The whims of rock music are famously very fickle. You can graft away for years, constantly trying to chip away at the stone, without ever coming close to the crown jewel that is fame and fortune.
Meanwhile, others can strike on the formula to glory from their very first attempt – and as unfair and unpredictable as it is, sometimes you just have to accept that musical fame is pretty much akin to gambling, where you have to step out for fresh air before becoming addicted.
While this is admittedly an easy thing to say from the point of view of a band who have made it big, the fact is that the perils of the luck of the draw don’t ever fully escape them, even when they think they have every lavish indulgence already lined up for them. Either the rug can be pulled out from under them or, arguably worse, their status as a rock god becomes cemented in a way they absolutely never intended, and they’re forced to spend the rest of their careers attempting to shake it off.
That’s especially true when it comes to scoring big hits, because there seems to be an uncanny pattern of the songs the band themselves most hate transpiring to be the ones most beloved by the fans, much to the disgruntled disappointment of their original creators. The path they decide to take when that happens can either make or break them – some refuse to play the tune in question altogether, which risks pissing off the masses, while others have no choice but to play along, pleasing others but destroying their own souls.
It can’t be an easy thing to reckon with, but cases of bands hating their own songs are far more common than one might believe, so at least they are not alone in their conundrum. Indeed, although there are countless examples of rock outfits facing that same unfortunate scenario, five bands in particular have emerged at the front of the pack, despising their own tunes so much that it might risk sending them over the edge if they hear it one more time.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway to Heaven’
As has been proven on many occasions over the years, there’s truly no pleasing Jimmy Page or Robert Plant. They may be credited as one of the best bands with one of the best rock songs in history, but what does that actually mean when you don’t like it? That’s certainly how they feel about ‘Stairway to Heaven’, the big hit that has continued to haunt them, even 54 years down the line.
To be fair, much of the issue with ‘Stairway to Heaven’ revolves around Plant, rather than Page, as he has previously branded the song “sanctimonious”. But really, the worst of a bad situation came when it garnered success, because although Plant disliked the song to begin with, owing to its rushed lyrics, he grew to loathe it even more as he tired of playing it decade after decade at every concert tour. Indeed, his ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was more like entering the fiery pits of hell.