Ever wonder how close we came to living in a world without “Smells Like Teen Spirit”? Turns out, some of rock’s most iconic anthems nearly ended up in history’s dustbin – victims of doubtful artists, skeptical record execs, and that most dreaded of musical diagnoses: “It doesn’t sound commercial enough.”
Let’s start with Kurt Cobain’s reluctant masterpiece, aka: the song that launched a thousand flannel shirts. Cobain almost trashed “Smells Like Teen Spirit” because he thought it sounded too much like his heroes, the Pixies. That’s right – the anthem that defined Generation X was nearly killed by its creator’s impostor syndrome. (And maybe a touch of Boston – that main riff does sound suspiciously like “More Than a Feeling,” but we’ll keep that between us.)
Speaking of creative crises, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” faced an equally dramatic path to existence. Freddie Mercury himself wasn’t convinced this little operatic experiment deserved a spot on A Night at the Opera. Too long, too weird, too… everything. Record executives agreed, probably breaking out in cold sweats at the thought of a six-minute rock opera featuring the words “Bismillah” and “Scaramouche.” Thank goodness Mercury eventually decided that “too everything” was exactly on-brand for Queen.
But if you think “Bohemian Rhapsody” is long, try selling Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” to 1965 record executives. Columbia’s marketing department nearly had a collective aneurysm over its length and decidedly un-mainstream sound. Dylan’s solution was to sweet-talk his way into a posh Manhattan disco called Arthur, convince the DJ to spin it, and watch as the elite of the music industry danced their hearts out.
Some near-misses were saved by unlikely heroes. Take Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” – it didn’t even make the initial cut for their Jailbreak album. The same goes for Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” The record company complained it had no chorus, but a persistent DJ proved them wrong by turning it into a dance floor hit.
Then there’s the curious case of Prince’s “Kiss.” The Purple One originally gave it away to another band, then heard the arrangement and basically said, “Just kidding, I’m keeping this one.” The record label hated its minimalist sound but being Prince, he knew better.
Even Metallica, masters of thrash metal, nearly missed their power ballad moment. “Nothing Else Matters” started as James Hetfield’s private love song, sung over the phone to his girlfriend. It might have stayed that way if Lars Ulrich hadn’t caught him in the act.
The Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” squeaked onto Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness — just barely. After presenting dozens of songs, Billy Corgan casually mentioned he had one more. The producer gave him 24 hours to make it work, probably not expecting Corgan to pull an all-nighter and emerge with what would become one of the band’s biggest hits.
Even Keith Richards needed a little nocturnal intervention to create “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” He woke up in the middle of the night, recorded that famous riff on a portable cassette player, mumbled the title line, and promptly fell back asleep. The song almost stayed an acoustic piece before the band found their signature swagger and ran with it.
It’s enough to make you wonder how many other potential classics never made it past these musical near-death experiences. For every “Bohemian Rhapsody” that survived, how many equally epic songs are lying in some reject pile or lost to a musician’s self-doubt? Thankfully for us, they lived to rock another day.
-Staci Wilson
Photo: Kurt Cobain (Getty)
For every hit that almost didn’t get released, there must be a hundred flops that should never have seen the light of day.
Too true!