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While hip-hop is the musical genre most known for beef, rock excels at it, too. Over the last half-century, rock bands and artists have picked fights with each other, as well managers, reporters, corporations, and politicians.
The rebellious attitude that's so synonymous with rock stars extends well beyond the aggression they channel into their music. Rock artists aren't expected to hold their tongue, and if history is any indication, they don't. The impetus for the genre's greatest feuds has been everything from forbidden romance to creative differences.
Most conflicts are unfortunate, effectively splitting up legendary bands and ruining relationships, but they're always entertaining. If you need proof, continue reading and check out The 50 Greatest Beefs in Rock Music History.
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Written by Daniel Margolis
50. Tommy Lee vs. Kid Rock
When Kid Rock started dating Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee’s ex-wife Pamela Anderson in 2001, Lee was none too pleased. His album Never A Dull Moment, released the following year, featured the song “Face To Face,” which threatened an unnamed enemy; some speculated this was Rock. Four years after calling off their engagement, Rock and Anderson married, only to divorce five months later. According to Rock, during the divorce Lee sent him insulting e-mails from Anderson’s Blackberry. At the 2007 MTV VMAs the two met face-to-face and Rock knocked Lee’s hat off and punched him. Lee responded on his website, calling Rock “Kid Pebble.” Testifying about the incident in an unrelated case three years later (Rock had gotten into a fight at a Waffle House), Rock stated that Lee had called him and apologized and “now we’re friends again.”
49. Limp Bizkit vs. Creed
Two of the most loathed bands of the late ‘90s squared off at the appropriately named K-ROCK Dysfunctional Family Picnic in New Jersey in June 2000. Limp Bizkit, playing before Creed and numerous other bands, went onstage an hour late, and then Fred Durst announced that Creed’s lead singer Scott Stapp was “backstage right now, acting like fucking Michael Jackson.” Creed later issued a statement calling Durst “immature and egotistical” and claimed he was late to the stage because he was eating dinner. Durst later claimed his comments onstage weren’t meant to explain why Limp Bizkit was late.
48. The Killers vs. The Bravery
The Killers shot to fame in 2004 with their debut album Hot Fuss, which, as the band’s leader Brandon Flowers saw it, spawned a sea of imitators mining its synthed-out sound. In particular, Flowers singled out NYC-based the Bravery, telling MTV News in 2005, “They’re signed because we’re a band.” He also criticized the Bravery’s background as a ska band (in the same interview, Flowers praised Franz Ferdinand, so he must not have been aware that band’s frontman Alex Kapranos also once dabbled in ska). The Bravery’s Sam Endicott responded, calling Flowers “a little girl” and “a kid in a wheelchair.” According to Endicott, Flowers called him the following year and apologized, saying “I’m really sorry. I’m a jealous person and I was jerk.”
47. Steve Albini vs. Odd Future
Last year, an unlikely musical meeting occurred when Chicago rock trio Shellac and L.A. hip-hop collective Odd Future shared an airport shuttle in Barcelona, Spain. Shellac’s Steve Albini, long known as one of the crankiest men in modern rock, later described the group on his website’s message board as offending the driver and passengers, smoking pot, boasting about having sex and earning money and complaining of hunger (to fans of the group’s music, none of this is surprising). Odd Future’s leader Tyler, the Creator then responded via Twitter, countering all these claims and, most amusingly, calling out Albini as a has-been: “Me nor anyone I know in my age group know who you are, old ass. Surprised you knew how to use a computer.”
46. Radiohead vs. Miley Cyrus, Kanye West
At the 2009 Grammy Awards, an unlikely feud began backstage between Radiohead, Miley Cyrus and Kanye West. Cyrus and West both claimed to be big fans of the English band and requested to meet them. Radiohead -- particularly singer Thom Yorke -- said no. To anyone who has seen the 1998 Radiohead documentary Meeting People Is Easy this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but Cyrus and West were both angry at being rebuffed; Cyrus threatened to “ruin them” and West refused to stand during the band’s performance at the show. Radiohead later released a statement expressing its boredom with the entire situation.
45. Pussy Riot vs. Vladimir Putin
In the last month, Pussy Riot, an all-female, Russian rock collective that plays music solely as a vehicle of political protest, shot to international stardom when three of its members were tried and convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and sentenced to two years in prison each for performing a short song in Moscow’s main cathedral. The group takes aim at Russian government and society at large but in particular beefs with Vladimir Putin over his return to power as president. The titles of three of Pussy Riot’s scant six songs address Putin specifically: “Protests In Russia, Putin Chickened Out,” “Holy Mary, Drive Putin Away” and “Putin Sets The Fires Of Revolutions.”
44. Jack White vs. Jason Stollsteimer
Jack White was an initial booster of fellow Detroit rockers the Von Bondies, including the band on a local rock compilation he produced, inviting it to open for the White Stripes and producing its first album. But somewhere along the way things turned sour; at a record release party at Detroit club Magic Stick in 2003, White reportedly attempted to speak to Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer and, when ignored, physically attacked him. But White claimed the entire thing was a publicity stunt staged by Stollsteimer, who actually attacked him and he was only defending himself, and that Stollsteimer played up his injuries. White later pled guilty to an assault charge stemming from the incident. In 2006, Stollsteimer alleged White had left a threatening note attached to his front door with a knife, a charge White also denied.
43. Flaming Lips vs. Arcade Fire
While Flaming Lips leader Wayne Coyne’s public image is one of affability, he occasionally takes shots at other artists such as Beck, the Verve and, most recently, Arcade Fire. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Coyne complained that his band had played shows with Arcade Fire and felt its members treated support staff and even the audience badly. Coyne said, “They have good tunes, but they’re pricks, so fuck ‘em.” Arcade Fire’s Win Butler responded quickly, claiming to be perplexed by Coyne’s criticisms but admitting his band was jetlagged when it encountered the Flaming Lips at a festival in Las Vegas.
42. Pavement’s Spiral Stairs vs. Pitchfork
For fans watching the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival online at home, it must have been anticlimactic when, as Pavement was set to perform at the end of the festival, the live feed went dark. Why? Apparently the band denied permission to be videotaped by request of Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, whose band the Preston School of Industry has never been well-reviewed by Pitchfork (a sampling: “This album has all the charm of a flaccid penis protruding out from beneath a fold of flesh on a balding, middle-aged man”). When all this started to see coverage in the mainstream press, Kannberg issued a statement, saying, “Regardless of my thoughts about the Pitchfork e zine, myself and the rest of the band had a great time playing the Pitchfork music festival.”
41. Pavement vs. Smashing Pumpkins
Indie kings Pavement’s 1994 country-tinged ballad “Range Life” included the lyric, “Out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins. Nature kids, they don’t have no function. I don’t understand what they mean and I could really give a fuck.” Steve Malkmus later claimed he debated taking the line out of the song as it was likely to cause problems but friends in the studio said it wasn’t really a diss and was fine. Billy Corgan didn’t agree and had Pavement kicked off of that summer’s Lollapalooza line-up. He was still angry about it 16 years later; in 2010 he tweeted, “They represent the death of the alternative dream.”
40. New Radicals vs. Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love, Marilyn Manson
What’s an easy way to become a one-hit wonder? Write a catchy song and throw in a short rap calling out some popular rock stars. The New Radicals’ 1998 single “You Get What You Give” included these lyrics from singer Gregg Alexander: “Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson. You’re all fakes, run to your mansions. Come around, we’ll kick your ass in.” The song was a smash hit. Predictably, Courtney Love issued an angry, incoherent response, while Marilyn Manson expressed his annoyance at being mentioned in connection with Love. Alexander later apologized to Beck and collaborated with Hanson.
39. George Clinton vs. James Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, Rufus, and Sly & the Family Stone
George Clinton and his bands Parliament and Funkadelic contributed much to hip-hop music as their work has been sampled in hundreds if not thousands of rap songs. But Clinton broke ground for hip-hop in another way by recording one of the earliest examples of a diss track. Funkadelic’s 1975 song “Let’s Take It To The Stage” called out five other popular funk and R&B acts of the day; James Brown (“the godmother,” “James Clown”), Earth, Wind & Fire (“Earth, Hot Air & No Fire”), Kool & the Gang (“Fool & the Gang”), Rufus (“Sloofus”) and Sly & the Family Stone (“Slick & the Family Brick”). The overall point was if they faced off onstage, Funkadelic would blow them all offstage. None of the bands or artists mentioned responded, at least not in song.
38. M.I.A. vs. Lynn Hirschberg
A provocative artist who can be unpredictable in interviews, M.I.A. was skewered by Lynn Hirschberg when the writer profiled the genre-blending singer in New York Times Magazine in 2010. Hirschberg basically depicted M.I.A. as a poser, quoting her ex-boyfriend and producer Diplo as saying she uses politics as a “gimmick” and a member of the Sri Lankan Democracy Forum as saying her support of the Tamil Tigers is “very simplistic.” Most devastatingly, she depicted the singer eating a “truffle-flavored French fry.” M.I.A.’s response was pretty lame; she tweeted the writer’s phone number and released an audio recording proving that it was actually Hirschberg who ordered the elitist fries.
37. Lou Reed vs. Journalists
Lou Reed seems to hate everybody, but his deepest scorn is reserved for journalists. Stories are legion of writers who went in for an interview with Reed and walked out with nothing but a tape recorder or a notepad full of one-word answers and smug, condescending dismissals. Former NME writer Nick Kent once said, “You have to be utterly sycophantic to get anywhere with him. I’d like to get a gun and shoot the bastard.” Reed’s attitude here doesn’t seem to be improving with age; asked about his approach to journalists by Spin in 2008, he concluded the interview: “You’re not interested in music. We’re done talking.”
36. Negativland vs. U2
In 1991, experimental band Negativland released the EP U2, which mixed U2’s hit “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” with a recording of radio host Casey Kasem putting down the band, saying “These guys are from England and who gives a shit?” U2’s label Island Records sued and the EP was withdrawn, but the incident spawned a great deal of debate about the legalities of sampling, captured in a book and documentary. Negativland re-released the track 10 years later.
35. Elton John vs. Madonna
The feud between Elton John and Madonna goes back a decade to when John trashed her theme to the James Bond film Die Another Day, complaining that it “hasn’t got a tune” and wasn’t “camp” enough. At the Q Awards in 2004, he accused her of lip syncing and said she “should be shot.” He later backpedalled, but in 2011 repeated these remarks to Rolling Stone. This January, when John lost to Madonna for best original song at the Golden Globes, John’s partner David Furnish said it detracted from the awards’ credibility. In July, John said in an interview that her recent tour was a disaster and her career is over. Madonna, for her part, has taken the high road; not responding beyond sending back John’s Christmas cards and refusing an invitation to perform at his bachelor party.
34. Lou Barlow vs. J Mascis
In the mid-’80s, Dinosaur Jr. took the pre-historic concept of a bombastic power trio and gave it new life and an alternative edge, but guitarist J Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow started clawing at each other pretty quickly. After three albums, Mascis engineered a silent coup, telling Barlow the band was breaking up but then going on an Australian tour with a replacement. Barlow was wounded by the betrayal but it proved to be a great source of inspiration; many of his subsequent project Sebadoh’s songs were inspired by the situation, with Barlow singing to Mascis, “Your big head has that more room to grow. A glory I will never know.” Barlow rejoined Dinosaur Jr. in 2005.
33. Metallica vs. Napster
It was one of the first public signs of the major upheaval that downloading music was to cause for the recording industry; in spring 2000, Metallica sued peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster for copyright infringement and, more ridiculously, racketeering and violation of the RICO act. That summer, Lars Ulrich testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, complaining that the band’s entire catalog was available for free on Napster. It was an unpopular move; Ulrich was booed when he appeared at the MTV VMAs later that year. The following year, a judge ruled Metallica’s music must be removed from the site. Meanwhile, other legal action against Napster proceeded – notably a similar suit filed by Dr. Dre. The site was hobbled and forced to liquefy its assets, and today no one downloads music for free anymore.
32. Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster
In 1994, Pearl Jam, then one of the biggest bands in the world, decided to take ticket vendor behemoth Ticketmaster to task for adding vendor charges to its concert tickets. The Justice Department was investigating the company at the time, so guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament testified on the matter before a congressional subcommittee. The band went so far as to cancel its summer tour to avoid involvement with Ticketmaster and continued a boycott of the company. In hindsight, it seems quaint that Pearl Jam went to all this trouble to protect the integrity of its live shows, given that it’s now playing corporate gigs like the Oracle Appreciation Event in October.
31. Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam
When Pearl Jam emerged in 1991, the grunge phenomenon it was hailed as a part of had existed for years, and the scene’s biggest star, Kurt Cobain, did not approve – never mind that some of Pearl Jam’s members came from credible bands Green River and Mother Love Bone. In an interview with Flipside magazine, Cobain called Pearl Jam “false alternative macho metal” and complained that MTV lumped the band and Nirvana together. Eddie Vedder reached out to Cobain via phone and he backed down, later saying “I can appreciate them. I realize that the same people that like their band like our band so why create some kind of feud?”
30. Jeff Tweedy vs. Jay Bennett
Jeff Tweedy’s band Wilco found critical and commercial success, but has changed line-ups frequently, with Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt now the only founding members left. Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett’s departure from the band did not go well. The 2002 documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco captured his attempts to play a more active role in the production of its fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; one scene shows Tweedy so stressed out by an argument between the two that he vomits immediately afterward. Bennett was fired after the album was completed. Bennett sued Tweedy in 2009 but died before the suit could be heard in court.
29. Jay Farrar vs. Jeff Tweedy
This is one rock beef that’s somewhat of a mystery to almost everyone involved. From 1987 to 1994, Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy were songwriters together in the alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. They were poised for mainstream success when suddenly Farrar quit the band in which he served as lead singer. Tweedy and the other members of the band were mystified and Farrar was tight-lipped. In 1995, he told No Depression magazine, “It just seemed like it reached a point where Jeff and I really weren’t compatible.”
28. Elvis Costello vs. Bruce Thomas
Bruce Thomas – bassist in Elvis Costello’s backing band the Attractions – and the singer-songwriter were friends and even roommates in the early years of the band’s career, despite a rocky start (initially, Costello didn’t even want to audition Thomas because he said he liked Steely Dan and Graham Parker). But Costello fired Thomas in 1996; conventional wisdom holds because of unflattering characterizations of Costello in Thomas’ book The Big Wheel. In 2003, Thomas told Mojo magazine it was actually because of Costello’s jealousy that he was romantically involved with Cait O’Riordan from the Pogues and irritation that he was improvising too much in concert. When asked about Thomas, Costello once said simply, “I only play with professional musicians.”
27. Anthony Kiedis vs. Mike Patton
When Red Hot Chili Peppers’ frontman Anthony Kiedis saw the video for Faith No More’s 1990 hit “Epic,” he felt like he was being mocked and ripped off by FNM’s singer Mike Patton; he later said it was “like I was looking in the mirror.” The two bands threatened each other in the press but the feud soon fizzled. In 1999 it was resurrected when related-band Mr. Bungle appeared at a Halloween show as the “Red Hot Chili Peppers,” mockingly performing RHCP songs in-costume as the band. Kiedis was not amused and had Mr. Bungle removed from the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand, threatening not to perform with RHCP if Mr. Bungle was on the bill.
26. Brian Jonestown Massacre vs. The Dandy Warhols
You know a rock beef is epic when it’s the subject of an entire documentary. The 2004 film Dig! tells the story of these two ‘90s West Coast bands with psychedelic leanings who began in mutual admiration but ended up at war. Brian Jonestown Massacre’s leader Anton Newcombe has never been the most peaceable type; he’s fired or alienated many of his band members (Dig! depicts him being heckled and pelted with tomatoes by a particularly disgruntled former member at a gig). It’s not exactly clear why relations between Newcombe and the Dandy Warhols’ Courtney Taylor-Taylor turned sour, but jealousy over the Dandy Warhols finding greater success with a more palatable version of a similar sound seems likely. Whatever the reason, Newcombe went on the offensive, sending the Dandy Warhols a package of shotgun shells as a veiled threat.
25. Oasis vs. Blur
Similar to the supposed rivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the rivalry between Oasis and Blur was largely concocted by the English press, though the Gallagher brothers were glad to oblige with some provocative quotes. Initially supportive of each other, tensions between the two bands had been building for months when, in August 1995, the two released singles on the same day, which the press seized on and dubbed “the Battle of Britpop.” Blur won, selling 58,000 more copies of its single than Oasis, whose management came up with various excuses; there were two versions of Blur’s single and supposedly problems with Oasis’ single’s barcode. Noel’s response was more succinct; he said he wished Blur would “catch AIDS and die.” He later apologized.
24. Noel Gallagher vs. Liam Gallagher
During the 18 years that Oasis was a band, brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, when not drinking, drugging and making outrageous statements to the press, bickered constantly. One imagines the fighting went back decades, but the first public signs emerged in 1996, when Liam refused to perform with Oasis at a taping of MTV Unplugged in England, opting to heckle the band from the balcony. He then refused to fly to America with Oasis, but joined the tour later and drunkenly acted out during a performance at the MTV VMAs, prompting Noel to fly back to England alone. The next dozen years proceeded similarly, with the two brothers constantly at odds as Liam’s substance abuse led to bar fights and botched or cancelled concerts. In 2009, Noel quit the band, issuing a statement that read in part, “I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
23. Ray Davies vs. Dave Davies
Among feuds between brothers in bands, the enmity between the Kinks’ Ray and Dave Davies is unparalleled. The two have been at each other’s throats for decades, physically fighting onstage, in the studio and basically anywhere they’re forced to co-exist (Ray once stabbed Dave in the chest with a fork for stealing one of his chips in a restaurant). The issues between the two are many, but basically Dave feels Ray has never given him enough credit for his contributions to the band and is a hateful, pretentious narcissist. Ray is less frank about the subject; generally saying in interviews only that he wishes they could get along and perhaps even reform. This seems unlikely; when Kinks’ bassist Pete Quaife died in 2010, Ray couldn’t persuade Dave to perform with him at the funeral.
22. Chris Robinson vs. Rich Robinson
A lot of bands go through ugly break-ups, but when its members are brothers, a break-up becomes a family feud. When southern rockers the Black Crowes shot to fame in the 1990s, singer Chris and guitarist Rich were quickly at odds, as Chris’ erratic behavior got the band kicked off tours opening for ZZ Top and Aerosmith. On VH1’s Behind The Music, Chris relayed a story in which Rich told the band’s crew that anyone who got Chris drugs was fired and he retaliated by announcing that anyone who didn’t get him drugs was fired. Not surprisingly, the band has broken up many times over the years but remains active today. In 2010, Chris told the New York Post, “We really don’t like each other, but we love each other. Man, we still fight, but that’s what siblings do.”
21. Aerosmith vs. Steven Tyler
It’s pretty remarkable for a band to maintain the same line-up for more than four decades. Aerosmith has done it, but not without some shake-ups and strife over the years. In 1979, with drug use aggravating intra-band tensions, lead guitarist Joe Perry left Aerosmith, with rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford following two years later. Both rejoined in 1984, but by 2009 the band was unraveling again, with lead singer Steven Tyler, having recently fallen offstage during a concert, hinting he was leaving the band to work on “Brand Tyler.” Aerosmith began auditioning replacements for Tyler, who returned to the band but then became a judge on American Idol, infuriating Perry. The band’s now “Back In The Saddle” with a new album due this year but it probably won’t be long until it sees another Night In The Ruts.
20. Neil Young vs. Stephen Stills
When Neil Young and Stephen Stills came together in the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1966, it began a rivalry that would last for decades. With the advantage of hindsight, Young clearly dominates, but at the time Stills was treated as the star of the band. Meanwhile, he ridiculed Young’s singing voice while speaking to audiences onstage and had little tolerance for his struggles with epilepsy. Stills continued to antagonize Young as the partnership continued in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which is probably why Young disappears from the line-up for years at a time.
19. The Eagles vs. each other
In the 1970s, the Eagles soared on the album charts and airwaves, releasing a long run of soft rock hits. But all this success came at a price; as the new decade dawned, its members were at each other’s throats. It all came to a head at a concert in Long Beach, Calif., in July 1980. Singer Glenn Frey and guitarist Don Felder spent the evening threatening each other onstage, with Felder telling Frey toward the end of the show, “Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal.” The band broke up, but still owed its record company a live album, so this was produced by Frey and singer Don Henley on opposite coasts since they couldn’t stand to be in the same studio together. Asked that year when the band would get back together, Henley responded “when hell freezes over.” So when the band reformed to tour 14 years later, it called the subsequent live album Hell Freezes Over.
18. The Yardbirds vs. Jeff Beck
In 1966, English rockers the Yardbirds’ guitar chair became ridiculously over-gunned when Eric Clapton’s replacement Jeff Beck convinced Jimmy Page to join as well. It was a decision that would prove his undoing, as it made it easy to fire Beck when he had a temper tantrum onstage and ditched the band to fly to L.A. alone during a tour of the U.S. that fall. Page hijacked the Yardbirds, using it as launching board for Led Zeppelin, as Beck moved on to a successful solo career. But he apparently never got over his ejection from the band; when it was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, in his acceptance speech, Beck said, “Someone told me I should be proud tonight, but I’m not, because they kicked me out. Fuck them!”
17. Gregg Allman vs. Dickey Betts
Guitarist Dickey Betts joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1969, and, when its featured guitarist Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, became leader of the band. As the Allman Brothers Band continued (albeit on-again, off-again) for decades, this arrangement seemed permanent, but then, in 2000, Betts was suddenly forced out for what was only described as “personal and professional reasons” (according to Betts it was over his drinking and done via fax). Gregg Allman shed some light on the long-running feud in his 2012 autobiography, complaining of Betts being overbearing and difficult to work with: “We must have been pretty attached as a band to take that crap off of him for so long.”
16. John Fogerty vs. Creedence Clearwater Revival
Over the course of seven albums released in just five years from 1968 to 1972, Creedence Clearwater Revival established itself as one of the best rock bands in the world in what was at the time a crowded scene. But bandleader, guitarist and lead singer John Fogerty felt none of this would have been possible without him ruling the band with an iron fist. He may have been right, but it led Fogerty’s brother Tom to quit the CCR, and, still squabbling and suffering under an exploitive record contract, the band dissolved. When the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, Fogerty refused to perform with his two surviving former bandmates, who stormed out when he began to play with other musicians.
15. Levon Helm vs. Robbie Robertson
Given its emphasis on pastoral, communal living, original roots rockers the Band doesn’t really seem the type to get ripped apart by clashing egos and a movie, but that’s what happened. After decades on the road and nine albums, guitarist Robbie Robertson proposed the Band play a farewell concert to be filmed by Martin Scorsese. The other members agreed, but drummer and singer Levon Helm was extremely critical of the production’s emphasis on Robertson, celebrity guests and almost entirely overdubbed soundtrack. In his 1993 autobiography This Wheel’s On Fire, he called it “the biggest fuckin’ rip-off that ever happened to the Band” and also ripped into Robertson for claiming he wrote all the Band’s songs; asserting they were actually written collaboratively. His hatred for Robertson was so intense that when fellow Band-member Rick Danko died in 1999 and Robertson showed up at the funeral, Helm refused to enter. The two reportedly made up on Helm’s death bed this year.
14. Keith Richards vs. Mick Jagger
It unfolded over decades, eventually growing so bad the Glimmer Twins stopped speaking to each other. The basic story is this; in the ‘70s, Keith Richards descended into drug addiction while Mick Jagger ascended to the jet-set lifestyle of the rich and famous and took total control of the Rolling Stones. When Richards cleaned up (relatively speaking) and tried to reassume some portion of control of the band, Jagger refused to comply. Then, in the mid-’80s, Jagger began a solo career, further infuriating Richards, who lives and dies by the Stones. The band broke up for about three years. They reformed but the squabbling continued; in Richards’ 2010 autobiography Life, he says Jagger has a small penis and uses vocal coaches and dance instructors, brags about bagging Jagger’s one-time girlfriend Marianne Faithfull and complains about everything about him at length. Richards has since apologized.
13. Keith Richards vs. Chuck Berry
Keith Richards openly admits to ripping off Chuck Berry; when he inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Richards joked, “It’s hard for me to induct Chuck Berry, because I lifted every lick he ever played.” So when the two got together that year to rehearse a band for a concert celebrating Berry’s 60th birthday, captured in the film Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, it was time for Berry to get even. He deliberately played too loud and ignored Richards’ requests to turn down, berated Richards, and made him play parts of his songs again and again until he was satisfied he’d played them exactly right. In 1997, Richards told Guitar World magazine, “Well, Chuck’s difficult. And he’s hard to handle at times.”
12. John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney
They comprised one of the greatest songwriting partnerships of all time and were close friends, but by the time the Beatles broke up, the two seemed to loathe each other and spent years trading barbs in the press. The bad blood filtered into the music as well; in 1971, Paul McCartney recorded and released “Too Many People,” which took John Lennon to task for his armchair political activism. Lennon responded quickly with the more pointed “How Do You Sleep?” Sample lyrics: “Those freaks was right when they said you was dead.” George Harrison contributed slide guitar to the track, making it clear which side he was on.
11. John Lennon vs. Bob Dylan
John Lennon and Bob Dylan were friends since their earliest days of stardom; the 1966 documentary Eat The Document shows the two in the backseat of a limo, Lennon sardonically mocking Dylan for being too stoned (of course Lennon later admitted he was as well). But 13 years later both were in different headspaces; Lennon had retired from music to be a stay-at-home dad while Dylan was a born-again Christian cutting religiously themed material. One example was “Serve Somebody,” which Lennon was reportedly incensed by; objecting to its “mediocre” musicianship, “pathetic” vocals and “embarrassing” words. He even recorded a response called “Serve Yourself,” which was never released. If Dylan ever heard about it he’s not holding a grudge; his new album ends with a tribute to Lennon.
10. George Harrison vs. Paul McCartney
Disagreement between Paul McCartney and George Harrison boiled over during the filmed sessions for the Beatles’ album Let It Be, when, while rehearing the song “Two Of Us,” Harrison became sufficiently fed up with McCartney’s instruction on what and how to play that he announced he was quitting the band and left (John Lennon was unconcerned and suggested they hire Eric Clapton as a replacement). Harrison returned quickly and the band completed two more albums before breaking up, after which Harrison released his first proper solo album, All Things Must Pass, a three-disc set -- he later complained that McCartney’s emphasis of his own songs led the band to disregard Harrison’s, which is why the album was so long. Harrison’s disdain for McCartney lasted for years; in 1984, when McCartney issued Give My Regards to Broad Street, an album of re-recordings of his old songs, Harrison snipped in a television interview that he’d lost his creativity.
9. Paul McCartney vs. Yoko Ono
To say Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono got off on the wrong foot would be putting it mildly. According to John Lennon, when he and Ono were staying with McCartney when they first started dating, McCartney left them a note that said “You and your Jap tart think you’re hot shit.” The central issue was that Ono had started accompanying Lennon to the Beatles recording sessions; McCartney has complained that she’d even sit on his amp and he’d have to ask her to move to adjust the volume (in fairness, Ono later claimed that if she hadn’t gone with him, Lennon wouldn’t have showed up at all). In the decades that followed the breakup of the Beatles, McCartney and Ono kept at it, particularly after Lennon died, with songwriting credits being a central issue.
8. Allen Klein vs. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones
When the Beatles and the Rolling Stones first shot to fame in the early ‘60s, the press depicted them as rivals. This was fabricated; in reality, the two bands were friendly. The Beatles wrote a song for the Stones, members of both bands played at each other’s studio sessions and they even coordinated their album releases to avoid overlap. Who the Beatles and the Stones really had beef with was manager Allen Klein. When he took over management of the Beatles’ Apple Records, he quickly fired many employees and alienated the rest. McCartney’s disagreement with the other three Beatles about his involvement in the band was a key factor in its breakup. In managing the Stones, meanwhile, Klein tricked the band into signing over the rights to most of its songs recorded prior to 1971.
7. Mike Love vs. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones
The Beach Boys are well known for hating and constantly suing each other, but when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, singer Mike Love turned the invective outward, taking the occasion to put what he perceived as his competition on blast. Speaking last (tellingly, his band mates all left the stage), Love first called out Paul McCartney, “who couldn’t be here tonight because he’s in a lawsuit with Ringo and Yoko,” terming such “interstistine [sic] squabbles” a “bummer,” adding that “the mop-tops” couldn’t match the Beach Boys’ 180 performances a year. He then moved on to the Rolling Stones, stating “I’d like to see Mick Jagger get out on the stage and do ‘I Get Around’ versus ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ any day,” later adding, “He’s always been chickenshit to get onstage with the Beach Boys.”
6. Debbie Harry vs. former Blondie members
Inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sometimes get ugly, as feuding musicians are suddenly placed onstage together for the first time in years. This was the case when Blondie was inducted into the hall in 2006 and Debbie Harry refused to appear perform with former members Nigel Harrison, Gary Valentine and Frank Infante. The three were allowed to give acceptance speeches, however, with each complaining about not being included in the live performance, none more animatedly than Infante, who baited Harry from the podium, asking if they could play. Harry walked over and retorted, “Can’t you see my band is up here?” Harrison then added, “It’s nice to see everyone out of the courtroom.”
5. Dave Mustaine vs. Metallica, everybody
When Dave Mustaine was unceremoniously kicked out of Metallica in 1983 basically for being an angry drunk, it began a 20-year-long feud. No matter how much he accomplished with his subsequent band Megadeth, Mustaine has never seemed over his ejection from Metallica (the band’s 2004 documentary Some Kind Of Monster shows him crying about it to Lars Ulrich). But Mustaine seems to beef with everyone he meets; former band members, other musicians, even the President of the United States – he recently accused President Obama of staging this summer’s shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin. This hardly seems fair, since unlike Mustaine’s other enemies, Obama is unable to respond with a shredding guitar solo.
4. Billy Corgan vs. Courtney Love
Among rock beefs this one is, perhaps, the perfect storm; two temperamental, faded rockers with giant egos, neither much for reason or logic, go at each other. They’d been friends -- at one point romantically linked -- for 15 years when, in spring 2010, Love released her solo album Nobody’s Daughter, which contained four songs co-written by Corgan, who complained to Rolling Stone that her use of these songs was unauthorized. Love issued a typically incoherent apology on Facebook but Corgan was evidently unmoved; he took to Twitter to rip into Love’s abilities as a parent and songwriter and take her to task for exploiting Kurt Cobain’s legacy.
3. Courtney Love vs. Dave Grohl
In the 18 years since Kurt Cobain died, relations between his widow and the surviving members of Nirvana have gotten progressively worse, with most of the venom centered on Dave Grohl. It seemed to start when Grohl went on Howard Stern in the late ‘90s, was asked to name his favorite song of Love’s and replied, “‘Teenage Whore,’ because I know she wrote it.” Love now claims this is the reason she hates him, and also that Cobain hated him, that he’s stolen money from her and, most recently, that he hit on her daughter with Cobain, a charge Grohl denies.
2. Axl Rose vs. Slash
Axl Rose beefs with seemingly everyone he works with, but no one more seriously than Guns N’ Roses’ former lead guitarist Slash. Their personal and professional relationship had been deteriorating for years when, in fall 1996, Slash announced he had quit the band. Axl quickly shot back, sending a fax to MTV stating that he had fired Slash because he lost his “‘dive in and find the monkey’ attitude.” The acrimony continues to this day; Axl refused to appear when GNR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year and when asked about it, Slash told Rolling Stone, “[Axl] hates my guts.”
1. Van Halen vs. David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony
For the last three decades, Van Halen has been pretty much one big beef. Despite the band’s declaration Women And Children First, David Lee Roth was the first to jump ship, sick of guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s drug addiction and dissatisfied with the band’s musical direction (he later called it “morose”). The band enlisted Sammy Hagar as its new frontman but after a decade he was out as well, with Van Halen claiming he quit and Hagar that he was fired. Roth briefly rejoined but offended Eddie by joking about his hip replacement surgery at the 1996 MTV VMAs. In 2004, Hagar returned for three new songs and a tour, which was a fiasco, with Eddie so drunk it affected his playing at some shows. In 2007, Roth finally rejoined for a tour that omitted bassist Michael Anthony, who had alienated Eddie with misbehaviors such as using the band’s name in promoting his signature hot sauce. When the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year, Hagar and Anthony were the only members who showed up.