Celebrities, for better or worse, have a tendency to try their hand in the music industry. However, when a celebrity is associated with a certain industry, it can sometimes be hard to place them within the world of music, and sometime it is better not to. But then again there are a few pleasant surprises, though not necessarily for the best of reasons.

See Also: 10 Spectacular Meltdowns That Cost Celebrities Credibility

Whether they started out in music before finding their true calling, or reached a degree of fame and with it gained a sometimes misguided faith in their musical talent, here are ten celebrities who have, surprisingly, released songs.

10 Brie Larson—She Said

Before her now successful career in film, Brie Larson had a short stint at making music. Following minor roles as a child actor, Larson embarked on a career in music, and released one album in 2005 Finally Out Of P. E.

The title of the album is a perfect summary of Larson’s music — bubblegum teen pop, though quite appropriate, because Larson was only sixteen at the time. She Said was the single to come out of the album though commercially it did very little.

Larson came to dislike the music industry due to her own self-written songs being dismissed for songs her record label wanted her to play. Essentially, Larson did not want to be molded into what her label wanted her to be, and left it all behind.^[1]

9 Macaulay Culkin (The Pizza Underground)—Pizza Gal

The premise of Macaulay Culkin’s band “The Pizza Underground” is a strange parody of the Velvet Underground, and Pizza Gal is just one of the bizarre songs Culkin has released.

The Pizza Underground parody many of the Velvet Undergrounds songs interlaced with various pizza-based jokes — yes really. Pizza Gal is a parody of Femme Fatale by the Velvet Underground, and musically is close to the original, but substitutes the original lyrics for pizza related themes.

Culkin called it “one of those good ideas you have when you’re drunk and you wake up and forget about it… but we’re taking it to the end of the joke.” There is a reason those ideas only happen when you are drunk, because they are terrible.^[2]

8 Andy Murray—Autograph

Andy Murray and fellow tennis player Novak Djokovic teamed up with Bryan Bros Band to provide a shining example of why celebrities should sometimes stick to what they are good at, whatever that may be.

In 2009, the collaboration gave us the song Autograph. The song details the inconveniences Andy Murray has to suffer when signing autographs for his eager fans. Autograph is as bad as it sounds.

Murray tries to rap on the song providing us with the lyrics “during Wimbledon it really gets crazy. My hand cramps up and my mind gets hazy” and “I sign and sign, but the line doesn’t end. Wake me up tomorrow, let’s do it again.”

We can all objectively say that Autograph is woeful, and is it really so bad that fans want an autograph? Stick to tennis please.^[3]

7Naomi Campbell—Love and Tears

Somewhat infamous model Naomi Campbell tried her luck in the music industry in an effort to branch out from the world of modeling. In 1994, Campbell released the appropriately named album Baby Woman, and Love and Tears was the single from the album.

Surprisingly Love and Tears is not as bad as would be expected from a model turned singer, but still proved that Campbell did not have much prospect in making music, as it was her first and last single and album.

Baby Woman was poorly received by critics and was commercially unsuccessful except in Japan.^[4]

6Frankie Muniz (Kingsfoil)—What Your Mother Taught You

Star of Malcolm in the Middle, Frankie Muniz had a brief run with indie pop band Kingsfoil from 2012 to 2014, in which he featured on the single What Your Mother Taught You.

As a longtime fan of the band, Muniz auditioned for Kingsfoil, and they duly accepted him into the group. Kingsfoil sported Muniz on drums for their 2012 album A Beating Heart is a Bleeding Heart, from which, What Your Mother Taught You came. Kingsfoil are not the first band to feature Muniz in their lineup as he also played in the group You Hang Up before joining Kingsfoil.

The song is your typical indie pop song, and the band is not too dissimilar to Coldplay. However, Muniz left the group in 2014 due to scheduling conflicts with filming of Hot Bath an’ a Stiff Drink 2.^[5]

5 Steven Seagal—My God

Martial artist and renowned tough guy actor Steven Seagal delved into the world of music with his debut album Songs from the Crystal Cave in 2004, from which My God was born.

Although Steven Seagal is a relatively accomplished guitarist, My God proves that if you have a certain degree of fame and fortune, and have the ability to roundhouse kick people in the face, nobody can stop you from releasing music.

My God is a strange dancehall-esque track that upbraids the concept of religion in the most infantile of ways. Seagal makes an attempt at irony in his lyrics like “Why do you force your will with a gun, let’s start another holy war” topped off with the chorus line “My God is better than your God, My God is bigger than yours.” The lyrics just come off as laughable rather than in any way spiritual especially coming from Steven Seagal.

Unbelievably, Seagal actually managed to get Stevie Wonder to play harmonica on the song, though even Stevie Wonder could not save the song.^[6]

4 Clint Eastwood—Bar Room Buddies

Bar Room Buddies was recorded by Merle Haggard and Clint Eastwood for the 1980 film Bronco Billy. (LINK 11). However, the song was released as a single in the same year, and was incredibly successful in the world of country music, reaching number one in the Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Country music legend Merle Haggard carries the enchantingly strange duo whilst Eastwood tries to sing, but mostly fails to break away from his inimitable gravelly voice. The song details the two “Old chug-a-lug-a-lugging” bar room buddies’ drunken exploits.

Bar Room Buddies is a little slice of lighthearted nonsense but still quite fun, and the song actually stayed in the country charts for thirteen weeks.^[7]

3Val Kilmer—Frontier Justice

Having convincingly sang as Jim Morrison in the 1991 biopic The Doors, and having learned to play guitar for the film Top Secret, Kilmer took his musical credentials one-step further when he released the album Val Kilmer: Sessions With Mick in 2007.

He teamed up with friend Mick Rossi to write a series of songs for the album. The song Frontier Justice is a bluesy number in which the protagonist accounts his gunning down of his lover’s lover. It is eerie but well produced, and Kilmer actually has a decent singing voice.

Frontier Justice was released on Kilmer’s MySpace music blog before the full Val Kilmer: Sessions with Mick was self released on his website.^[8]

2 Ricky Gervais (Seona Dancing)—More To Lose

Seona Dancing were a short-lived ’80s new wave duo fronted by none other than comedian and actor Ricky Gervais. The duo was stereotypically ’80s new wave — big hair, makeup and no small amount of androgyny.

Sounding like a low-rent ’80s David Bowie, More to Lose proved that music was not Ricky Gervais’ calling. The song fails to rise above the dreary clichés ’80s new wave churned out; it is forgettable yet unforgettable to see Gervais fully clad in his new wave attire, which raises the question: what happened?

Seona Dancing released two mostly unsuccessful singles in the 1980s and disbanded in 1984. More to Lose went on to be quite popular in the Philippines, receiving substantial radio play through the 1980s. Fellow band member Bill Macrae did not reach the fame of Gervais, fading into obscurity after Seona Dancing’s disbandment.^[9]

1 Bruce Willis—Under The Boardwalk

Before John McClane there was Bruno Randolini — Bruce Willis’ soul and R&B singing alter ego, who actually had notable success through the late 1980s.

In 1987, Bruce Willis released his debut album The Return of Bruno complete with a fake documentary about Willis’ musical alter ego. Willis, or Bruno, covered Under the Boardwalk by the Drifters on the album, which was also released as a single. Carried by the Temptations who sang backing vocals, the song struggled commercially in the US, but somehow reached number two in the UK charts.

It is clear from the song that Willis is better suited to playing the rugged cop with a heart of gold on the silver screen than he is to singing because Under the Boardwalk is inescapably cringe-worthy. Willis cannot quite reach those high notes, and for the most part is propped up by his stellar cast of musicians.

Willis went on to record another album If It Don’t Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger in 1989 before finally submitting to the on-screen Bruce Willis we know and love today.^[10]

When you have a great idea, a patent can help you preserve and secure it so that the world knows it’s yours. Of course, not everyone wants a patent on something they created. For instance, Coca-Cola never patented their original formula because they were afraid someone could check out the patent and reverse engineer their own Coke after the patent ran out in 20 years. Instead, they kept it as a trade secret so no one would ever know it.

There are less selfish reasons to forgo a patent, as well. Sometimes a person or company finds value in releasing the patent so anyone in the world can use it for free? Why would anyone do that? Because, rare though it may be, altruism is an actual thing. 

10. Volvo Gave Away the Patent for the 3-Point Safety Belt 

In the modern world, it’s hard to imagine a car without seatbelts. But they weren’t always in cars and even after being introduced they weren’t mandatory to use. In fact, laws making seat belt use mandatory in the 1980s were met by angry protests from people who hated the idea. 

Remarkably, seat belts had been around for decades prior to laws making them a requirement and Volvo patented the three-point safety belt, the one most of us are familiar with that goes over the shoulder and clips into place at your side, in 1959. 

Engineer Nils Bohlin was the man who was behind the belt and the patent. His invention is in every single modern car in the world, so you can imagine what it might have been worth since 1959 to hold that patent. Over 92 million cars are made every year. 

Bohlin was not a man who wanted to exploit a life-saving invention, however. In 1959, only Volva had this technology. Bohlin and Volvo gave the technology freely to the industry and anyone who wanted to make use of it and other car companies took full advantage. This life saving technology has literally saved millions of people as a result. .

9. Toyota Released 24,000 Royalty-Free Patents for Electric Car-Related Tech

As much as we think of automakers as some of the biggest companies in the world that rake in billions, and they are, they do have random moments of goodness like with the Volvo story above. But they are not the only ones.

There’s a modern push to keep looking towards electric vehicles and alternative energy transportation. Not only does gasoline pollute, it’s simply not an infinite resource so one day we will have to do without it whether or not we like it.

Towards the goal of creating better electric cars and related technology, Toyota released a stunning 24,000 royalty-free patents related to electric car technology for anyone to use. This happened in 2019, but five years earlier Elon Musk and Tesla did the same thing, sharing their patents with the world to keep the electric car push going. 

Of course, things are not as full of sunshine as they seem in this situation as part of the Tesla pledge means that if another company uses Tesla’s patents, Tesla is free to use that other company’s patents as well. But on the surface it still sounds mostly altruistic, don’t you think?

8. The Diamond Match Company Released the Patent for Non-toxic Matches

Once upon a time a match was a remarkable piece of technology. It was fire you could form in seconds just with a quick moment of friction. No flint needed, nothing fancy at all. It wasn’t the smoothest road ever traveled, however. Early matches in the 19th century were made from white phosphorus and the horrible tales of how the chemical killed or mutilated people who worked with it are not for the squeamish. 

In 1910, the Diamond Match Company patented a brand new kind of match. How was it innovative? Well, it wasn’t poisonous. Not for nothing, but if you can make a product that people like that isn’t poisonous when all other versions are poisonous, you just made a winning product. 

These new matches were considered so important that William Howard Taft, the President of the United States, personally asked the Diamond Match Company to give up the patent. They did so for “humanity’s sake.” The result was the widespread manufacture and use of matches that finally didn’t have to mutilate people. 

7. Jonas Salk Refused to Patent the Polio Vaccine

Hopefully, most people still know the name of Jonas Salk. Born in 1914, he became a doctor in New York and studied viruses like the flu. He began working on a vaccine throughout the Second World War. When he eventually switched gears to polio, he had some success and in 1955 he had perfected a vaccine that proved effective in preventing polio.

Before Salk, about 16,000 people per year contracted polio, many of them suffering extreme paralysis and more. Today people simply don’t get the disease and it has been effectively eradicated because of Salk’s vaccine. 

While people called Salk a miracle worker for what he’d done, he refused to patent the vaccine. He was not interested in profit, what he was interested in was making sure everyone got vaccinated and no one got polio again. 

6. Joseph Roentgen Wouldn’t Patent X-Rays

In physics, a roentgen is a unit of measure applied to X-rays and gamma rays. Exposure at a level of 400 roentgen is potentially lethal. The name comes to us from Joseph Roentgen, the man who discovered X-rays back in 1895. Imagine, in a world where this technology had never been seen or even thought of, how he felt when he put his hand in the tube contraption he had made, blasted it with the invisible energy he had discovered, and got an x-ray image of the bones in his hand for the first time. The image became an international sensation.

A man of science, Roentgen understood the potential benefits to what he had discovered. As such, he refused to take out a patent on x-ray generating technology. He wanted it to be free to use around the world for the benefit of all humankind. Though he won the first ever Nobel Prize in physics in 1901, he gave the money to his university and took no honors or awards for what he did. 

5. The Inventors of Insulin Gave Their Patent Away for $1

One of Canada’s most famous citizens, Frederick Banting was the man who discovered insulin and saved countless lives. Working in London, Ontario in 1923, when he finally made his discovery he wanted no part in profiting from it or achieving any kind of fame. He refused to put his name on a patent at all.

Banting was not alone, of course. He had colleagues who helped develop insulin and the two other men – James Collip and Charles Best – put their names on the patent. Sounds like a case of stabbing your partner in the back, right? Well, they sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1. The consensus was that it was unethical for a doctor to profit off of a discovery meant to save lives. 

Fast forward to 2021 and a vial of insulin that cost $12 in Canada was almost $100 in the US so Banting’s dream of insulin being free to everyone didn’t fully work out, but the formulations have improved and diabetics have a much better quality of life so at least that’s something. 

4. Ben Franklin Refused to Patent Anything

When we talk about famous inventors from history, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla often top the lists, but Ben Franklin is usually mentioned, too. He invented things like bifocals, catheters and swim fins, basically everything you need for a really weird party. 

Franklin patented none of his inventions even when they were offered to him. Some of his inventions, like the Franklin Stove and bifocals definitely could have made him money, but that was not why he invented things.

He once said “that as we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of others, we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any Invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.” Or, in other words, everyone benefits when we all share.

3. The Inventor of Chicken Nuggets Gave the Recipe Away

Ahh, the humble chicken nugget. We eat around 2.3 billion chicken nuggets per year so it’s safe to say these golden bites are well-liked. Just imagine what the patent on nugget technology would be worth had anyone wanted to take one out.

Some people wrongly assume chicken nuggets were gifted to the world by McDonalds, but they were not. A scientist named Robert Baker is the nugget genius behind it all who created the technology to make them in the 1960s. But why?

Chicken demand grew during WWII when other meat was scarce, so poultry production went up. Post war, meat wasn’t being rationed, people could get pork and beef again and chicken demand tanked. Chickens became impractical because roasting a whole one took time and you either needed a few to feed a family or you had too much to feed an individual.

Baker’s job was to find new ways to eat chicken. He came up with chicken wieners and other ideas but the molded, breaded ground white chicken idea was his true hit, just not right away. It wasn’t until the 70s when people started turning their back on red meat because it was considered unhealthy that new ways to eat chicken grew in demand. The nugget finally had its moment. It was thought to be less fatty, better for your heart, and all that jazz.

Of course, a chicken nugget isn’t healthy, but people focused more on the chicken and less on the nugget and the rest is history. Baker, for his part, did the opposite of patenting his method of making nuggets. He mailed the recipe to hundreds of food production companies.

2. Semyon Korsakov Developed Machine System for Information Storage

The timeline of computers is long and, often, kind of dull. Early machines that used punch card systems for data storage are not nearly as exciting as a modern gaming computer by any means, but they were a step on the path to what we have today.

Semyon Korsakov was a Russian statistician in 1817. He became interested in the idea of “machines for the comparison of ideas.” This took the form of a punch card system which helped search for information. In very, very rudimentary terms he was setting the stage for modern artificial intelligence. His invention was announced in 1832 as a machine for comparing ideas. 

Korsakov thought the idea would be helpful to people, so he didn’t bother seeking a patent, instead making it freely available for any who wanted it. Sadly, the idea was mostly rejected at the time since no one could see the benefit in using a machine to access large amounts of information. 

1. Daguerreotype Technology was Given Free to the World Except England

Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre was the inventor of one of the earliest kinds of photographs, the daguerreotype. They were images on silvered copper plates and, in 1839, they were revolutionary in their clarity. 

Daguerreotypes took the world by storm, and people all around the world were making them. Daguerre and France had made use of the technology free to the world with one small exception. He took out a single patent in England, meaning everyone in the world but the English were free to use it. 

Because the British had to pay, it also prompted experimentation with novel forms of the technology which spurred the photo industry forward even more.

Hundreds of new films are released in theaters each year, but some movies never even make it through the production phase. Then there are movies that were completed filming, but for some reason, were never released to be seen in cinemas. Some saw creative differences between those who worked on the film, while others just didn’t receive rave reviews.

Here is a list of the top movies completed but never saw a theatrical release.

Related: 10 Of The Most Sought-after Lost Films

10 The Day the Clown Cried (1972)

In 1972, Jerry Lewis, also known as “The King of Comedy,” starred in and directed the drama film The Day the Clown Cried. The dark film was about a circus clown imprisoned by the Nazis. Lewis played the role of the clown that provided entertainment to Jewish children before leading them to their death in a gas chamber.

During filming, the movie ran into several financial problems, causing Lewis to pay for most of the production costs out of his own pocket. The film then ran into problems when the writer disagreed on changes made by Lewis, and all parties involved were unable to reach an agreement. This caused the film never to be released. Lewis was able to obtain a rough cut of the film and later donated it to the Library of Congress under stipulations that it would not be released before 2025.^[1]

9 Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales: The Movie for Homosexuals (1968)

Long before Penelope Spheeris directed hit movies such as Wayne’s World, The Little Rascals, and Beverly Hillbillies, the student filmmaker directed the oddly titled Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales: The Movie for Homosexuals. Richard Pryor produced and starred in the movie, but it is likely that we will never see the film in our lifetime. And not because of the film’s controversial subject matter—a white man on trial for raping a black woman.

Instead, Pryor’s wife was beyond furious that he was spending more time making the film than time with her, and he destroyed the negatives during one of their many arguments.^[2]

8 Empires of the Deep (2010)

Chinese billionaire Jon Jiang created the story for Empires of the Deep and financed a huge part of the film’s budget. The science-fiction film is set in a mythical world where conflict is brought to the mermaid kingdoms. The production budget was reportedly over $130 million, and the movie would mostly be filmed in Fujian and areas surrounding Beijing.

Filming began in 2009 after two years of trying to find the right producers, directors, writers, and actors. Over the next couple of years, several disagreements with Jiang led many people involved with the film to walk away. The original release was to be set in 2011, but the efforts failed. There were several other attempts to bring in fresh blood and reshoot several scenes for a later release date, but all of them have been unsuccessful, and the film remains unreleased.^[3]

7 Hippie Hippie Shake (2010)

Hippie Hippie Shake is based on Richard Neville’s memoirs of the counterculture magazine Oz. The film follows the love story of Neville and Louise Ferrier as the London edition of Oz is released in the 1960s and how they faced trial for publishing an obscene issue. Filming began in 2007. and the stars of the movie were Cillian Murphy and Sienna Miller.

Many pre-production delays kept pushing the start of filming back, but the post-production delays have continued to keep the movie from the big screens. During post-production, the director and screenwriter both left the production due to creative differences. The production company, Working Titles, issued a statement in 2011 saying that the film would not be released in theaters. I wouldn’t count on enjoying a bucket of popcorn and a coke while watching Hippie Hippie Shake at the cinemas.^[4]

6 The Fantastic Four (1994)

The Marvel comic adaption of The Fantastic Four was set to be released in theaters in 1994, but the movie was not seen on the big screens. The low-budget film was to show the origin of The Fantastic Four and their first battle against the evil Doctor Doom. German producer Bernd Eichinger and his production company purchased the option to make the film. Stan Lee once said that the movie was never intended to be released, which was unknown to the crew and actors. He said the production crew would lose rights to the film if it wasn’t produced by a specific date, and the film was only made so that they could retain those production rights for a longer period.

Eichinger later negotiated a big-budget adaption of the comic, leading to the 2005 hit movie Fantastic Four. The 1994 version of The Fantastic Four was never officially released, but it has been pirated and can also be seen on YouTube and Dailymotion.^[5]

5 My Best Friend’s Birthday (1987)

Before Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill hit the cinemas, he directed, produced, wrote, and starred in the amateur film My Best Friend’s Birthday. The 1987 film was Tarantino’s first and only had a budget of around $5,000. He acted alongside his video rental co-workers and acting class friends for the black-and-white film.

The movie was set around the character Mickey’s birthday after his girlfriend had just left him. His friend Clarence, played by Tarantino, decided to give his best friend the absolute best birthday of his life. The original film was around 70 minutes long, but only 36 minutes were recovered after a fire broke out at the film lab. The remaining footage has been edited and shown at film festivals, but there is no possible way the full-length movie will ever be released.^[6]

4 100 Years (2115)

So this movie hasn’t been released…yet. It is planned to be released at a later date, as in the year 2115. 100 Years is an experimental short film written by John Malkovich and directed by Robert Rodriguez, and it is set to be released on November 18, 2115. The film is advertised as “The Movie You Will Never See,” and the 100 year-span is the same amount of time that it takes a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac to age properly. Remy Martin, the owner of Louis XIII Cognac, teamed up with Malkovich and Rodriguez to create the film.

Many details of the science-fiction film have been kept a tight secret, but it was released that John Malkovich, Shuya Chang, and Marko Zaror will have starring roles in 100 Years. One thousand people have received metal invitation tickets for the film’s release in 2115, which can be handed down to their descendants.^[7]

3 The Brave (1997)

The 1997 film The Brave is about a Native American man that sells anything he can to make a living for his wife and two children. He ultimately decides to star in a snuff film for a large amount of money that he knows will help give his family a better life. The film follows him as it leads up to the day where he will be tortured and killed. The Brave was originally set to be directed by Aziz Ghazal, but he killed his wife and daughter before committing suicide just before filming was scheduled to begin.

Johnny Depp was eventually convinced to rewrite, direct, produce, and star in the film. He also agreed to cover any expenses over the $5 million budget, and it was estimated that he dished out around $2 million of his own. The film was shown at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, where it received mostly negative reviews. The movie did get a release in international cinemas and on DVD, but the film was never released in America.^[8]

2 I Love You, Daddy (2017)

A week before I Love You, Daddy was intended to be released, the film was dropped due to sexual misconduct accusations against Louis C.K. He was the writer, director, and lead actor in the 2017 film. Louis plays the role of a writer and producer who is worried about his daughter (Chloe Grace Moretz) after she becomes seduced by an older director (John Malkovich).

In 2017, I Love You, Daddy premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was planned for a limited release in November and would be widely released in December. One week before the limited release, the film was axed after five women came forward with sexual misconduct accusations against Louis C.K. He purchased the film’s rights in December, and the movie will probably never be released to the public.^[9]

1 Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)

Nothing Lasts Forever was set to be released in 1984 and starred Zach Galligan and Lauren Tom with supporting roles by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Sam Jaffe. The science-fiction comedy follows an artist who is forced to work a boring job at the Port Authority directing traffic, but he eventually travels with a group to the moon on a bus to find his true love.

However, MGM postponed the film shortly before it was intended to be released. It was never officially released in cinemas or for home media, but it was uploaded to YouTube briefly by a fan before being removed by the media website. Turner Entertainment currently owns the rights to Nothing Lasts Forever and has shown the film on the Turner Classic Movies TV network channel.^[10]

Singles are the movie trailers of the music industry. In order to bait the listening public into buying an album or concert ticket, bands and record labels chum the waters with one or two catchy songs.

Who chooses which tracks breathe such rarified air. Sometimes it’s the artist themselves. Other times, it’s a collaborative effort between the musicians, producers, and the label. By and large, the potential hits are chosen by those who sign the paychecks.

As is the case with any gamble, you win some and lose some. And these 10 winners deserved their spots on the singles charts.

Related: Top 20 Best Rock Bands Of All Time

10 “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles

“Here Comes the Sun” was the first track on side two of The Beatles’ last recorded album, Abbey Road. The song was one of two on the album penned by guitarist George Harrison. The other Harrison track, “Something,” was released as a single along with “Come Together.”

“Here Comes the Sun” was Harrison’s way of venting about tensions within the band and the group’s current business and legal entanglements. Harrison stated, “‘Here Comes the Sun’ was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘Sign That.’”

One likely explanation for the song being overlooked was that John Lennon didn’t play on the track. Harrison and Lennon weren’t on the best of terms at the time, and John still had more creative tug than George regarding choosing singles. In hindsight, John should have given peace a chance. When The Beatle’s music became available on iTunes in 2010, “Here Comes the Sun” became the top-selling song in the first week.^[1]

9 “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin

To be fair to “Ramble On,” it was released on one of the most powerhouse classic rock albums of all time: Led Zeppelin II. This was the album that finally knocked The Beatles’ Abbey Road off the top spot on the American charts.

Led Zeppelin only released 10 singles from 1969 to 1979. The band and their manager, Peter Grant, put the focus on live performances and full albums. They had no interest in being pigeon-holed into pumping out radio hits. Grant managed to negotiate a deal with Atlantic Records, which gave the band creative control over releases.

“Whole Lotta Love” and “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” were chosen as being the strongest tracks for a single release, and rightly so. “Ramble On,” with its airy verses and powerful chorus, is steeped in Tolkien mythology, acoustic guitars, and fantastical imagery. The song illustrates the dance between light and dark that became a hallmark of the band’s best work.^[2]

8 “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” by The Rolling Stones

“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is the fourth track on The Rolling Stones’ 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The first two and a half minutes of the song are dirty, riff-tastic Rolling Stones. The last four and a half minutes are an improvised, instrumental jam session. The seven-minute and fifteen-second run time made for a tough sell in 1971. In order to improve the chances of radio play, singles were held to around three minutes.

Chop off that end jam, and one is left with just under three minutes of quintessential Stones. The four singles from Sticky Fingers were “Brown Sugar,” “Bitch,” “Wild Horses,” and “Sway.”

“Brown Sugar” and “Bitch” absolutely deserved special treatment. The same could be said for “Wild Horses.” However, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” stands miles higher than “Sway” on the cultural relevance scale. Not only does it bear one of Rolling Stone’s most instantly recognizable guitar riffs, but it’s been included in the movie soundtracks for Casino, Blow, Without a Paddle, and The Fighter.

One of those two songs was used in a Martin Scorsese soundtrack. It wasn’t “Sway.”^[3]

7 “L.A. Woman” by The Doors

The final studio album for The Doors, 1971’s L.A. Woman, was a blues-soaked return to form for the California quartet. Shortly after Jim Morrison’s 1970 trial for profanity and indecent exposure, The Doors recorded early versions of three songs for their new album.

Two of those songs, “Love Her Madly” and “Riders on the Storm,” were released as the album’s singles (at the behest of Elektra Records executive Jac Holzman).

The third song was the title track, “L.A. Woman.” There’s something undeniable about “L.A. Woman.” It kicks off with a revving motorcycle and driving tempo before Jim Morrison utters the iconic “Well, I just got into town about an hour ago….”. From there, the song takes the listener into the seedy underbelly that was Los Angeles in the late 1960s.

The epic track clocks in at nearly eight minutes, including Morrison’s mantric bridge, “Mr. Mojo Risin.” “Riders on the Storm,” the album’s second single, had two and a half minutes cut from the album version to make it more radio-friendly. Surely Jim Morrison’s metaphoric goodbye to the city of angels warranted at least a B-side release.^[4]

6 “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie

The album was titled The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It was a concept album about an androgynous musician who falls victim to the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle as well as his own ego. The linchpin of the album’s narrative is the title track, “Ziggy Stardust.”

“Ziggy Stardust” has been widely acclaimed as not only one of Bowie’s best but one of four Bowie tunes included in “Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, the song wasn’t revered by everyone. During the recording of the album, RCA executive Dennis Katz complained that the album did not contain a single. So rather than push for “Ziggy Stardust” to be the single, David Bowie recorded “Starman.”

Bowie himself was more interested in presenting his albums as entire pieces of art, not to be cut up and served on the radio. Because of this, “Ziggy Stardust” never charted.

While “Starman” still sees a good deal of love on classic rock radio, its cultural influence can’t compare to “Ziggy Stardust.” The song and Bowie’s Stardust persona became a major influence on glam rock bands like Suede and T-Rex.^[5]

5 “Space Truckin’” by Deep Purple

1972’s Machine Headwould go on to become the group’s best-selling and most impactful record. This was due, in no small part, to the success of the guitar shop anthem “Smoke on the Water.” “Smoke on the Water” was one of four singles released from the album; the others were “Highway Star,” “Lazy,” and “Never Before.”

Now, Machine Head only has seven tracks, four of which were singles. But “Highway Star” is more than deserving, as is “Lazy.” “Never Before” didn’t exactly have the same shelf life as the others.

The record’s last track found its way onto the shelf and remains to this day. “Space Truckin’” has been a mainstay of the band’s live shows and has been included in all three of their greatest hits compilations. The track’s opening thirty seconds are a thundering force of Jon Lord’s organ, Roger Glover’s bass, Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar, and Ian Paice’s drumkit.

Vocalist Ian Gillan’s space-age lyrics and glass-cracking falsetto make “Space Truckin’” one of the great road trip singalong rockers when one finds themselves dancing around the borealis and space truckin’ ’round the stars.^[6]

4 “Stone Cold Crazy” by Queen

“Stone Cold Crazy” was the eighth track from Queen’s 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. A departure from the band’s operatic sound, “Stone Cold Crazy” has been described by Q Magazine as “thrash metal before the term was invented.”

The song was performed live at almost every Queen concert from 1974 to 1978 and was included on their 1992 greatest hits album Classic Queen. It was even covered by Metallica in 1990 and performed live by Metallica’s James Hetfield, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, and Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. What the song was not, however, was a single.

“Killer Queen” was the only song released as a single in the U.S. (the track “Now I’m Here” was a single in the UK). Now, “Killer Queen” is tough to argue with as it bears all the elements of a great Queen song. But what “Stone Cold Crazy” lacked in finesse, it made up for in blistering fast drums and guitar.

“Stone Cold Crazy” would have been a well-placed follow-up single, showcasing what the band could do when they stripped away the bells and whistles and just rocked.^[7]

3 “Going Mobile” by The Who

1971’s Who’s Next is arguably the most influential album of The Who’s illustrious career. Touting a track list that involves “Baba O’Riley,” “Bargain,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” Who’s Next is responsible for half of all the CSI theme songs.

There is this one quaint little tune in the middle of the album called “Going Mobile.” It was written by guitarist Pete Townshend and was recorded without lead singer Roger Daltry (Townshend covered vocal duties on the track). The music is tonally uplifting, and the lyrics are about one man’s love of traveling the highways in a mobile home. It may lack the opulence of other Who classics, but it showed what Townshend, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle could do when they sat in a room together and just played.

The record’s singles are rather undeniable: “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and “Behind Blue Eyes” were released as singles. Those songs are great. The thing is, The Who later released other tracks from the Who’s Next sessions as singles. Guess which wasn’t included. “Going Mobile.” The track was given its proper due when it was included in the group’s greatest hits album, Who’s Better, Who’s Best: This Is the Very Best of The Who.^[8]

2 “Casey Jones” by the Grateful Dead

Behind “Truckin,’” “Casey Jones” may be the most recognized Grateful Dead song. Released on the band’s 1970 record, Workingman’s Dead, “Casey Jones” became and remained a staple of classic rock radio. Grateful Dead performed the song live over 300 times after the record’s release.

Despite the laid-back sound of the track, the lyrics were reflective of what was happening with the band at the time. Cocaine use among the band was escalating, eventually resulting in the arrest of frontman Jerry Garcia for drug possession.

Some discussion took place about cleaning up some of the lyrics for the sake of radio play. Since cocaine was the theme of the song, the band decided to leave it as is. While lyrics like “high on cocaine” may raise a few eyebrows, “lugging propane” just wasn’t gonna cut it.

“Uncle John’s Band” was the only track from the album that was released as a single, and it’s a single-worthy track. In the annals of classic rock history, though, it just ain’t “Casey Jones.”^[9]

1 “YYZ” by Rush

For most bands, a four-and-a-half-minute instrumental isn’t likely to get top billing as an album single. Canadian rock trio Rush was not like most bands. Renowned for their virtuosic musicianship, Rush fans leaned into the group’s lengthy musical interludes. Rush’s 1978 record, Hemispheres, even featured a nine-minute instrumental track called “La Villa Strangiato.”

“Tom Sawyer,” the biggest hit of the band’s career, was chosen as the lead single along with “Limelight.” “Vital Signs” was released as a single soon after.

Casual fans can agree that “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight” are two of the group’s most well-known tunes and deserved individual attention. More hardcore fans could also make an argument for “Vital Signs.” The crime was omitting “YYZ” from contention.

Besides being a mainstay of the band’s live shows, “YYZ” was the only track from Moving Pictures that was nominated for a Grammy. In 1982, “YYZ” was up for “Best Rock Instrumental.”

Over the years, “YYZ” has emerged as a fan favorite and withstood the test of time. Besides, if it was good enough for the Grammys, it was good enough for the radio.^[10]

Now more than ever, an overwhelming amount of music is available to listen to and enjoy. From pop artists dropping albums at a moment’s notice to bedroom troubadours self-releasing their recordings on Soundcloud to the glut of mixtapes, soundtracks, and singles hitting Spotify every Friday, listeners aren’t short of material to make their way through.

Throughout the history of music, certain albums from musicians have gone missing, been shelved, or just plain irritated their creators so much that they were banished to a storage room or sock drawer somewhere, never to be heard by a living soul. Consigned to legendary status, they live on only as a rumor, hearsay, and fan speculation.

Often called “lost” albums, they offer a tantalizing view of what could have been. Some of these, such as Bruce Springsteen’s electric version of Nebraska or Dr. Dre’s Detox, had fans and critics debating their detail and quality for years, ultimately remaining unfulfilled by any concrete evidence of their existence. And therein lies the draw of these lost albums. Of course, we’ll never quite know how good or bad they are, but it’s certainly fun to theorize.

To that end, here are some of the most noteworthy albums that were never meant to be.

Related: Top 10 Bizarre Conspiracy Theories About Album Cover Art

10 Prince: Dream Factory

Dream Factory was created by Prince in 1986 and was notable for having studio input from his band, The Revolution, for the first time on a Prince recording. All signs pointed to this album perhaps being the masterpiece of his finest era until he became frustrated with The Revolution and went back out on his own again.

The LP then mutated into Crystal Ball, a three-disc, 19-track solo LP that his record label, Warner Bros., was not prepared to release at the time. The Crystal Ball tracks were then adjusted to form the basis of his classic Sign o’ the Times. Despite this evolution, it would have been truly monumental to see what a full Prince and The Revolution record would have sounded like—free of label interference, of course.^[1]

9 Green Day: Cigarettes and Valentines

Coming off the back of their record Warning in 2000, Green Day wrote and recorded an album, Cigarettes and Valentines, that was a return to the faster punkier material of Insomniac. The trouble was, as the record was in the final stages of completion, the master tapes were stolen from the studio.

In hindsight, the band viewed the theft as being rather fortuitous as they instead went ahead and recorded a little album by the name of American Idiot. This one went on to launch them into the second phase of their career and to arguably more commercial success than their ’90s heyday.

The band has played the title track from the album live sparingly, as it was released as part of a live album DVD. But other than that, these tracks will remain mysteries to Green Day fans.^[2]

8 Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce Committee Part 1

The legendary hip-hop group was recording what was to be Part 1 of the two-part album Hot Sauce Committee when the tragic news broke of MCA’s cancer diagnosis. After this bombshell, they scrapped plans to release two albums, the first being a more experimental and weirder release, with the second boasting a more standard Beasties hip-hop feel.

As detailed in their bestseller The Beastie Boys Book, the rappers originally planned for Part 1 to be an elaborate practical joke on record collectors where every song would be made of fake samples. Instead, they went to insane lengths to create believable “fake samples,” and the general belief was they scrapped the idea after the sobering news of their friend’s health.

Not strictly true. Ad-Rock described within their book how they left the hard drive for part one on a boxcar outside Missoula, Montana, and never managed to retrieve it.^[3]

7 Grimes: The Non-Album Between Visions & Art Angels

Grimes isn’t one for staying still artistically or mincing her words. Her opinion of the album she created after her breakthrough record, the glorious Visions, was that it “sucked.” Nevertheless, she put out two songs that likely suggested the direction of the discarded recording: “REALiTi,” a demo that she posted online despite her complaints that it wasn’t mixed or mastered, and “Go,” a poppy headrush of a song that divided her fanbase upon release.

Even though both songs sounded great and were melodically and structurally miles ahead of her previous work, she commented that the album was “depressing” and that she didn’t want to tour to support it. Instead, she shelved the larger body of work and went on to create Art Angels, which proved to be her best-reviewed record to date.^[4]

6 Soundgarden’s Final Album

For another record overshadowed by tragedy, the reformed Soundgarden was in the middle of recording an album when frontman Chris Cornell tragically took his own life.

The band had written, demoed, and tracked vocals for the album when Chris’s suicide occurred, and since then, things only got more difficult and painful for the group to try and complete and release it. Guitarist Kim Thayil said that it was in a state ready to be finished and prepared for release. But the audio files were not in the band’s possession, and Cornell’s widow was suing the band over seven unreleased recordings made before his untimely end. This resulted in legal proceedings from Soundgarden’s side, and the two sides have been at war ever since.

It’s unlikely we will hear this record now, and if we do, it will not be the swansong it could have been for their iconic frontman.^[5]

5 Lana Del Rey / Lizzie Grant / May Jailer: Sirens

Lana Del Rey has been making music since she was 18 years old and has many pseudonyms, but her first full-length album was recorded under the name May Jailer.

The demos of this album have leaked online, and it’s an interesting snapshot of her life at the time and where she would eventually go from a musical standpoint. The record is mainly acoustic guitar, and Del Rey gives a more gentle, somber performance than her later persona would. There’s also a distinct lack of Americana, a defining characteristic of her iconography in the future.

The big request fans had with this record was to hear the full version, as it’s quite clearly bare-bones demos that, with a fuller band backing, mixing, and mastering, would have been a compelling look at a future star.^[6]

4 Noel Gallagher / Amorphous Androgynous collaboration

Ever since Oasis called it quits, the nature of Noel Gallagher’s solo project was the hottest topic among fans of the band. It’s clear the songwriter wanted to deviate from what the public expected of him, and to that end, he linked up with production duo Amorphous Androgynous to create a solo album with them.

Reports in the press suggested this was a psychedelic krautrock record, influenced by some of the groups Gallagher would talk up in interviews like Captain Beefheart and Pink Floyd. In reality, the partnership was frayed from the outset, and in the end, the sessions were beset by a fundamental misunderstanding from both sides. AA wanted Noel to experiment and explore; Noel wanted to do less than five vocal takes and knock it out like the old days.

In the end, only a couple of tracks appeared on his solo debut with his band, The High Flying Birds, which proved to be the album’s critical darlings. In interviews, the producers claimed that the full shelved album is the best thing he has ever done, and they were saddened by Noel’s disregard of it. Hopefully, we will hear it in full one day.^[7]

3 Kanye West: Yandhi

I could fill a full top ten article with unreleased Kanye West albums, but for this selection, I thought I would choose his most fully formed. Yandhi was the mooted follow-up to 2018’s relatively disappointing ye. Based on the leaked demos, it would have been a poppier and more gospel-influenced record that would have marked a huge return to quality for the much-maligned icon.

As always with West, elements of the songs have been repurposed for subsequent albums, particularly the 2019 album Jesus Is King. Yet one of the most interesting facets of Kanye’s obsessive online fanbase is their commitment to ensuring the leaked records are captured for posterity; so keen listeners can track his creative process throughout the years.

What you can hear from this album is that it had what would have featured some of his biggest songs in years, particularly “Alien,” featuring Young Thug and Kid Cudi, “Last Name,” and “Law of Attraction.” They all featured thought-out and considered production and guest features, both of which aren’t always the case with recent Kanye records.^[8]

2 Misfits: 12 Hits from Hell

Even if you haven’t heard of the Misfits, chances are you’ll be familiar with their iconic logo, the white skull on a black background taken from the film The Crimson Ghost. And if you play any Spotify Halloween playlist, wait long enough, and they’ll make an appearance. The band is the classic spooky punk band, a veritable Evil Ramones.

After recording their debut record, the magnificent Static Age, only to see it passed on by every record label they could put it in front of, the band attempted another record, the appropriately named 12 Hits from Hell. They knocked out all twelve songs in a single take each, apart from “London Dungeon,” which was done in two. It contained almost entirely stone-cold punk rock classics, like “Astro Zombies,” “Halloween,” and “Skulls.”

Within the studio, bassist Jerry Only’s brother Doyle was secretly re-recording guitarist Steele’s parts for unknown reasons. Upon discovery of this treachery, naturally, tensions were high within the band. They decided to cancel the record, despite it being completed, releasing elements of it in future EPs and singles and re-recording other parts just to confuse fans to no end.^[9]

1 Jimi Hendrix: Black Gold

Perhaps the reigning champion of lost albums, Black Gold was a project that genuinely would have added to the legendary guitarist’s mystique. Lauded as an autobiographical fantasy album containing a suite of “movements” rather than individual songs, it was to have an accompanying animated film about the difficulties of life on the road for a black rock star in the ’60s.

Essentially this could have been Hendrix’s Sgt. Peppers moment, but his untimely death in 1970 led to the world never seeing the great man perform this work of art. Yet, the record itself was made and handed to his drummer, Mitch Mitchell, to complete the final studio touches for release. Mitchell went ahead and did what many of us might do, being a rock star in the ’70s. He tied the cassette case closed with a headband and stored it at home, forgetting about it for two decades.

A lot has been written about the nature of this recording, about how Hendrix was positioning himself as a black superhero at a time when he was influential enough to make a major statement. The music itself was more complex than anything he had attempted before. It represented a true auteurist side to Jimi, one that signaled the growth of a man into a more experienced artist and performer.^[10]

For that reason, it remains the greatest lost album in music history.

We’ve all heard music from rock music’s most iconic bands—the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses, and others. You’ve listened to their songs over and over, and you love them all the same. There are many incredible albums in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, but just as fascinating are the train wrecks, the experiments, and the odd detours. Weird, strange albums inspire shock and awe in fans.

Artists that are seen as icons in rock music often have certain styles that fans know them for. Paul McCartney makes Beatles-esque pop, Metallica makes heavy metal, and so on. The albums on this list are ones that mixed up the formula, with varying degrees of success. They made an impact on fans when they were released, and they still turn heads and grab attention to this day because of how incredibly strange they are.

Let’s take a look at some weird, wonderful, and wild records made by some iconic artists.

Related: Top 10 Musicians Who Were Ahead Of Their Time

10 Paul McCartney: McCartney II

The Beatles are all-encompassing when it comes to popular music. So much so that it seems nigh impossible for someone to not have heard something Paul McCartney has made at some point in their lives. Recorded while he was alone on a farm in Scotland, the songs on McCartney II were originally never meant to see the light of day, as they were intended to just be a fun, weird experiment. After the cancellation of McCartney’s tour in Japan due to marijuana possession, however, he decided to release the album anyways.

The album is well known for being polarizing, and it’s not hard to see why. If you listen to tracks like “Temporary Secretary,” for example, you might walk away feeling grated and annoyed. That song was actually an inside joke, as McCartney found the idea of a temporary secretary hilarious, which tracks with the actual song—which also feels like an elaborate joke at times.

Here’s an idea: Make a playlist with 9 songs, including “Yesterday” and “Bogey Music,” and click shuffle. It should make for an interesting game of Russian Roulette.^[1]

9 Bob Dylan: Self Portrait

By the time 1970 hit, Bob Dylan was already an American icon. Because of this, the pressure on him was immense, and this Self Portrait was born. Filled with strange covers, abrasive live recordings, and the “smooth flow” of a rocky mountain rapid, it was a shock to music listeners at the time and continues to do the same to this day.

When Self Portrait was first played on the radio in full to listeners, many were utterly confused. Critics began to wonder if Dylan had lost his mind. Well, not really. Dylan later went on to acknowledge that he had made the album intentionally bad, calling the album a “joke” and saying that he “wanted to make something [the hippies] couldn’t possibly like.” This reaction was because of the overwhelming pressure of his fame and situation… and because overzealous fans were following him and his family around in public.

While Self Portrait might be less Van Gogh and more Oh no, it’s a fascinating album for what it meant to the rock icon’s life and career.^[2]

8 Johnny Rotten: Metal Box by Public Image Limited

Your first impression after looking at the title of this entry is probably something along the lines of “What an odd name for an album,” and you’d be forgiven for that reaction. The name Metal Box was given because of the packaging that the album was originally included in. The band originally packaged the album in a brutal-looking tin can instead of a traditional sleeve. This packaging is known as one of the strangest choices in music history.

Rotten, originally the singer for the revolutionary punk band the Sex Pistols, had become disillusioned with his life as a leading punk frontman. After the Pistols disbanded, he went on to form Public Image Limited, where he vented his frustrations using abstract and terrifying sounds. No other album they created does this as well as Metal Box. In the song “Poptones,” for example, Rotten wails about a story of a girl who was kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a car, only for the cops to find the culprits by the song the girl heard playing on the radio.

The album is chock full of haunting imagery, such as that which is present in “Poptones,” and fans of the Sex Pistols’ rebellious punk rock may be shocked by what they find inside the Metal Box.^[3]

7 John Frusciante: PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone

John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is one weird guy. When he’s not working with one of modern music’s most popular bands in “The Peps,” he is going solo, creating some truly insane rock music. As hinted by the wacky title, the music contained in the album is weird. At many points, whimsical childlike vocal melodies fly over eclectic electronic sounds like a strange musical bouncy castle.

Frusciante’s eclecticism is clear all over his music. From his rocky history with both substance abuse and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to his descent into the occult, you can see the evidence of a man who has lived an odd life. But there’s also a childlike innocence to it, as some of the songs on PBX feel childlike.

Whether or not you are brave enough to enter the Intaglio zone is up to you, but once you dive in, you may never be able to get out.^[4]

6 Nirvana: In Utero

To no one’s surprise, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain experienced many struggles during his time on Earth. These struggles are what make In Utero such a fascinating album to talk about. Recorded in the year leading up to Cobain’s death, In Utero reflects heavily upon his pain. The album is noisy, unabashed, and jagged, being produced by experimental punk legend Steve Albini. It’s a big shift for the band, and In Utero sees the change in Cobain’s persona from “voice of a generation” to a troubled man.

Despite the misery that is being trafficked on this album, it is still beautiful and moving to listen to at many points. Songs like “Serve the Servants” deal with Cobain’s displeasure and anger at the musical establishment and fans that brought him his success, and In Utero can be hard to listen to, knowing that you are witnessing someone’s descent into a dark place.

Nevertheless, it is a fascinating and impactful record, and anyone who makes its acquaintance will surely not be disappointed.^[5]

5 Van Halen: Van Halen III

In many ways, there’s nothing more fascinating than a disaster, and this entry might be the textbook definition of one. A famous rock music train wreck, Van Halen III includes the one and only appearance of oft-maligned lead singer Gary Cherone. Not only was there a new singer, but inter-band conflict and the Van Halen brothers’ notorious drinking problems were negatively affecting the band.

There are many reasons this album is considered the disaster that it is. One key example is the final track, “How Many Say I.” The vocal performance is famed guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s lead vocal debut, which does not go well. It is often mocked as one of rock music’s worst vocal performances of all time. Vocal hilarity aside, Van Halen III lacks the party rock grandiosity of Van Halen’s early work and signaled the band’s decline.

Van Halen III represents the fascinating and often hilarious flip side of sex, drugs, and rock and roll and where it can all go wrong. If you choose to witness it, you might want to wear a hard hat.^[6]

4 Lou Reed and Metallica: Lulu

Lou Reed and Metallica are two beloved and essential figures in rock history. From Lou Reed’s grimy rock ‘n’ roll poetry with the Velvet Underground to Metallica bringing blistering heavy metal to the pop charts, people had the right to be excited by the collaboration between the two. What they ended up getting was, well, kind of a disaster. Many fans were incredibly confused by the contents of Lulu, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s quite strange and hard to listen to.

An example of Lulu’s infamy is a famous lyric in the song “The View.” Lou Reed yells, “I am the table!” in a voice that is half scream and half demand. The moment has inspired a cascade of memes on the internet in the years since Lulu’s release. It highlights the strange but captivating nature of the album, which was based on a German play about a character named Lulu.

Despite many odd choices, strange sounds, and perplexing lyrics, Lou Reed and Metallica’s unabashedly strange album Lulu will be one that lingers in fans’ minds for decades to come, whether they like it or not.^[7]

3 Guns N’ Roses: Chinese Democracy

Beginning the podium on our eclectic rock music list is Chinese Democracy, one of hard rock’s most interesting detours. The recording and release of Chinese Democracy was interwoven with many hurdles. From perfectionism to personal conflict to recording industry blues, this album truly had it all. This smorgasbord of awful circumstances resulted in a 15-year gap between the release of this album and their previous released in 1993.

This album is truly a melting pot of eclectic musical influences and confusing choices from the band. Taking cues from the likes of Industrial rock legends Nine Inch Nails, Chinese Democracy represents an interesting stylistic shift for the band, who sound weirder than they ever had before. While it doesn’t all stick, it’s still a fun and odd listen.

Even though it was bogged down by constant trials and tribulations, Chinese Democracy is just as wild as its namesake.^[8]

2 The Beach Boys: Smile

The Beach Boys occupy a fascinating place in rock music history. From surf rock teen heartthrobs to baroque pop innovators, the Beach Boys’ cultural legacy is vast and varied. Many stories exist about the band’s difficulties, especially those of “tortured genius” Brian Wilson, who has often experienced debilitating mental troubles during his life. Maybe the most enduring of these stories for a long time, though, was those that told of the lost album Smile.

Being one of rock music’s most fabled “lost treasures,” Smile was said to be in recording limbo for decades. Fans clamored for it to be released, but year after year, nothing came out. However, in 2011, The Smile Sessions was released, and hungry fans were finally able to dig into one of rock music’s best-kept secrets.

One of rock’s most legendary mysteries, Smile is a beautiful album that will always make you wonder what could have been for The Beach Boys.^[9]

1 Yoko Ono: Fly

While Yoko Ono isn’t necessarily known as one of rock’s biggest musicians, she is an icon in her own right. She’s been busy making some of rock ‘n’ roll’s most groundbreaking, challenging, and experimental music for the better part of 50 years now, and everyone knows at least one guy who is still bitter about her “breaking up the Beatles” (which wasn’t her fault, for the record). Fly is certainly one of rock music’s freakiest and most bizarre statements.

Fly is a cornerstone in weird avant-garde rock music. This is apparent in songs such as the 22-minute-long title track, which spends the length of an entire side of a vinyl disc horrifically screeching and doing strange vocal manipulations. Seriously, much of the sounds she makes are akin to a small animal being brutally murdered right in front of you.

A monument to how weird rock music can get, Fly is part album, part medieval torture device, and it wouldn’t be better any other way.^[10]

Part of the enduring appeal of professional wrestling lies not in the ring but in what happens behind the scenes. Backstage stories, contractual negotiations, and life beyond the mat all add to the allure of this larger-than-life form of entertainment. But for some wrestlers, being an entertainer runs deep, and when they are not wrestling, they need other ways to vent their creativity.

For better or worse, this can often take the form of a musical career. Below, we give you 10 wrestlers who unleashed their musical talents on the world.

10 Macho Man Randy Savage

Macho Man Randy Savage was, at one point, equally at the level of superstardom that Hulk Hogan was. His larger-than-life attitude and testosterone-fueled vocabulary made him a huge draw. With the addition of his wife, Elizabeth, by his side, he had a human side that ingratiated him with fans. However, an unknown fallout with Vince McMahon, the cause of which is still unknown to this day, saw him banned with subsequently very few mentions of his name.

After WWF, he joined WCW, and toward the end of this career, when WCW was bankrupt and with little hope of returning to his old company, he started a music career. His first album was a collection of rap songs titled Be a Man, which was released in 2003.

While most of the album concentrates on ripping into Hulk Hogan, it does have some genuinely touching moments. The final track, “Perfect Friend,” was written for the then-recently deceased wrestler Kurt Hennig, also known as Mr. Perfect. It has many ham-fisted lines like “It’s hard to keep it going day to day, I know you wouldn’t want it any other way,” but it does contain genuine childlike emotion.^[1]

9 Jerry Lawler

Jerry “The King” Lawler has one of the oldest music careers in the whole of professional wrestling. Before his time as a commentator in WWE, he had a highly successful career on the Memphis wrestling circuit. He was so popular that he cashed in with Jerry Lawler Sings, a compilation that featured covers of songs by Van Morrisson and Ringo Star.

Unlike most wrestlers, Lawler sold enough to justify a second album. This time, he returned with Jerry Lawler and the Nunnery Brothers Band. While still containing covers such as “Monday Monday” and “Catch The Wind,” it also had some themed originals such as “World’s Greatest Wrestler.” This would be his last effort until a ’90s single with WWE titled “Puppies,” which was a homage to his love of breasts. Most recently, a Kickstarter campaign was opened to create a repress of the album.^[2]

8 The Rock

Anyone who has raised a daughter over the last five years is familiar with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s most recent musical efforts. Playing Maui in the animated feature Moana, the track “You’re Welcome” is a heartwarming song littered with playful arrogance and sung by a god who is discussing his fantastic achievements. However, it was not the first outing for this wrestling superstar.

During the attitude era, rap star Wyclef Jean from the Fugees and Melky Seldeck would collaborate with the wrestler on “It Doesn’t Matter.” Taken from his famous catchphrase, it features a fairly standard 2000-era rap interspersed with soundbites and samples from The Rock. A repetitive trumpet riff gives it a Latin feel, which is the most exciting aspect of the whole track. Borrowing heavily from other songs, it even namechecks “Country Roads” at one point. Cleverly, it manages to be a diss track on the whole financial posturing of rap while celebrating it simultaneously.^[3]

7 John Cena

John Cena is one of the few wrestlers that has made a musical gimmick work, barring the Honky Tonk Man, of course. When Cena first arrived at WWE, he played the part of a rapper, taking the nickname “The Doctor of Thugonomics.” Despite being slightly cringeworthy, he would prepare rap promos which were often very amusing. This helped propel him into the star he is today, but not before a small cash-in.

Cena’s first and only album was You Can’t See Me. A collaboration with the rapper ThaTrademarc, it was poorly executed and lacked the wit of his in-ring promos. Cena would continue his musical efforts throughout his career unfazed. His most recent effort was in 2015 when he recorded “All Day” with Wiz Khalifa for the video game 2K15.^[4]

6 Terry Funk

Terry Funk never achieved the headline success he should have. He worked across multiple generations, in different promotions around the world, and in a multitude of styles. Yet most people in the west only knew him through his unbelievable deathmatches played out in Japan. So, it may come as a shock to many that Terry Funk had a musical career.

His first album came in 1983 under the name Texas Bronco Terry Funk. It was a strange collection of wrestling-themed songs and dialogue taken from promos. The next year he would follow it up with Great Texan, which included tracks such as “We Hate School” and “Barbara Streisand’s Nose.” Strangely, it had backing vocals from a genuine Japanese pop star named Noriko Miyamoto.^[5]

5 Captain Lou Albano

Captain Lou Albano may not have the superstar status of many others on the list. Most of his career was spent as a manager. He was most famous for his feud with singer Cyndi Lauper, with whom he began a real-life friendship, even appearing in some of her videos. He also managed numerous top superstars, such as Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan.

In 1985 he teamed up with the rock quartet NRBQ, who had previously worked with luminaries such as Sun Ra and Carl Perkins. Creating the album Lou and the Q, they crafted a bizarre selection of tunes that included “Boarding House Pie” and “Tiddlywinks Radio Ad” alongside well-known songs such as “La Vie en Rose” and the nursery rhyme “Michael Row the Boat Ashore.”^[6]

4 Freddie Blassie

Freddie Blassie was a professional wrestler and manager. He began his career after the Second World War working as a babyface. However, when he dropped this in favor of being a bad guy, he became the benchmark for the heel, pioneering the concept of a superstar villain.

In the ’70s, Blassie began recording some voiceovers on songs that included musicians such as rockabilly act Johnny Legend and punk rocker Billy Zoom. Tunes from this would later be included on his album I Bite The Songs. Cementing his heel status, it contained several antagonistic tracks such as “Pencil Neck Geek” and “Loser Leaves Town.” Oddly, the album opens with the gruff voice of Blassie himself, giving a disclaimer in case his heel character offends.^[7]

3 Lita

Lita was the punk rock heroine of the attitude era, taking more heavy bumps than anyone should endure in a career. This led to her having a short run-in wrestling which ended in 2006. In her final match, she wore a t-shirt from a band called The Luchagors. This was her new band and her first project after leaving the pro wrestling world.

They began playing in the Atlanta area and recorded their first self-titled album in 2007. Soon after, they set about on a huge American and European tour, but due to poor reception in the UK, they called a hiatus on the project. This may have been due to poor reception all around. Songs such as “Goodbye” and “All There Is” did little more than provide standard noughties punk rock fare, which saturated the music scene at the time and sounded dated before it was even released.^[8]

2 Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is the most successful wrestler turned musician. This is due to the fact that he has devoted as much time and attention to his career with his band “Fozzy” as he has to his in-ring one. Throughout his life, he has switched between wrestling to tours and writing with the band. Formed in 1999, they have now released eight studio albums and one live album and toured worldwide.

Their first two albums were covers of hard rock and metal classics, including Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. By their third album, they had turned to original material and had built quite the following. Famous figures such as Zakk Wylde joined them on tracks to cement their reputation as accepted rock gods. Not only have they continued to produce quality material, but they have been used as the soundtrack for multiple events by WWE and other promotions.^[9]

1 The WWF Roster

No music produced by wrestlers has ever reached the heights of the classics that WWF created themselves. In a bid to turn into an all-around entertainment machine, Vince McMahon commissioned numerous albums. It was the first two that were the standout weird ones. These were The Wrestling Album and Piledriver: The Wrestling Album 2.

The first album had classics such as “Grab Them Cakes.” Sung by the Junkyard Dog, it was his theme tune and a euphemism about grabbing your partner’s unmentionables. It has not aged well.

For the second album, mid-carder Koko B Ware sang the title track “Piledriver,” in which he picked out the similarities of being in love with taking the famous neck-breaking move.

However, the standout moment of wrestling oddness is the final track, “Stand Back” sung by Vince McMahon himself. As the album was released on a VHS in which eight songs got their video, this has to be the most ridiculous as the company executive performs a stunted dance routine at the 1987 Slammy Awards. A host of superstars stand behind him pretending to play instruments, all oblivious to the car crash they are participating in.^[10]