Rock Stars Who Dislike Playing Their Biggest Hits in Concert
On the show today Matt was talking about his time at our sister station BEN FM. Just like we have our WMGK Big Gig concert in the summer, they had their summer BENder. The Counting Crows were on the bill for that show, and they didn’t play Mr. Jones… what is the point of seeing that band if they’re not going to play their biggest hit? It’s outrageous. They’re are plenty of artists who don’t like to play their biggest hit, because they’re tired of it. You are forcing people to shell out a lot of money, especially recently, play your damn hits.
Robert Plant – Stairway to Heaven
There was a story today I saw that Robert Plant was done with Stairway to Heaven. He has barely sung it since the Zeppelin days and it’s just a song that he vocally can’t do anymore. It’s not so much that he dislikes it, as much as it is he doesn’t believe his voice can do it justice anymore. Plant’s vocals in the height of Led Zeppelin and his Honeydrippers stuff is just legendary. This one makes sense that he isn’t able to do the vocal justice.
Billy Joel – Piano Man
Just this month, before the Grammy Awards, Billy Joel told Billboard that he is sick of Piano Man. He still plays it in concert because he understands people love it, but he doesn’t. He says, “fortunately when I do it live the crowd sings it. So I can just drop out and listen to them. Yeah, you go ahead. Knock yourselves out.”
Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Pat Benatar doesn’t like singing Hit Me with Your Best Shot. Just like Billy Joel, she will still play it in concert, but the audience takes lead on the vocals. When asked about it, Benatar said, “I make them sing it. I mean, I only sing a little of it and I tell them, ‘You want to hear this song and I really can’t sing this song, so if you want to hear it, you’re going to have to sing it.’ And they’re more than happy to sing it. It’s fun.”
There are plenty more out there. Most artists will still perform the songs they don’t like, but as an audience member they might make you do a little work on it.
5 of Rock's Most Controversial Songs
Rock and roll history is littered with controversy. Some of the best examples come from the music itself.
One example that comes to mind is GN’R Lies. The second studio album from Guns N’ Roses, GN’R Lies was released on November 29, 1988. The eight-track album is divided into two parts. The first part, which is the first four tracks, is a re-release of the band’s 1986’s EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide.
Meanwhile, the second part is made up of four acoustic tracks. Among them is the hit song “Patience,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Also included is an acoustic version of “You’re Crazy,” the original version of which is on 1987’s Appetite for Destruction.
The second half also features “Used to Love Her.” We previously wrote of this track in our ranking of every GN'R song, “Not sure if there’s an award for ‘Catchiest Songs About Murdering Your Significant Other,’ but if there is, ‘Used to Love Her’ would at the very least be in the running. The only thing about this song that has really aged well is its melody, which is still a solid earworm.”
This leads us to the final acoustic song, which also serves as the final track on the album: “One in a Million.” While Guns N’ Roses have plenty of songs in their catalog that still sound fresh today, “One in a Million” certainly has not.
In a February 2023 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, this track was brought up to Slash. The guitar icon said he doesn’t like dwelling on the past. However, he does admit that most things GN’R did in their heyday wouldn’t fly today.
” … Most of everything that [Guns N’ Roses] did would’ve gotten us canceled in this day and age,” said Slash. “We would not have fared well in this environment, for sure — I mean, on so many different levels.”
With GN’R Lies and “One in a Million” in mind, here’s a look at just five of rock’s most controversial songs.
Steve Vassalotti is co-host of “The Matt Cord Show with Steve Vassalotti” weekday mornings 6a-10a on 102.9 WMGK. He has been with the station since 2015. For WMGK he writes about inane nonsense that surrounds our daily lives, sports, food and other various topics. Steve writes about Philadelphia lifestyle content, the Philadelphia Eagles culture and trending topics.