5 Famous Mistakes In Iconic Songs

Recording music can often be quite a tedious process. The multiple takes, last minute changes and hours in the studio can leave everyone involved pretty tired to say the least. But at the end of the day, the grueling work tends to pay off with a clean, crisp recording refined to perfection and ready for the world to enjoy.

However, not every song that undergoes the process comes out fully “perfect”. Production mistakes or other oversights still tend to happen and a song can still be wildly successful in spite of them. In fact, some songs become iconic because of these very mistakes.

In this list we will take a look at 5 famous mistakes (or perhaps more appropriately, happy accidents) that are present in iconic songs. Without further ado, let’s begin!

#5. Roxanne: The Police

The Police are one of the greatest power trios of all time. Be it the vocals and bass of Sting, the wealth of guitar chords possessed by Andy Summers or Stewart Copeland’s stellar drumming, they were the perfect combination of musicians. Few better songs in the group’s repertoire highlight their legendary skills as well as their 1978 hit Roxanne.

Inspired by their time in Paris, Sting wrote Roxanne as the story of a man who falls in love with a prostitute after having observed many such ladies outside the band’s hotel room. With a seedy and almost teasing tone to the song, it seemed that the laugh heard at the beginning of Roxanne was something added intentionally. After all, it seemed to compliment the song’s tone and subject matter perfectly.

However, this was revealed to be a complete accident that the band decided to keep in the final recording. It turns out that while in the studio, Sting had wanted to sit down and relax for a moment. Rather than sit on a chair, the singer inadvertently rested his buttocks on the studio’s piano and produced a sound that everyone felt was both amusing and somewhat appropriate for the song.

Both the accidental chord and Sting’s laugh made it to the final cut and have grown to become one of the most memorable parts of an already great song. Describing the mistake as “playing the piano with his arse,” Sting has looked back at it in good humour. It just goes to show that the only way to improve something great is to come up with something by accident.

#4. Master of Puppets: Metallica

The pioneers of the Thrash Metal genre, Metallica has stayed popular in the mainstream for over four decades now. Even people who do not listen to their music would undoubtedly recognise the band’s name and the titles of some of their songs.

Arguably, their most recognisable song, Master of Puppets, has had a tried and tested legacy exceeded only by that of the band itself. Whether you’ve been a fan of the group and genre all your life or had just caught the latest season of Stranger Things, you were bound to have heard snippets of this Metal classic at some point.

Hailed as one of the greatest Metal songs of all time, Master of Puppets features a mistake in the recording that is so iconic that few cannot believe it was a mistake at all. In the song’s solo, guitarist Kirk Hammett can be heard playing what many believe to be an extremely high-pitched, almost wail-like note. In reality, however, the chilling sound we hear is the sound of Hammett’s guitar string coming off the fretboard. Perhaps he too was so caught up by the intensity of the moment that he inadvertently snapped one of his strings.

This happy accident has come off as something of a double-edged sword. While the unique sound has contributed to one of the greatest Metal solos of all time, Kirk Hammett himself has admitted that he has struggled to replicate the now iconic sound. Unlike a mistimed note or messed-up lyric, it isn’t as easy to copy the sound of a string coming off a fretboard in such a way. It was a miracle from the Gods of Rock themselves, that the one-time mistake made it to the record.

#3. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life): Green Day

While known to most as one of the greatest Punk Rock groups of all time, Green Day has had no problems breaking into the mainstream and finding success with songs that depart from their usual genre. One such example of this is Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).

A staple at high school proms and other nostalgic events, Billie Joe Armstrong penned down the song as a scathing goodbye to a girlfriend who was moving to another country. Expressing his anger at being left behind, Armstrong begrudgingly wishes his now ex-girlfriend well while clearly highlighting how upset he is at the news of her departure.

Aside from its more mellow sound as compared to the group’s heavier repertoire, Good Riddance (Time of Your) Life, or at least the version we are more familiar with, was also recorded very quickly. An earlier version of the song was released as a single with little recognition, so it was re-done after Green Day had become more popular. Sending the rest of the group out to work on the song himself, Armstrong sped through the now iconic recording.

In his rush, Armstrong was caught on tape struggling not once but twice to get the beginning of the song right. Left on the final recording (but excluded in the music video), his frustration was clear for all to hear, with him noticeably dropping an F-bomb before finally getting it right. Although it was an apparent mistake, the clear frustration shown by Armstrong perfectly sets the tone of the song to follow. In a way, it was the ideal way to get into the right headspace based on the song’s tone and meaning.

#2. Wish You Were Here: Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd are no stranger to crafting musical masterpieces. Be it The Wall or the legendary Dark Side of the Moon album, Pink Floyd is at their best with their intricate Rock epics. Released in 1975, Wish You Were Here, and its titular song was created to recognize founding member Syd Barett, who had to depart the group due to his struggles with drugs and mental health.

It was during this time that David Gilmour began to exercise greater influence among Pink Floyd and brought the group in a more elaborate direction in the wake of Barett’s departure. The recording of Wish You Were Here was a grueling process that involved numerous cut instrumentals as well as hefty session fees.

Eventually, the masterpiece envisioned by the band soon developed and was released to the world. However, despite the thorough process and perfectionism of the group, one glaring mistake was left on the recording. Throughout the early part of the titular track, coughing and heavy breathing could be heard. Some believed it was an intentional addition to the song as it blended in somewhat with its chilly atmosphere.

However, the truth behind these sounds was quite simple. A heavy smoker, Gilmour could not hold in his cough long enough to play through the song and thus was forced to release the recording where it could be heard. Ever the perfectionist, Gilmour was so affected by the sound of his visible cough that he chose to quit smoking as a result of this. Perhaps this is the only time where a mistake on a song caused its artist to reevaluate his lifestyle choices.

#1. I Feel Fine: The Beatles

Closing out this list with a song by the greatest group of all time, I Feel Fine, was released in 1964. Historically, I Feel Fine is recognised as one of the earliest songs to make use of guitar feedback as seen in its intro. However, this accolade came completely by accident.

During a recording session, John Lennon leaned his guitar on an amplifier, producing a distinct feedback sound. Upon hearing it, the rest of the group and producer George Martin, found the sound to be unique and decided to add it to an upcoming song.

Thus, they decided to replicate that feedback noise to use as the intro for I Feel Fine. A testament to the skills of The Beatles and George Martin, it was the perfect opening and remains one of the most recognisable sounds in The Beatles' songbook.

In hindsight, this accidental discovery would also coincide with The Beatles’ increasingly experimental creative process and the “trippy” sound that became more commonplace later in the decade. John Lennon himself has stated that while feedback was more commonly used in live performances, his accidental discovery made The Beatles the first group to use feedback in an actual recording. Leave it to the Fab Four to blaze the trail, be it intentionally or not.

That does it for this list! If you made it this far, allow me to thank you for taking the time to read this. It goes to show that even the greatest music does not have to be “perfect” per se. In fact, it is often the imperfections and little mistakes that make us appreciate these amazing tracks more. In many ways, that logic could apply to most other things in life as well.

Do let me know if there are other notable mistakes in some other famous songs. I love hearing back and might make a follow-up to this list sometime down the line. Until then, take care!