Imagine writing a first draft of a book and then abandoning it, only for swaths of fans to immortalize that first draft and talk about it for decades. That’s more or less what happened to the following three classic rock bands in terms of some very famous unfinished projects. Let’s take a walk through music history and look at what could have been, shall we?
‘SMiLE’ by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys’ famed unreleased project SMiLE might be the most famous example of unfinished projects in classic rock on this list. And that’s coming from a group who had several unfinished projects. SMiLE, though, was meant to be a masterpiece follow-up to Pet Sounds. It was going to be a concept album about Americana and the natural world. However, after recording for a year with no end in sight because of Brian Wilson’s perfectionism and declining mental health, the project was shelved. A significantly downscaled version of the record titled Smiley Smile was released in its place in 1967. And people are still talking about what could have been today.
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‘Household Objects’ by Pink Floyd
This entry’s a personal favorite of mine, as I really think Household Objects could have been a cool project from Pink Floyd. The band was still reeling from the success of The Dark Side Of The Moon when they decided to go back to their experimental ways with this record. Household Objects was meant to be composed entirely of sounds made from non-instrument objects. Some recordings would later be repurposed and released. However, Household Objects as a whole was just too out there and complicated for even Pink Floyd to complete.
‘Hoodoo’ by John Fogerty
This legendary entry on our list of unfinished classic rock projects comes from former Creedence Clearwater Revival icon John Fogerty. Hoodoo was intended to be Fogerty’s third solo record. The album was almost entirely original, sans one lone Ray Charles cover. After submitting the album to his label, Fogerty had a change of heart and pulled the whole thing. According to lore, he wasn’t satisfied with the recording quality of the record, but he never had the time to re-record it, apparently. He asked his label to destroy the tapes, and only a few bootlegs remain on the internet today.
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More The List
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CIRCA 1966: Singer Mick Jagger of the rock and roll band "The Rolling Stones" performs onstage in circa 1966. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Aerosmith Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, Vorst-Nationaal, Brussels, Belgium, 31st October 1993. (Photo by Goedefroit Music/Getty Images) -
UNSPECIFIED – JANUARY 01: John LENNON between 1970 and 1973. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) -
1972: (L-R) Jim Hodder, David Palmer, Denny Dias, Donald Fagen, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Walter Becker of the rock band "Steely Dan" pose for a portrait in 1972. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
Kyu Sakamoto. (1941-1985) Japanese singer, best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Aruko" (known as "Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100 in June 1963, making Sakamoto the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the chart. (Photo by Sjöberg Bildbyrå/ullstein bild via Getty Images) -
Picture taken in 1974 in Stockholm shows the Swedish pop group Abba with its members (L-R) Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus posing after winning the Swedish branch of the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Waterloo". – Sweden's legendary disco group ABBA announced on April 27, 2018 that they have reunited to record two new songs, 35 years after their last single. The quartet split up in 1982 after dominating the disco scene for more than a decade with hits like "Waterloo", "Dancing Queen", "Mamma Mia" and "Super Trouper". (Photo by Olle LINDEBORG / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo credit should read OLLE LINDEBORG/AFP via Getty Images)
