We all make mistakes, and we do our best to correct them. But when you're able to redo something to avoid showing mistakes, do they still show up? You'd think they'd be ironed out in the music industry after mixing and editing the music artists record (not to mention all the practice with those songs months to years in advance). But still some songs have noticeable mistakes that made the final cut, and you can still hear them today.
1. "Hey Jude" - The Beatles
When The Beatles released the classic "Hey Jude," there was a faint "woah" sound towards the bridge that can be heard. Paul McCartney reacted to John Lennon's outburst, "fucking hell," when Lennon reportedly hit a wrong notes on the piano while recording. Although John insisted to keep the line in there, according to sound engineer Geoff Emerick, it was set to a low volume compared to the rest of the song. Later releases make it hard to find this mistake.
2. "Stan" - Eminem (Feat Dido)
Looks like somebody missed their chance to blow. Marshall Mathers had an interesting Phil Collins reference in this song about an Eminem who never got a response from his idol. The character Stan compared his predicament to the song "In the Air Tonight", but misquoted it in the song as "In the Air of the Night". Further than that, Stan explains the song in the urban legend people spread about it - that Phil Collins saw a man who refused to help another man from drowning, then singled the guilty man out in concert. Collins openly expressed this song was written through a divorce, but he doesn't know the meaning behind his words.
3. "Eminence Front" - The Who
The next two examples show how an artist can be off in timing during their songs, despite all their practice. In the first, Roger Daltrey joins in the chorus of this later-Who hit (you may have heard it more recently on GMC car commercials) after everyone starts singing. It's hard to hear at first, but after the first chorus you can hear a delayed "front". But if you rewind the song and listen carefully, you can hear the lead sing later than the backup vocals. This is corrected when the next chorus comes, but the final version of the song always shows this error in the first chorus.
4. "Polly" - Nirvana
Instead of being too late, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana chose to be too early. During the second half of "Polly," Cobain starts the verse earlier than necessary but abruptly stops after "Polly said." He continues when the instruments resume the verse's melody, but the band chose to leave this mistake because they liked the way it sounded.
5. "Bottoms Up!" - Van Halen
Remember to have some fun with your work, like these next three groups. David Lee Roth, lead vocals, has another chorus mess-up, but this time by laughing into the microphone, followed by a "woo" sound. It has not been reported why Roth started laughing during the breakdown of the song, but I'm sure the band was making funny faces singing "come on-on-on-on baby, bottoms up", the way I do when I sing the song.
6. "Pennies From Heaven" - Louis Prima
Ah yes, the good old, "repeat after me" singer-player interaction. Even Louis Prima knew how to have fun with his music when trying Simon Says with his saxophone player. At one point the player is stumped when he can't hit a high note the right way, followed by Prima laughing, "I knew I'd get you, I knew it." Luckily the sax player redeems himself with a catchy, planned solo.
7. "Roxanne" - The Police
Just like with Nirvana and The Beatles, The Police join the ranks of adding mistakes willingly into the final cuts of their songs. When the song begins, a short keyboard sound can be heard followed by Sting's laughter. According to Sting, in the studio he intended to lean on the keyboard but did not know the keys were not covered.
8. "Paranoid" - Megadeth
In the cover recording of this Black Sabbath hit, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine shouts "Nick, Nick, Nick!" to cut the drum beat. Nick Menza kept playing the drums because he thought there was another verse, and he responds with a faint "Fuck. Me. Running." I'd tell him to stop the song, I wish I could but it's too late.
These music greats prove that even accidents can be appreciated. Most of the time all you have to do is laugh it off, like Sting or David Lee Roth. But even if you're out of time like Kurt Cobain or Roger Daltrey, you can still catch up later. Do you know any other music mishaps? Comment below if you find other "creative" additions!