Whilst many bands sound refreshingly raw and gritty on stage, studio productions are usually expected to be flawless. Yet it is precisely these tiny quirks in the background that make recordings so human and relatable. And there are legendary songs that prove exactly that, as our list shows.
1. The Police – Roxanne
In “Roxanne”, Sting tells the story of a man’s tragic love for a prostitute. And despite the seriousness of the subject matter, the intro features a quirky piano chord followed by Sting’s laughter. During the recording session, he had accidentally sat on the piano keys at the worst possible moment and commented on it with a loud laugh. And they left it in! After the song initially flopped, it marked The Police’s breakthrough two years later.
The Police – Roxanne (Official Music Video)
2. David Bowie – Heroes
David Bowie sang “Heroes” with such power that his microphone clipped during the loudest passages. Strictly speaking, this should have been re-recorded with new gain and compressor settings at the mixing desk. However, producer Tony Visconti decided to leave it as it was. This turned out to be a stroke of genius, as the unintended distortion became a deliberate emotional effect, and in a sense the song’s trademark. The raw result is simply electrifying.
David Bowie – “Heroes” (Official Video) [HD]
3. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
Can you really hear the singer say “My Donuts, god damn!” at 4:10? There are two versions of the story. The funny one goes like this: the lads ordered food between recording sessions and then, during the recording, someone sat on the singer’s donuts, prompting him to comment accordingly. The perhaps more likely version is that it’s simply a misheard exclamation of “Montgomery’s got the answer” by singer Ronnie Van Zant. And yet there is a mistake in the song that works really well at that point: in the intro, Van Zant clearly says “Turn it up!”. He doesn’t mean that we should turn the song up louder; rather, he’s telling his sound engineer to turn up the volume in his headphones. It fit perfectly and stayed in.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
4. The Beatles – Hey Jude
Given Paul McCartney’s notorious perfectionism and the effort that went into recording Beatles productions, it’s actually hard to imagine mistakes in the Fab Four’s songs. In reality, however, there were repeated slip-ups; for instance, in the seven-minute ballad that became the Beatles’ most successful single in America, “Hey Jude”. Whilst Paul McCartney sings words of comfort to John Lennon, who had to cope with his parents’ divorce in the late 1960s, he slips up on the piano at the 02:58 mark and can be clearly heard exclaiming first “Whoa” and then “F***ing Hell”. Lennon found the slip-up so authentic and human that the Beatles simply left it in, swearing and all.
The Beatles – Hey Jude (Official Music Video) [Remastered 2015]
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge
Anthony Kiedis seems to sometimes have problems with forgetting the lyrics in the verses, so he simply reworks them on the spot. Okay, that’s not really the issue he’s often criticised for. Rather, he occasionally struggles to hit the high notes in the songs, both live and in the studio. So pitch correction was used on ‘Under the Bridge’ in 1992. However, it was nowhere near as sophisticated as Auto-Tune, which didn’t appear until 1996, or the effects available today, which can be found in almost every DAW software. Back then, the corrections were made manually, which wasn’t always perfect, so they’re quite noticeable in the final version.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge [Official Music Video]
6. Led Zeppelin – Since I’ve Been Loving You
You can hear an extremely squeaky glitch in Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, namely the bass drum pedal of mega-drummer John Bonham. It squeaks constantly, but somehow there was apparently no time for a few drops of oil, as the annoying noise can be heard throughout the entire song. Of course, it could also have been intentional, as a percussive squeaking element of his drumming.
Led Zeppelin – Since I’ve Been Loving You (Live at Madison Square Garden 1973) [Official Video]
7. The Kingsmen – Louie Louie
In the 1963 recording of “Louie Louie”, you can hear the singer let out a cry because he realises he’s missed a verse. The background story is that the manager of the teenage pub The Chase had recorded a performance by the band The Kingsmen and sold the recording to a record label. The song went on to become a million-seller. So it was a genuine live moment.
Louie Louie – The Kingsmen {DES Stereo} 1963
8. Dave Brubeck – Unsquare Dance
Sometimes a slip-up can be joyful. It’s all the more beautiful and human when it stays on the recording. As a pianist and composer, Dave Brubeck was known for his complex rhythms. Take, for example, the legendary “Take Five”. In the recording of “Unsquare Dance”, you can hear drummer Joe Morello laughing at the end, followed by a “Yeah”. He was glad to have mastered the 7/4 time signature.
Dave Brubeck – Unsquare Dance
9. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
At the start of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, you can hear David Gilmour coughing before the guitar kicks in. He later said that hearing his own voice on the track made him decide to give up smoking. Sometimes, mistakes in songs can actually be good for your health!
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (Official Video)
10. Dragonforce – Through the Fire and Flames
Towards the end of the recording session for “Through the Fire and Flames” for the 2006 album “Inhuman Rampage”, guitarist Herman Li snapped a guitar string. For the final version, the band decided not to edit out the resulting sound. They simply thought the situation was cool. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to recreate it every time during live performances. That’s just the magic of unique mistakes.
DRAGONFORCE – Through the Fire and Flames (Official Video)
Famous Songs with Mistakes: Now it’s your turn
Now it’s your turn: can you think of any other songs that you find particularly cool precisely because of their little quirks? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
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