Guides / Music drama
Music drama
Feuds, breakups, rejected auditions and contract clauses that turned into some of the best stories in pop and rock history.
Great songs often come with great backstories. Bands have split over a thrown piece of fruit, written hit albums while their relationships fell apart, and turned down deals that would have changed everything. These guides tell each story straight, from the documented facts, and end with what the drama actually teaches.
Music dramaDolly Parton said no to Elvis and kept her biggest songElvis Presley wanted to record "I Will Always Love You," but his manager wanted half the publishing rights. Dolly Parton refused, and the song later became a record-breaking hit.
Music dramaHow Fleetwood Mac made Rumours while breaking upFleetwood Mac recorded Rumours in 1976 while two couples in the band were splitting. The heartbreak went straight into the songs, and the album sold over 40 million copies.
Music dramaOasis, the Gallagher brothers and the plum in ParisOasis split in August 2009 after a backstage fight in Paris that Noel Gallagher says started with a thrown plum. Fifteen years later the brothers announced a reunion.
Music dramaThe DJ who played Bohemian Rhapsody 14 times in two daysQueen were told their six-minute song was too long for radio. London DJ Kenny Everett played it 14 times in two days in 1975, and it became a nine-week UK number one.
Music dramaThe Eagles said they would reunite when hell froze overAfter their 1980 breakup, Don Henley said the Eagles would play together again "when hell freezes over." In 1994 they did, and named the album after the line.Music dramaThe day Decca turned down the BeatlesOn January 1, 1962, the Beatles auditioned for Decca Records in London and were rejected. It became the most famous "no" in music history.
Music dramaVan Halen's brown M&M's rule had a smart reasonVan Halen's tour contract demanded a bowl of M&M's with every brown one removed. It sounded like rock star excess, but it was a clever safety check.
Music dramaVanilla Ice, "Under Pressure" and an expensive bassline"Ice Ice Baby" became the first hip-hop single to top the Billboard Hot 100, but its hook used the bassline from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" without credit. The settlement changed the songwriting credits.