3 Famous Tracks That Sparked Public Fights Between Rock Legends

Sometimes, writing a song can cause a beef that lasts for years between famous rock stars. However, more often than not, a “diss” track is written because there is already a rift between two musicians. Let’s look at just a couple of rock songs that led to pretty public fights between famous rock stars.

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“Too Many People” by Paul McCartney (1971)

Here’s a pretty famous example of a rock diss track that led to a bit of bad blood. Paul McCartney wrote this song as a dig of sorts, aimed at his former Beatles bandmate, John Lennon, as well as Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono. Notably, the song digs into Lennon’s habit of “preaching,” as well as a line many believe is about Lennon as well: “You took your lucky break and broke it in two.”

Lennon didn’t appreciate it in the end. He wrote the response song “How Do You Sleep?” soon after, a song loaded with direct attacks aimed at McCartney. Considering that song features George Harrison on guitar, I’ll assume McCartney wasn’t too happy about it.

“I’ll Stick Around” by Foo Fighters (1995)

Any fan of grunge knows about the beef between Courtney Love and Dave Grohl quite well. For reference, Courtney Love was married to Nirvana frontman and Dave Grohl’s bandmate, Kurt Cobain, until his death in 1994, which promptly ended the band. The two musicians (Courtney Love was the frontwoman of Hole) have publicly beefed through the years, namely over money and royalties. And after years of rumors, Grohl finally admitted that the song “I’ll Stick Around” was about Love the whole time.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that ‘I’ll Stick Around’ is about Courtney,” Grohl admitted in 2009. “I’ve denied it for fifteen years, but I’m finally coming out and saying it. Just read the f*cking words!”

Those words? “I’ve been around all the pawns you’ve gagged and bound / They’ll come back and knock you down and I’ll be free.” Ouch.

“Southern Man” by Neil Young (1970)

Realistically, all Neil Young did with the 1970 song “Southern Man” was call out the South’s history of racism. Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t take too kindly to that and penned the hit “Sweet Home Alabama”, which famously features the lyrics “I hope Neil Young will remember / A southern man don’t need him around anyhow.” This example of “public” rock star fights was pretty one-sided, as Young went on to say he was a fan of the song and Ronnie Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s frontman.

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