to experience these tracks with modern hardware and high-refresh-rate monitors.
Your Next Steps:
- Download the GH1 Setlist for Clone Hero: Most community spreadsheets have the full "WaveGroup" covers ready to go.
- Check your local retro stores for an SG Controller: They use a proprietary PS2 port, so you'll need a specialized USB adapter (like the Raphnet) to make it work on PC without lag.
- Master the HOPO: Spend time in practice mode on "Texas Flood." The timing window in the first game is much smaller than in Guitar Hero II or III, so learning to time your taps here will make you a better player overall.
The original setlist wasn't just a game soundtrack. It was a time capsule of what we thought "cool" sounded like before the world went digital. Go play "Spanish Castle Magic" and try not to smile. It’s impossible.