5 Rock Songs That Were Written as Tribute To Other Musicians

Tribute rock songs are usually quite good at getting a tear or two out of even the toughest rock fans. These five tracks were either written for someone who is no longer with us or released in honor of rock musicians who have since passed on.

1. Neil Young Wrote “Sleeps With Angels” for Kurt Cobain

After Nirvana’s frontman Kurt Cobain tragically passed away from suicide, the note he left behind was made available to the general public. It’s a heartbreaking thing to read. In his note, he quoted the Neil Young song “My My, Hey Hey”, particularly the lyrics “It’s better to burn out, than to fade away.” When Young heard about this, it broke his heart. He wrote the song “Sleeps With Angels” as a tribute to the late talented rock star.

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2. AC/DC Released “Black in Black” as a Tribute to Bon Scott

“Back In Black” wasn’t written as a tribute to the late Bon Scott. Rather, the song itself was recorded by Bon Scott with the rest of the band before his untimely death. AC/DC almost ceased to exist right then and there, and the band wondered if they should even keep going without him. Luckily for fans of the hard rock legends, they decided to trudge forth in their grief. They released “Back In Black” as well as the legendary album of the same name as a tribute to the late rock singer five months after he passed.

3. Alice Cooper Wrote “Desperado” for Jim Morrison

Alice Cooper is one of the most famous pioneers of shock rock, so it might be surprising for some to learn that he released a song as a heartfelt tribute. “Desperado” was written by Cooper in 1971 as a tribute to his late friend and The Doors vocalist Jim Morrison. It’s a pretty heartbreaking song, too.

4. The Pretenders Wrote “2000 Miles” for James Honeyman-Scott

“2000 Miles” by The Pretenders is best known as a staple Christmas song. However, it wasn’t really intended to be. The song was written by vocalist Chrissie Hynde about The Pretenders’ late guitarist, James Honeyman-Scott. Once you’ve got some context, the lyrics to “2000 Miles” are a lot sadder.

5. Megadeth Wrote “In My Darkest Hour” for Metallica’s Cliff Burton

It was a very, very sad day in the metal world when the talented Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a bus accident in Sweden in 1986 at only 24 years old. Metallica dedicated a song to him, and so did fellow metal band Megadeth. Megadeth played with Burton and Metallica often. Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine was also a close friend of Burton’s. He wrote the song “In My Darkest Hour” as a tribute to the late bassist.

Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns

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