What’s that Rolling Stones lyric? “You can’t always get what you want?” Well, that’s true in many areas of life, including classic rock. While the genre of music has given audiences so much throughout history, there still is some fruit that it hasn’t dolled out. Namely, some classic rock collaborations that seem obvious but just never happened.
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We wanted to explore three fantastical examples below. These are three studio collaborations between classic rock giants that we wish we saw, heard, and experienced. Indeed, these are three classic rock collaborations between UK and US artists we wish we could have enjoyed.
Heart & Led Zeppelin
The British-born band Led Zeppelin and the Pacific Northwest-born band Heart were kindred spirits. In a way, they were mirror images of one another. In fact, Heart’s guitarist Nancy Wilson has compared her hometown of Seattle to a famous UK port city. Led by big-voiced singers and torrential six-string players, the bands were cut from the same cloth. And while they never collaborated together (as far as we know), the closest thing we got to the experience was an epic cover by the Wilson sisters of Led Zeppelin’s famed classic rock track, “Stairway To Heaven”. We wish we could have seen and heard so much more between the two acts.
Grace Slick & Pink Floyd
The rock band Pink Floyd was known for guitar solos, vocal performances, and just general vibes that seemed to rise, rise, rise up all the way to the heavens. Can you imagine if Jefferson Airplane lead singer Grace Slick had linked up with the group to provide her soaring voice to the mix? Weather systems would have been disrupted. Satellites may have fallen from outer space. Jets would have tumbled from the atmosphere. It seems a match almost too good to be true, perhaps that’s why it never came about. Yet, we wish it had.
The Who & Bruce Springsteen
So much rugged power. So much force. If the world could have bottled it and sold it, we’d be off oil in no time. The rock band The Who was like the Hoover Dam, and Bruce Springsteen was like a coal mine. Together, they shook audiences and made long-rippling waves of sound. And while the two never got together, can you imagine what “Born In The USA” would sound like with The Who backing the Boss? Or what “Baba O’Riley” would have been like if Bruce belted the lyrics? Wow. Just wow.
Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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