Many of the greatest classic rock songs of the last decade or so were the product of hard work, lots of focus, and plenty of time to refine everything from lyrics to melody. Some famous rock songs, though, were improvised on the spot. And they still became hits, regardless. Let’s look at just a few classic rock songs that were famously improvised, shall we? A couple of these might surprise you!
“Supersonic” by Oasis
Oasis’ famous album Definitely Maybe had to be recorded several times. During those sessions, Noel Gallagher got the idea to write “Supersonic”, one of their now most enduring hits. According to lore, Gallagher came up with the song quite fast while the rest of Oasis was out eating Chinese food. He was supposed to be working on “Bring It On Down”, but came up with this megahit instead.
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“Hey Bulldog” by The Beatles
Quite a few Beatles songs were written quickly, but “Hey Bulldog” is a bit of a deep cut that I never see mentioned in lists about quickly cut hit classic rock songs. This tune was released on Yellow Submarine and is often listed as one of The Beatles’ best songs. Interestingly enough, this delightful little psychedelic rock tune with a bluesy edge was put together when John Lennon was supposed to be shooting a video. He came up with the lyrics as the music video for “Lady Madonna” was being shot.
“Paranoid” by Black Sabbath
“Paranoid” by Black Sabbath is a classic heavy metal song. And, sometimes, the best songs are put together on the spot with the intention of them being filler songs. That was the case for “Paranoid”, which was put together quite fast around a riff that Tony Iommi came up with on the spot. Apparently, the band’s label thought their album was too short and asked for a couple of filler songs to round it out. Today, nobody would consider “Paranoid” to be a filler song.
“Life In The Fast Lane” by Eagles
Shortly after joining Eagles, Joe Walsh came up with “Life In The Fast Lane” almost by accident. The riff of the song was basically an exercise that he would whip out to keep his money-making fingers in check. The band heard it and thought it would work well for a song about the dark underbelly of Hollywood. Today, it’s one of the most famous improvised classic rock songs ever.
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