10 Mistakes In Famous Songs

[@kjeldpedersen666]

As David Bowie once said: “An error is an error, even two times. The third time it’s a style...”

[@keithbrown7685]

Jazz.

[@pablodmdp]

Also goddard said it i believe

[@michaelmalone7231]

"Rebel Rebel's opening guitar chord was played wrong. But David liked the imperfection of it and left it in.

[@rhoadnaroahs]

"Once is a mistake, twice is jazz."

[@geoffreydlang]

“Don’t think of it as a mistake, think of it as a challenge..” - Miles Davis

[@ronnietarnacke5153]

I always thought the cough at the beginning of "Wish You Were Here" was scripted. The guy listening to the radio , Flippin' through the AM stations . Stops at the little riff , coughs , then proceeds to play along. I could picture the scene, now you messed it up .

[@passdasalt]

Yes, I always liked that 'scene'. I thought it was pure genius.

[@BostonBobby1961]

It sounded like he was clearing his throat.

[@rumblehat4357]

I love that the beginning sounds so unrehearsed, as if it is a story captured live, warts and all.

[@optimus163]

Do you honestly believe everything in this video ? Do you really think that an acutal mistake would go un-noticed and get on the initial Mother Pressing by accident ? If the mistake has some artistic value to the track then it can be left as is but only after discussion and agreement. Dont believe videos like this, all they want is your click and view.

[@robgronotte1]

It might not have been planned, but I'm sure they knew it was there when the album was released.

[@donweensatan]

The Butt Piano in Roxanne actually fits pretty well and is a pretty iconic part of the song

[@danagboi]

Was it an atonal chord or an anal-tone chord?

[@keithbrown7685]

@@JLBribiesca I wanted to win it so badly... and I failed. This is a day of grief for me. : ( It's like what Neil Young sang in a Crazy Horse tune (forgot the tune) "why do I keep fucking up?!!"

[@daz4627]

I thought that it was part of the song for years... I don't know how long I tried to work out how to play it ... I thought that it was a super-complex jazz chord and could never quite work it out.

[@room34]

I have always heard this in the song and it never occurred to me that it wasn't intentional! Something worse is a mastering error on the Message in a Box boxed set - the tape wasn't up to full speed yet at the beginning of the song so the first couple of guitar chords are the wrong pitch.

[@TFEnright5]

I can’t imagine that they didn’t purposely leave that in. It’s too obvious in the mix and there’s no way the band and the producer didn’t notice it.

[@Dork_Central]

The thing about the Polly mistake is that you can actually hear the exact same thing on the original demos of the song from the late 80's, so Kurt deciding to leave it in goes back much further than just the recording of Nevermind, to where it likely isn't a mistake at all by that point.

[@jaycee1958]

The story I heard about Polly was that the "mistake" was a nod to Louis Louis where the same thing happens on the last verse, a point merely glossed over in the video. The Kingsmen couldn't correct their mistake as the song was recorded direct to acetate.

[@runnersdialzero1244]

Yeah, Butch was wrong on that, though he couldn't have known better given it was the only time he recorded the song with them. But yeah, it's not a mistake at all.

[@defmark]

Bingo

[@raymondhartmeijer9300]

Yes, there are live versions of Polly (full band) from '89, that has the same "Polly said" line in it. So this was part of the song for some time

[@robin3]

yes, just shows that Butch is full of shit.

[@Ghost1126]

"We don't make mistakes, .....we only have happy accidents" --Bob Ross

[@groogruxking2757]

Sometimes I jist sit back and binge Bob Ross.

[@buschovski1]

Bob Ross is a God

[@buschovski1]

@Brenda Myc Yeah haha Boss Ross. The guy was so cool

[@tulrid7550]

Exactly. These weren't mistakes, but imperfections.

[@bryanpratt9380]

My personal favorite, which didn't get mentioned here, is the "pre-echo" on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" during the vocal break just before the outro. It somehow remained on the tape from an earlier take, and engineer Andy Jones couldn't figure out how to get rid of it when the song was being mixed. According to the story I heard, he and Jimmy Page (who produced all of Led Zeppelin's albums) decided simultaneously to leave it in because it actually sounded pretty cool. Which it absolutely does, and it is an iconic bit in one of the greatest classic rock songs of all time.

[@mattbrendlen]

I read that that occurred because the engineer rewound the tape for storage, instead of fast-forwarding it onto the take-up reel, so the way the tape was layered caused print-through, which is when tracks layered on top of each other, incorrectly, will bleed down onto the stacked layers.

[@rap2xtrooper878]

There's another mistake in Whole Lotta Love that actually gets turned into an effect - while recording, one of the tracks accidentally bleeds into the vocal track, and instead of rerecording the vocals, the producers decided to just put tons of reverb on it. That's part of why the song sounds so echoey. A lot of Zeppelin's studio songs actually have a lot of easter eggs in them that you could consider mistakes - You can hear a telephone ring in The Ocean, You can hear Plant sniff something on the intro to Going to California, someone (presumably Page) faintly and randomly yells "stop" in Out On The Tiles, you can hear an airplane fly overhead before Black Country Woman, and many more. But probably most famous of all, you can hear Bonham's bass drum pedal squeak on the entire length of Since I've Been Loving You. It used to be virtually unaudible to me, but ever since I finally heard it one time, I can't stop noticing it.

[@andsalomoni]

I often listened to pre-echoes on my audio cassettes, a phenomenon due to magnetic induction "copying" between different layers of the tape that are in contact when wrapped around the reel.

[@sambuxton931]

Similarly in babe I’m gonna leave you you can faintly here a pre-echo of Robert saying “I can hear it calling me”. Not sure if this was a similar case as for whole lotta love

[@sheepdavis]

​@@rap2xtrooper878 the drum squeak is very audible in The Ocean

[@mattbrendlen]

If you've ever heard Smashing Pumpkins "Starla" (which is a great song, by the way) the story is they recorded it in a New York City apartment, and the windows were open, and during one of the quieter breakdowns you can hear an ambulance siren in the background. Another fun fact, not technically a recording mistake: I guess Billy Corgan wrote the song because he met a girl at a party named Starla, and thought to himself, "Huh... that's a pretty cool name." Years later he ran into the same girl and told her he'd written a song with her name as the title, and she said, "Uh no... you misheard me, my name is DARLA..." 😅

[@prestoekano6183]

That's awesome

[@-ASG-]

Note that the mistake in Please Please Me is only present in the stereo mix. In the mono mix (the one the Beatles actually participated in), everything runs smoothly, but when it came time to make a stereo mix a few months later, George Martin found that the details regarding the original mix were not archived. Due to this, and due to stereo being an afterthought as mono was the go-to format for the average teenager, Martin quickly slapped together an edit of take 16, 17, and 18 (we have no idea what take(s) was/were used for the mono mix due to EMI's policy of reusing tape). Take 18 just so happened to have the error, and since the stereo mixes were given precedent over the mono mixes in 2009, a lot of the sloppy and rough stereo mixes became the versions most hear today, including the screw-up in Please Please Me.

[@thedelaunesband1405]

Ppm is better in stereo

[@patricksmith4424]

Great to know this stuff, thanks.

[@dyldog]

@@thedelaunesband1405 most of the Beatles songs are, I can’t stand mono, idc if it’s the “purist” way to listen it sucks

[@thedelaunesband1405]

@@dyldog The Beach Boys are better in mono

[@dyldog]

@@thedelaunesband1405 listen to “Caroline, No”, “Be True To Your School”, “Little Deuce Coupe” and “Kokomo” in both stereo and mono. Having the flexibility of stereo allows each of the instruments to stand out better. Of course EQ settings can also play a role on what you’re hesring

[@captainscuffs3003]

I like Kurt's missed note one "The man who sold the world" Live recording at the guitar solo at the end. He just sneakily slides it into place after hitting the sour note but you'll hear it every time once you notice it.

[@breshkotashmal7362]

How about Merry Clayton's perfect voice crack in The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter". That was the most serendipitous thing ever recorded.

[@markrushton5108]

I love that bit. It's haunting and perfect.

[@NealB123]

You can also hear Mick cheering her on in the background as she was recording her amazing vocals. Fun fact: Decades later, Merry Clayton sued the Rolling Stones asking for a writing credit on the song. They gave it to her.

[@beatlesrgear]

Every time I hear that I just about tear up. She is SO powerful and emotional, she really gets to me.

[@coltspop]

John Bonham's squeaky foot pedal throughout the song "Since I've been loving you" is an error left in the original albums.

[@ModestVejar]

you can really hear his foot pedal in "The Ocean" though idk if that was intentional

[@LucaGoesOffroad]

I LOVE the squeaky pedal in since I've been loving you!

[@captsuperking2862]

I think the foot pedal wasn't as easily noticeable until better sound equipment came out, although I wasn't around in the 60's/70's to confirm that. But a more obvious error from Bonham in my opinion is in "How Many More Times" when plant is singing "they call me the hunter/ that's my name" and the guitar and drums are slamming their notes at the same time, around 6:35, Bonham doesn't hit the cymbals, but he goes back to hitting them in time with the guitar on the next beat.

[@Msteve-nt5bx]

One of those things you can't unhear. I can't not listen for it anymore!

[@veedriver]

That's the famous Ludwig Speed King pedal squeak.

[@blockman3508]

On “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles, they decided to change the guitar solo after it had already been recorded. But even after they recorded over the tape with the new solo, the old one could still faintly be heard in the background. You can still hear it on the recording. Also, the final chord to “A Day in the Life,” the E chord played on three different pianos, was lengthened by turning up the sensitivity of the microphone as the chord died down. By the end of the song, the mic is so hot you can actually hear a chair squeak and someone shuffling papers in the studio.

[@autonomouscollective2599]

And also there’s the Beatles song “Slow Down.” There’s one line I could never make out what John is singing. I found out it’s actually two completely different lines that got laid over each other.

[@01chippe]

@@autonomouscollective2599 He did that on several of their songs. I’ll Cry Instead - one line he sings “I’m gonna lock myself away”, and the double tracked vocal he sings “I’m gonna hide myself away” There are others, but I can’t recall them.

[@rhoadnaroahs]

I thought the Gilmour cough was intentional because it's supposed to be someone listening to the radio and then playing along on guitar. So much for that.

[@DemskePaul2017]

I think your observation is closer to the truth

[@squareleg5757]

You are correct.

[@autonomouscollective2599]

That’s how I always pictured it.

[@paddykinahan]

I always thought the disonant piano and the laughter in Roxanne were just setting the mood for a dark song about the seedy parts of life. Music truly is incredible 🙌

[@zackystudios5874]

You know the one about The Police surprised me. All this time that I’ve been listening to that song I never knew the piano and laughing was a mistake. The more you know

[@jefferyalberter9922]

In “Can’t Stand Losing You”, was Sting’s shriek after the 2nd chorus intentional?

[@davidcopson5800]

I never even heard the piano. I only heard the laugh. Always thought that was part of the song. Doesn't sound like a natural laugh.

[@dansmithwave]

One of my favourites is Armagideon Time by The Clash. The story goes that they told the producer not to let the track go over three minutes and to cut them off if they were still playing. At about 2:50 you hear him just break in saying, "Alright, time's up, let's have you out of here." Joe Strummer replies, "OK, OK, don't push us when we're hot!" and they play on for another brilliant minute. Of course, it works perfectly. It sounds like it's a police raid or something.

[@МемнаяКуша]

Constraints and mistakes can lead to creative solutions and unexpected moments in music, as demonstrated by the producer's attempt to cut a song short. The tension and urgency created by the incident added to the track's overall atmosphere, and the band's decision to continue playing was a testament to their creative vision and willingness to take risks. Such moments can make a song truly memorable and iconic.

[@dansmithwave]

@@МемнаяКуша Thanks ChatGPT. 😉

[@МемнаяКуша]

@@dansmithwave hahahahahah finally someone seen something wrong with my messages!

[@dansmithwave]

@@МемнаяКуша 😆

[@boneappletea3858]

The "Polly said" line was always said on almost all demos and was sang on all live versions of Polly before nevermind. Butch was wrong. He'd likely never heard it before and assumed it was a mistake. Kurt always did that. Only someone who'd never heard early demos of Polly would think that was a mistake. If it's intentional it's not a mistake.

[@111highgh]

Nirvana sucks shit.

[@perrymason866]

I was going to say something similar without trying to cut down the guy who made the video 😬😂

[@boneappletea3858]

@@perrymason866 I wasn't trying to cut him down. Just stating facts. Y'know, that thing people are supposed to base their claims on. It just depends on if you consider criticism an insult.

[@111highgh]

@@perrymason866 Nirvana sucks donkey balls. Stop talking about them.

[@perrymason866]

@@boneappletea3858 he was only repeating what he’s heard elsewhere and you were cutting him down by saying he’s clearly never heard early demos. I’m not having a pop but you can correct people without being quite so brash about it.

[@philhogan5623]

During 'Somebody To Love' by Queen, some of the vocal harmonies sing "some day I'm gonna be free" while others sing "one day I'm gonna be free". I always wondered if they meant to do it.

[@crypticwritingonthewall]

Really? Didn't notice that lol

[@NelsonMontana1234]

That's not nearly as bad as the note he hits at the end when the band drops out. "Somebody TOOOO..." is way flat.

[@Andres33AU]

Yeah, I always wondered this, if it was intentional or if it was an actual mistake. I too would like to know!

[@LageYouTube]

​@@NelsonMontana1234 Was that a mistake though? I guess the band just liked it that way, gave it more of a raw feel. They could've re-recorded it had they really wanted to

[@NelsonMontana1234]

@@LageKZbin They liked a bad note? Nah, I know that sometimes in the studio you listen to somethings so many times you just get used to the way it is. But someone should have stepped up and said, Uh, Freddy, let's re-do that part.

[@GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

'If It's In You' by Syd Barrett. @0:55 in the song he starts singing too early, stops halfway, then starts singing on time again.

[@PaulLoh]

My favorite Beatles goof is in If I Fell during the second chorus. John is singing, "And I would be sad if our new love was in vain." He goes up for the word "vain" but either ran out of breath, or for whatever reason couldn't sustain the note. His throat audibly constricts, cutting the note off. Then you can even hear him chuckle briefly. But my all time favorite goof is in the Nirvana song Milk It. After the guitar solo, Kurt shouts out, "Doll steak!" and right before he says, "test meat," he loses control and laughs. It makes me smile every time I hear it.

[@99proff]

I always notice the Beatles one, but it does't really bother me. Stuff happens, right?

[@southernoregoncatmom6519]

I always thought that it was Paul.😅

[@PaulLoh]

@@southernoregoncatmom6519 Now that you mention it, I realize I'm not sure.

[@linebeck1381]

It is Paul, because it’s the higher vocal part.

[@PaulLoh]

@@linebeck1381 My mother named me after him. You'd think I'd know these things. I appreciate your knowledge sharing.

[@vivianseemer5274]

I always thought that part where Kurt comes in early on Polly was a genius tool to immerse you in the disorientation and dissociation that comes with psychotic acts and traumatic experiences. Especially when paired with the isolated baseline. Truly felt like a moment of dissociation. Interesting that it was accidental. Sets the tone really well. Like disoriented mumbling.

[@noracola5285]

Having played in bands myself in the past, I'm no stranger to the occasional glaring mistake in the studio. One time, in one of my early projects, after having set up all our gear, just as we were about to start playing, someone accidentally pressed the record button. So now that egregious error is immortalized for all time.

[@SomeOfTheJuice]

My all time favorite mistake is in Yes's song Gates of Delirium. Jon Anderson and Alan White used to pass a junkyard on the way to Chris Squire's house where they would record, and they'd frequently collect random car parts to just bang on for interesting sounds. In the middle of the song, Alan White pushed it over, so you here this untimed crashing sound partway through an instrumental section that seems to go on weirdly long compared to all of the other, very clearly timed crashing sounds. It fits enough that if you don't know it, you will think it's correct, but there's a weird amount of extra clanging in it that makes it apparent that something didn't quite go right.

[@room34]

Do you know the exact timing of this? I want to check it out. (I also want to see if that spot sounds significantly different on Steven Wilson's remix.)

[@SomeOfTheJuice]

@@room34 It's right around 10:45. There's a lot of other more controlled crashing and banging that occurs around the same section, but all the rest of it is more deliberate, while that one definitely is a bunch of metal parts crashing down instead of being banged on.

[@mikereiss4216]

I'm a huge fan of that track (it's probably my favorite by them) and Yes in general but never noticed that before. Ok, I just listened and in my opinion it's difficult to tell if that is intentional or not. I think those sounds were pre-recorded but I'm not sure. I know Jon Anderson was influenced by some avant garde composer to do it. It may have been mentioned in this documentary: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKuWm3V4gLieis0 That is mentioned around the 9 minute mark in that video but you might want to start at least a little bit before that (maybe 8:30).

[@room34]

@@SomeOfTheJuice OK, I went back and listened… that was the part I assumed you were referring to. Hard to know for sure how intentional it was or if it maybe was a "happy accident" that worked even better than what they were trying to do. (There's also a bunch of backwards stuff going on at the same spot, so they were definitely all-in on the chaotic noises during this "battle scene.") I seem to recall a bit of discussion of this on the YesYears documentary but it's been eons since I've seen that. (I own it on VHS, if that is an indication of its vintage.)

[@KlausSgroi]

In that section of the song they were going for a chaotic atmosphere, so I don't doubt that the random banging was on purpose. It doesn't sound like Alan dropped something whilst playing.

[@usejustonce2386]

Nirvana has a bunch too, mostly intentional ones on In Utero. Lots of those are Kurt coughing and such. In Marigold (A B-side from the In Utero sessions), you can very clearly hear someone moving furniture around and it almost sounds intentional with how blatant it is. Ben Harper also has a cool story behind his song All That Matters Now, which is a song that the band started improving on the spot while Ben was elsewhere and when he came back and heard what they were doing, he had them roll tape. Lots of furniture moving on that one, too. I'm also a fan of the "Evo-tution" error from Revolution by the Beatles. That one cracks me up.

[@andrewp1075]

On The Beatles - Esher Tapes demos of Dear Prudence I've always loved the "Oops" as the wrong line is sung.

[@NealB123]

A very tiny one, but 35 seconds into the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, there is a very audible click as Keith Richards turns on the fuzz pedal he was using to record that iconic riff.

[@Mumbles274]

there is also a bum note

[@christopherheckman7957]

@@Mumbles274 and a bum singer, a bum guitarist ... Sorry. Not a fan of the Stones.

[@drummer1977]

A couple more. In Smells like Teen Spirit, Kurt held the chord too long when going into the 2nd verse i believe and its just a distorted ring that fades as he sings. He didn't realize it until he listened to the play back and wanted Butch to rerecord it but Butch talked him into leaving it in the song. Turned out to be an awesome addition. Bob Seger, Old Time Rock and Roll the opening piano part that is done twice was a mistake, the piano player came in too early and they had to restart. The producer didn't realize he didn't rewind the tape far enough. When finished and they played it back the piano part played, then the new recording played giving the same piano part twice you hear today. Bob thought it was cool and wanted it left in the song.

[@t_albino]

I can't listen to Roxanne without hearing that 'bum' note. Legendary 👌

[@thomasmandalla]

Moody Blues, "Days of Future Past". In the closing section, the cat that lived in the studio took a romp through the London Festival Orchestra and knicked over a bell tree, which you can still hear chiming on the recording.

[@thatoneguy5383]

One thing to note about Please Please Me is that the mistake where they sing two different verses only happens in the stereo version of the track as the mono and stereo versions do not use the same take

[@МемнаяКуша]

The mistake in "Please Please Me" is only in the stereo mix, not the mono mix that the band and producer worked on, showing how different versions of a recording can affect the listener's experience.

[@emysu]

I know this isn’t a “famous” song but I love when Julian goes “drums please, Fab” in The Strokes’ Ode to the Mets.

[@lauraslade5308]

it's pretty famous, and I didn't know that was a mistake? It's my favourite part of the song haha

[@Devo57]

I don’t think it’s a mistake, he said it live during the first time they played it, I think it’s a standard lyric for it

[@emysu]

@@Devo57 hehe there was an interview with Fab from Les Inrocks when he mentioned he was out getting a sandwich and missed his cue. So fun that they kept it.

[@Schteve59]

Louie Louie also has a vocal false start when the singer comes in and then stops because the instrumental break is not finished. In Cannonball by The Breeders bass player Josephine Wigg starts the song in the wrong key before correcting herself. The mistake was left in because the band liked it. In Lovers Of Today by The Pretenders James Honey-Scott starts the guitar solo with the wrong chord played loudly. Again it was left in because it sounded good. Ed King played the guitar solo for Sweet Home Alabama in G when the song is actually in D. Producer Al Kooper let it go because it sounded good.

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

Tune it up!

[@markarita3]

@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music "Turn" it up ;-)

[@christopherheckman7957]

I was going to mention that part about Louie Louie (by the Kingsman). It's a bit more involved than that: the keyboardist is also out of time with the rest of the band; he switches to the chorus riff too early. (Incidentally, one of the guitar solos in Pink Floyd's "Dogs" is in E major, with the backing in D major. They liked the sound of it, so kept it in.)

[@markarita3]

@@christopherheckman7957 Around what time? My favorite Floyd album!

[@christopherheckman7957]

@@markarita3 I'll have to look it up; I read it in a magazine somewhere. I didn't like Animals at first, partially because I bought it on cassette first. (The cassette split "Pigs" between the first two verses!) When I bought it on vinyl, I saw the lyrics, and all of a sudden, the structure of those "long songs" came to light.

[@cbl1984]

Although not a rock song, in Chic's 1979 hit 'I Want Your Love', at one point in one of harmonic parts one of the girls prematurely sings 'I need your love' while the other one sings 'I want your love' before they both subsequently sing 'I need your love'. I've been never able to figure out whether that was intentional, to signal the change from 'want' to 'need' or if it was a genuine mistake by one of the ladies but it's definitely there in the song.

[@andrewfurst5711]

The song "Venus" by Dutch band Shocking Blue has the lead singer pronouncing "goddess" as "godness". Reason being, the lead singer wasn't greatly familiar with English and was reading off a lyrics sheet, which had a spelling error (the improperly inserted "n"). The song became a huge hit anyway - number 1 in the USA and most of the world, though surprisingly never quite made it to number 1 in the Netherlands.

[@tommyapocalypse6096]

I always thought she was saying “godless,” which kinda’ strangely fit the song, in my mind. 😁

[@iansmith1965]

You missed one of the most iconic mistakes in a classic rock song: Speed King by Deep Purple. Jon Lord starts off doing a Hammond organ solo in G minor, but then accidentally hits a discordant C#! but he then saves it by playing a descending cascade of notes that ends up in G suspended 4th, then G major, which is the key of the song! Genius!

[@BakedNConfused]

"Famous Songs"

[@gui18bif]

​@@BakedNConfused yes

[@olafruckelshausen5911]

I can´t read notes but have a quite good ear. The studio version sounds consistent and intentionally to me. But talking about "Made in Japan": They ruined it in Osaka AND in Tokyo.

[@iansmith1965]

@@olafruckelshausen5911 No, it was actually a mistake. I remember seeing a brief video clip of Jon Lord describing the mistake on "Speed King" in the studio.

[@michaelmalone7231]

On U2's title track to The Unforgettable Fire, you can hear Larry come in too early, clicking his drumsticks. Not only was this left in, so was Larry saying, "Oh shit, too early". Eno decided to leave it in for effect. Turning up the volume right after the mistake helps you hear the S-bomb.

[@МемнаяКуша]

Producer Eno kept a mistake in Larry's drumming during a recording session, which added charm and authenticity to the track, showcasing how imperfections can be used to advantage. Behind-the-scenes stories of the creative process leading to memorable moments are fascinating to learn.

[@darrenstuart3907]

The one that sprung to mind for me was the drum beat at the beginning of Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones. Charlie Watts came in at the wrong time but very quickly corrected himself, it sounds cool and offbeat so they kept it.

[@gdansk12349]

Dave Abruzzese is the absolute best drummer of pearl jam ever. He gave them attitude and drive. It was all lost after him.

[@harrygiles7354]

100%

[@subhashxrecord3131]

Nonsense; Three or four albums following Dave were so very good

[@justinlarsen2281]

There’s actually several “mistakes” in Louie Louie, it was supposed to be a warmup take which is why the lead singer left his retainer in and has slurred speech. He also comes in early on one of the verses and stops himself

[@atomeyes99]

and the drummer losing a drum stick during the instrumental portion

[@Hananotaka]

Louie, Louie is such a mess. Missed cues, missed beats, a sloppy, virtually indecipherable mix. And yet it all works!

[@justinlarsen2281]

@@Hananotaka true. Also one of the best guitar solos of that era

[@EricJohnson-tc3bc]

I noticed the part where he starts singing early many years ago. The story I heard about Louie Louie is that they played it numerous times without stopping and were getting delirious by the time they had a version they liked.

[@pozxyyy]

I really like this because it's very succinct, it doesn't go into 20 minutes of detail on each band.

[@summerof67]

In Long Cool Woman with a Black Dress, the singer was supposed to sing "jumpin' out of doors and windows" but instead sang "jumpin' out of doors and tables". Still, they liked how his voice sounded on that take, so they kept it in.

[@tomasm.4928]

One of my favorite bits of the song

[@sheadonlin8520]

For sure thought “Hey Jude” was gonna be on this list. Knowing John sings the wrong lyric in the last verse and then cursing in the background is classic beatles lore.

[@Fuzcapp]

Yeah - I also thought Paul's classic voice crack and disappearing on If I Fell (the last time they sing "was in vain") would be here as well.

[@Fuzcapp]

Also also - John's bass playing on Long and Winding Road. It's so bad, many think it is John trying to sabotage the song.

[@salvadorcastanos5834]

​@@Fuzcapp in the film of Peter Jackson's John is sitting in the flor playying the six strings bass and near the end of the song he sings "... i think i've missing a note somewhere..."... kudos from Guadalajara, México 6-mayo-2023 ✌😎

[@christopherheckman7957]

@@Fuzcapp There's a video here at KZbin, where that theory is proposed. Part of it is that Lennon is trying to play a fretted bass like a fretless bass.

[@christopherheckman7957]

In one of the Beatles songs ... I think it's "Hey Jude" ... they started recording without Ringo; he was in the bathroom or something like that. When they played, he crept in silently, sat behind the drums, and came in at the point in the song.

[@DoktorRockszo]

Little surprised no one has mentioned Flo & Eddie accidentally repeating their backing vocals after the chorus in T. Rex's Bang A Gong. Another mistake that worked well enough to leave in.

[@corywofford9976]

“Immigrant Song” by Led Zepplin at 1:43, you can hear Plant start to sing the next verse too early with a single “s” before “so now you better stop…” “Yours Is No Disgrace” by Yes, at 1:57 (mostly in the right channel) you can hear just a snippet of an acoustic guitar chord being played, possibly from a previous reference track that wasn’t entirely cut.

[@dj71162]

Brian decided to leave the background talking in Here Today because he thought it was fresh and edgy, so its like you said, the error will always be considered subjective, but I wouldn't say its a mistake.

[@SoundlabStudios63]

I’d rather point out the banjo in I Know There’s an Answer coming in a measure early.

[@runnersdialzero1244]

And Jesus, no, that's not "an argument with Mike Love" going on before "Top, please." It's band member Bruce Johnston talking to a photographer in the studio about the photographer's camera. Where the hell did the uploader get this info?

[@dj71162]

@@runnersdialzero1244 The Mike hate is so unjustified.

[@jerryseinfeld9815]

You can hear it isolated on the Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary CDs. What lazy research work on his part.

[@SoundlabStudios63]

@@jerryseinfeld9815 what’s the deal with Pet Sounds? No soup for you!

[@colerieger7300]

In Smoke on the Water, the lyric was meant to be "The Rolling Stones truck thing just outside," instead he sang "The Rolling truck Stones thing just outside" and they left it in anyway.

[@timlecount8690]

Even though Butch says that Kurt came in early, I have heard the early “Polly said” on other demos that Nirvana cut before. Although I do not considered Nirvana classic rock, since they are in the list, I will contribute one more: at the end of karma police by Radiohead, a snare gets cut off early and comes back in on the next beat

[@NothingLikeVinyl]

On Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times", bass player John Paul Jones keeps playing his accompaniment part for the guitar solo when the final chorus enters. For the first half of the first measure of the chorus, he keeps playing the preceding pattern in E. He should have switched to A at that point, but he only does it on the second half of the measure.

[@MrNut1980]

My favorite recording error is on "Are You Lonesome Tonight" by Elvis Presley. If you listen to it carefully, right before Elvis recites the one verse, you can hear him bump the microphone because he recorded it in the dark in Nashville's Studio B. I learned about it last year on a tour. They sit you down in the actual studio, shut off the lights and play a recording of the song as you sit in the dark. It's such a surreal experience. The piano that he played in the song is there too.

[@jricoc3475]

I knew "Polly" would be on this list, but I also expected "Do What You Like", by Blind Faith, as Winwood jumps the gun on vocal measure. I don't think Lennon got lyrics wrong so much as he never really committed to many of them. He tended to sing whatever line was in his head at the moment ...

[@stitchgrimly6167]

The Polly one isn't even a mistake.

[@chopchunk7573]

There's two well known/obvious ones in Dark Side of the Moon. At the end of Eclipse, you can just barely hear the music being played in one of the other recording booths underneath the heartbeat. Also, at the end of The Great Gig in the Sky, the final chord wavers weirdly, which was probably caused by a random fluctuation in the original track

[@atlasshrugged6435]

During Echoes Live at Pompeii, Rick Wright messes up the line “inciting and inviting me to rise”, while Gilmour sings it correctly. You can see Gilmour smirk right after he sings it, and looks to his left, presumably to look at Wright and let him know he messed up.

[@christopherheckman7957]

IIRC, the performance of that song is pretty much filled up with mistakes.

[@tarobobaenjoyer]

In “please please me” right after Lennon messes up the lyrics, you can hear him almost start laughing when he sings “come on”

[@directorzakkattakk]

That piano is so iconic in Roxane I can always hear it before it happens. I thought it was meant to be there

[@generalmandible5862]

My favorite is at the very end of the Bee Gees song “I’ve Gotta Get A Message to You”, somebody in the background mimics Robin’s “Hold on!” super off key and you can hear another voice go “What? Oh-“

[@evanlafrance3978]

One mistake that’s always stuck with me was the first snare hit of the first chorus in “Best Friends Girl” by the Cars. I don’t think it was intentional but him accidentally hitting the rim rather than the snare head makes that second hit all the more powerful.

[@georgeprice4212]

One thing: according to the original CD release of Pet Sounds, the liner notes state Brian says “Top please “ not “Stop” in “Here Today”.

[@duncankimball]

It's actually "Talk, please" meaning, please stop talking

[@runnersdialzero1244]

"Talk" doesn't make sense. It's "top, please", as in "from the top", i.e. go back to the beginning of the song. The dialogue sans the music is out there.

[@runnersdialzero1244]

And Jesus, no, that's not "an argument with Mike Love" going on before "Top, please." It's band member Bruce Johnston talking to a photographer in the studio about the photographer's camera. Where the hell did the uploader get this info?

[@Master_RoSSShi]

In “Pride” by U2, the lyrics “Early morning, April 4th/Shot rings out in Memphis sky” are incorrect. MLK Jr. was killed in the evening. Bono actually fixes this when performing live, singing “Early evening, April 4th.”

[@t_albino]

My favourite has got to be the false start of 'I'm looking through you' by the Fab Four.

[@bodsnvimto]

No less than the great Paul McCartney said of the false start in 'I Saw Her Again' that "It must be a mistake, nobody can be that perfect". Kinda sums it up pour moi.

[@Fordham1969]

Yup, although he actually said "no one is that clever" which makes a bit more sense than "perfect" since it was a mistake.

[@Zodicus]

During Kirk Hammett's solo for Master of Puppets, he accidentally pulled the string off the fretboard of the guitar which produced a sharp and high pitches note that the band thought sounded great and left it in the recording. Legend says that Kirk spent years trying to replicate it but never managed to and eventually gave up.

[@Kylora2112]

And it's not the screaming harmonic (that's intentional). It's in one of the scalar runs where he pulled the string off the fretboard and the string hit a higher fret.

[@solucian]

April 29 1992 by Sublime starts off with Bradley Nowell singing "April 26 1992", but the recording was good everywhere else so that's the one they went with 😂

[@kingdicelille]

Many other instances: phone ringing at the end of Bowie's "Life on Mars?", Paul's voice cracking on the second bridge in the Beatles' "If I fell" (stereo mix), the out of tune guitars on the Stones' "The singer not the song" and out of time beats on "I'm free", ... and so many other famous recordings.

[@BostonBobby1961]

I know that one. Life on Mars. Not to mention the chatter at beginning of Andy Warhol where Bowie didn’t know the tape was rolling. Talking about the pronunciation of Warhol.

[@lar57jsy]

Yes, I've noticed that there were at least a few Beatle recordings with conflicting lyrics briefly being sung. For most of us, they went unnoticed or uncared for 🙂

[@01chippe]

Like in “I’ll Cry Instead” where John sings I’m gonna hide myself away, while the double tracked vocal sings I’m gonna lock myself away.

[@potter.felipematos]

One of the most successful Brazilian bands is called Legião Urbana In 1987 they released a 9 minute song named "Faroeste Caboclo" talking about the hard times of a black man facing prejudice, coming from the countryside to the capital and getting involved in crime. As such a long tune, it has different moments, incorporating folk, rock, punk, reggae and regional music influences. It is in a certain moment between those mood changes that the drummer Marcelo Bonfá miss a beat and hits the snare drum in the wrong time. They decided to leave it like this for the final cut.

[@walt.03]

Q ninutagem?

[@potter.felipematos]

@@walt.03 cerca de 4:53, quando entra a letra "não é que o Santo Cristo tava certo..."

[@stevekirby1090]

I remember the Mama's and Papa's false start on that verse, there's also one on The Beatles "This Boy" on the outro, one of them sings this, and someone sings that,I think they joked about . it came across as "Thas Boy".

[@Our__Earth]

Also… On the song I’m looking through you on rubber soul by the Beatles… There are all sorts of fragments and weird things that were never removed.

[@ChaunceyGardener]

The 1982 hit Steppin' Out has very audible beeps every time a new vocal section starts. In Black Sabbath's Paranoid also has a beep in various spots where the guitar riff ends. In Pink Floyd's Money there is a stray guitar note at the beginning. Also the Door's song Light My Fire was issued with incorrect tape speed which mistake was only discovered and corrected after 40 years.

[@ChaunceyGardener]

@Deli6505 So they stretched the song from a shorter length! Thanks to solving this mystery to me.

[@marcoebasta6028]

In Audioslave's "what you are" there's a strange inhaling sound in the second half of the first verse, just over the "and when you asked for light I set myself on fire" line

[@huggleskuishy]

It took me a bunch of times listening to kill ‘em all to realize that album is riddled with mistakes but that just made the album better

[@flowerlandofjohn]

Correction: Dave Abbruzzese was not fired before their third album (which is Vitalogy). He played on that one also, after that he (unfortunately) was fired …

[@AllofJudea]

Most of these happened before digital recording. Tape was expensive as was studio time!

[@skittleseer1]

I’m pretty sure in The Beatles “Let it Be” during the second time Paul says, “Mother Mary comes to me,” a sour chord was played on the piano.

[@gregorylapointe4157]

On Alice Cooper's Killer album, you can hear Neal Smith dropping his drumsticks at the end of Be My Lover. I always thought that was kind of cool that they left that on the album.

[@colerieger7300]

Yeah, he would always twirl his sticks, he dropped them on that take and you can hear them falling through his kit at the end.

[@CineSoar]

Smoke on the Water: Gillan sings “The Rolling truck Stones’ thing just outside.” Instead of The Rolling Stones’ truck. Sweet Home Alabama: during recoding, a runner was sent out for doughnuts. He held them up to the booth window, while Ronnie was recording and his response “My doughnuts, god damn!” can be heard under the piano solo near the end of the song.

[@chachabends3823]

The Cars drummer shanks the first snare hit on the first chorus of "My Best Friend's Girl." I never ever noticed it 'till it was pointed out to me a couple of year ago. Doesn't matter a'toll!

[@GVike]

Apparently, the rhythmic switch in "Just What I Needed" was not on purpose either...

[@Neelo5000]

I just gave it a listen and sure enough he flubs the first snare hit. I've heard the song numerous times and never noticed that.

[@chachabends3823]

@@GVike Did NOT know that one.

[@joshua_wherley]

Also, in "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant comes in a bit early for the line "so now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins".

[@beatlesrgear]

I always thought he said "so now you'd better stop, and weep below your ruins."

[@joshua_wherley]

@@beatlesrgear it might be. That sounds like a better line, honestly. Either way, Robert comes in early!

[@GVike]

"While You See a Chance" by Steve Winwood had a vocal mix error I didn't notice for years. It's towards the final segment and kind of sounds like a delay effect.

[@Fuzcapp]

One to listen out for is on the fade out of the big chord at the end of Sgt Peppers (end of Day in the Life) Ringo's foot moves on the squeaky piano pedal. Apparently, Paul gave him the dirtiest look at the time. But you can still hear the squeak as the piano chord fades out.

[@trevorfreeman9239]

I've always thought there was a timing error in Stairway to Heaven between the snare and the guitar/horn fanfare when the solo begins (about 5:35). You can hear one of the tracks fade in abruptly there also.

[@thinmanthewise]

It's not a timing error, it's just counted off from the first strum, which isn't intuitive.

[@MTMabowels]

On the Emerson, Lake and Palmer album ‘Trilogy’ there is a track called “The Sheriff”. It starts with a drum solo by Carl Palmer. At 13 seconds into the track he seems to have cocked something up because he says “Shit!” then he carries on a bit more before the keyboards fire up and Greg Lake starts singing. I don’t know what he did to make him say that because his drum solo always sounds fine to me. One can hear what I’m referring to on Mortify.

[@adamriggs2698]

At the end of Life on Mars by David Bowie, apparently at the very end when the closing piano part was being recorded a telephone went off and Mick Ronson started cursing and yelling and that’s kept at the end of the song.

[@MarvelousMusic1]

I love this! Thank you!

[@muzzymikeonthemic]

Great video! Always noticed that in Roxanne but of course didn’t count it as a mistake. Never knew what it actually was. Was hoping for Let It Be, which has McCartney messing up a chord on the piano!

[@bishopaz]

When Willie Nelson recorded Steve Fromholtz, I'd Have to be Crazy, Fromholtz sang the bridge as a reference vocal. It was supposed to be removed from the recording but Nelson liked how it sounded, so they left it in.

[@andymassingham]

Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club, 1964. Number 16, greatest live record, Rolling Stone. During What’d I Say part 1, the drummer from the Nashville Teens (who is brilliant throughout, btw) completely blows a cue as Lewis is pounding away. The mistake left in. Then just to rub it in, during a short break before part 2, Lewis yells into his mic, “Play that thing right boy; GO!!!Stupendous pre-punk LP.

[@danielpersa0562]

I always thought the cough in Wish You Were Here was a muted cry, like someone holding back tears and trying not to cry. Accident or not, still one of the greatest songs ever

[@kevinmoore8780]

I don't know if it was a mistake initially but you can hear George counting in his vocal on the song Within You, Without You. Around the 3:45 mark. It was always faint and I don't think our home speakers were good enough to pick it up back then so we heard it only using earphones. Once you heard it once then you could hear it every time and we used to count in as well. With all the added noises and effects you can see where even if it was a mistake, it could have been left it. Oddly I just went to listen to the song but could only find deluxe or new mixes of the song and I can't hear the counting in on this versions. If it's been removed then maybe it was a mistake.

[@ryoung1519]

Yes! Long while back I was mucking about with stereo cassette tapes rerecording and suddenly very clearly you can hear George counting himself in...lost the tape years ago.

[@daroob]

One of my favorite ‘mistakes’ is the double intro to Old Time Rock & Roll. Studio lore has it that the engineer didn’t roll back one of the cassettes all the way when they were running off a copy for Bob to listen to. When he heard the fixed version, he asked what happened to the intro?

[@Paul_Wetor]

On "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" the song starts with a mistake. "At the beginning of the song Dylan sings the first couple of lines accompanied by this guitar and then he and the producer, Tom Wilson, break up into uncontrollable laughter. According to Daniel Kramer, the photographer who shot the wonderful cover shot used for the cover of Bringing It All Back Home, the laughter was triggered when the band missed their cue and never came in and Dylan didn’t even notice".

[@thebigorangecouch6261]

The ones I thought of... 1. At around 0:26 in From Me To You one sings "so call on me" and the other sings "just call on me". 2. The bass stuff up in David Bowie's Jean Genie just as it goes in to the first chorus you can hear some fuzz type effect then what sounds like "get back on there" before it goes to the chorus. 3. All that squeaky stuff going on in the background of the Rolling Stones' Miss you 12" version.

[@troyroy01]

Great video, Africa by Toto clearly has someone laughing in the intro percussion section..not sure what happened there..

[@donjohnson7550]

Me alegra que ahora hagan los videos en inglés. I’m so glad that you guys are now translating all these videos to English, it’s such an amaz project!

[@walterhoenig6569]

Michael Jackson singing ‘Just look over your shoulders’ should be on this list.

[@kennet7837]

Wasn't that an intentional nod to the Four Tops song "Reach Out, I'll Be There"?

[@chriskarley384]

​@@kennet7837 Yes , but they did intend for Michael to sing shoulder ( singular) but Barry said it sounded perfect and left it!❤👍

[@MarianoRodriguez]

Nick Mensa continues playing in Megadeth's version of Paranoid. It ends with Mustaine shouting "Nick! Nick! NICK!!"

[@mulicuy]

In "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," at the beginning of the fourth verse, Dylan incorrectly sings, "Oh, *what* did you meet, my blue-eyed son?" Then follows with "and *who* did you meet, my darling young one?" while holding back a laugh on the word "meet." Was always surprised he didn't do the whole song over again.

[@oldtop1989]

I think the flub in "I want you" is pretty noticeable as well

[@angaudlinn]

The accidentally muted snare at the end of Depeche Mode’s ”Master & Servant” is my favourite that was missing from the list. :)

[@rumblehat4357]

I knew “I Saw her again last night” should be on here. Even Sir Paul said “it had to be a mistake, nobody is that clever.”

[@2140Mark]

It was indeed a mistake...Denny Doherty comes in too early with the refrain "I saw her". I don't remember who it was but I listened to an interview where they talked about this. Like with other songs in this video, the producers just decided to keep it in.

[@rumblehat4357]

@@2140Mark making mistakes can often send a song into another direction, or even elevate a song from great to amazing. This was a brilliant mistake that they made a wise choice of leaving in. Such a great song.

[@radonato]

My favorite "error" comes in Rush's song "The Camera Eye" on 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. At 8:55 you can hear a quite Canadian belch, followed by some brief apologetic banter. Labatt's Blue, I believe.

[@elektrolyte]

my favorite which did not get a mention here is: on the album Cricklewood Green by Ten Years After approximately 54 seconds into the second track, Working On The Road, someone accidentally leaned an elbow against the reel to reel and the tone bends down briefly. But it is timed very well into the riff and blends quite well... so they left it in and is on every version to this day!