The 10 most unexpected musical collaborations
Sometimes, two artists from entirely different genres unite and work surprisingly well together, proving that musicians don’t need to limit themselves to one sound in order to succeed. Over the years, there have been countless collaborations between artists that many could never have predicted – with some much more successful than others.
Alternative rock fans were most likely shocked in 1990 when they turned on Sonic Youth’s Goo to discover a feature from Public Enemy’s Chuck D. However, the collaboration, with the rapper riffing off vocalist Kim Gordon’s self-mocking quips, worked perfectly.
Other unexpected collaborations have not been so successful, such as Lou Reed’s final full-length project, Lulu, which he made with Metallica. Although there was definitely potential for two of rock music’s biggest stars to make something interesting, the result was lacklustre, to say the least. Yet it wasn’t as bad as Weezer collaborating with Lil Wayne.
From Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ collaboration with Kylie Minogue to Queen’s Brian May featuring on a Dappy track, here are ten of the most unexpected musical collaborations, both good and bad.
The 10 most unexpected musical collaborations:
10. David Bowie and Bing Crosby – ‘Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy’
Not long before the classic crooner Bing Crosby passed away aged 74 in 1977, he recorded a duet with David Bowie, who was now a firmly established rock icon. Despite both of them being megastars, their collaboration was somewhat unexpected due to the different genres and scenes they operated in. Crosby’s son, Nathaniel, told Billboard, “It almost didn’t happen. I think the producers told him to take the lipstick off and take the earring out. It was just incredible to see the contrast.”
Yet, the pair’s Christmas cover, recorded for Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, was a commercial success, becoming one of Bowie’s highest-selling singles. These days, Crosby and Bowie’s unlikely collab is remembered every festive period as it remains a staple Christmas classic.
9. Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue – ‘Where Wild Roses Grow’
You would think that the only thing the gothic, vampiric-looking Nick Cave and pop sensation Kylie Minogue have in common is being Australian, yet, in 1995, they came together to create one of alternative rock’s most unexpected duets. The pair sang ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’, a moody cut from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ ninth album, Murder Ballads.
Cave explained (via Molly Meldrum presents 50 Years of Rock in Australia): “‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ was written very much with Kylie in mind. I’d wanted to write a song for Kylie for many years. I had a quiet obsession with her for about six years. I wrote several songs for her, none of which I felt was appropriate to give her. It was only when I wrote this song, which is a dialogue between a killer and his victim, that I thought, finally, I’d written the right song for Kylie to sing. I sent the song to her, and she replied the next day.”
8. Brian May and Dappy – ‘Rockstar’
Queen’s Brain May is widely considered one of the best guitarists of all time, writing some of the biggest hits in music history, such as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Will Rock You’. May’s success clearly hasn’t stopped him from making some questionable decisions – the worst being his collaboration with N-Dubz’s Dappy. In 2011, the pair teamed up for Dappy’s ‘Rockstar’, an incredibly bad track with unintentionally humorous lines such as “Mama always told that there’s someone looking over me/ Think she meant the guy with the camera tryna photo me.”
Dappy told the Daily Star: “Brian bigged me up for my last single and said I should win an Ivor Novello for lyrics. So I got his email and contacted him. It was a coincidence that track was called ‘Rockstar’. He told me, ‘You are a very different artist and unique, so carry on doing what you’re doing. There’s nobody else challenging you.'”
7. Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascal – ‘Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend’
In 2007, Arctic Monkeys followed up their phenomenal, chart-topping debut album with Favourite Worst Nightmare, which also went straight to number one. The Sheffield lads were suddenly darlings of the British indie scene, mixing Alex Turner’s observational storytelling, which depicted scenes of mid-2000s nightlife and youth culture, with infectious post-punk and alt-rock rhythms.
Thus, fans definitely didn’t expect the guitar band to feature a grime artist on the B-side ‘Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend’ from the Brianstorm EP, yet it was well-received. Rascal’s rap is a fun addition to the track, which pounds with a hip-hop-inspired beat. Later that year, they even performed the song at Glastonbury together, which went down a treat with the festival-goers.
6. Metallica and Lou Reed – Lulu
Lou Reed was one of the most influential artists ever, emerging from New York’s experimental scene as a member of The Velvet Underground in the 1960s, helping to pioneer genres from punk to noise rock. Moreover, as a solo artist, Reed released one of the most essential records of the 1970s – Transformer. However, in 2011, he made the unlikely decision to team up with the heavy metal rockers Metallica. The result was Lulu, an 87-minute project consisting of Reed performing spoken word over Metallica’s instrumentals, which critics absolutely slated.
The bizarre collaboration occurred after Reed and Metallica performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th-anniversary show. Sadly, the awful record ended up being Reed’s last full-length album before dying two years later.
5. Weezer and Lil Wayne – ‘Can’t Stop Partying’
Is ‘Can’t Stop Partying’ one of the worst songs Weezer has ever released? Most definitely. No level of satire can save the tragedy of this 2009 single, which featured rapper Lil Wayne. The track opens with awful “woahh ohh” refrains before lacklustre pop-rock beats back Rivers Cuomo as he sings, “I gotta have a lot of pretty girls around me/ Oh, I can’t stop partying, partying.” Then Lil Wayne joins in, rapping, “OK bitch, it’s Weezer, and it’s Weezy.”
According to Cuomo: “Weezer is always trying something new.” He praised Lil Wayne’s delivery, explaining, “He gave it the edge I was looking for. You can hear in his voice, it sounds so dark, like he was gonna get shot or something when he walks out of the studio.” We’re not so sure…
4. Sonic Youth and Chuck D – ‘Kool Thing’
In the 1980s, Sonic Youth built a reputation as one of alternative rock’s most impressive acts, becoming an underground cult favourite due to their use of unusual tunings, abrasive guitars and experimental song structures. However, by the decade’s end, Sonic Youth had gained mainstream success, aided by the release of their most accessible record, Goo. Although the album still featured the band’s signature caustic guitar tones, some tracks followed a more conventional pop structure, such as ‘Dirty Boots’ and ‘Kool Thing’.
The latter included a surprise feature from the hip-hop group Public Enemy’s Chuck D. Sonic Youth weren’t ones to have featured artists on their records, let alone someone from a completely different genre, yet it works so well. Although ‘Kool Thing’ isn’t the most typical Sonic Youth song, it’s one of their most unforgettable cuts.
3. Elton John and Queens of the Stone Age – ‘Fairweather Friends’
British icon Elton John is probably the last person you’d expect to see collaborating with the American hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Yet, John appeared on the stoner rockers’ sixth studio album, …Like Clockwork, playing the piano and providing additional vocals on the track ‘Fairweather Friends’. The unusual pairing occurred after lead singer Josh Homme’s old friend – a chauffeur – played John songs by Them Crooked Vultures, the vocalist’s other band.
Talking to The Pulse of Radio, Homme explained, “You know, [John] said, ‘The only thing missing from your band is an actual queen,’ and I said, ‘Honey, you have no idea.'” He shed further insight with NME, explaining, “After about 20 minutes, [John] was just like, ‘I’m gonna start flowering it out a little bit.’ To watch him do that was just fucking badass. We played for three-and-a-half hours. That’s how long it took to get it.”
2. Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Rihanna – ‘FourFiveSeconds’
Somehow, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Rihanna – three incredible musicians who excel in their respective fields – came together to make one of the worst songs of 2015 with ‘FourFiveSeconds’. The song, led by the former Beatles’ acoustic guitar, is incredibly dull and irritating, which is a real shame.
Talking to V, Rihanna said, “The thing that made me fall in love with [‘FourFiveSeconds’] is the juxtaposition of the music and the lyrics. When you read the lyrics, it’s a completely different song than what you are hearing. The music is easygoing, but the lyrical content is very loud and in your face.” Sadly, the finished result is far from enjoyable.
1. Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg – ‘My Medicine’ and ‘Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die’
Who would’ve thought that in 2009, Snoop Dogg would release a country song in collaboration with one of the genre’s most quintessential artists, Willie Nelson? Somehow, the iconic rapper pulls it off in a weirdly endearing way, introducing ‘My Medicine’ by saying, “Yeah, I like to dedicate this record right here to my main man/ Johnny Cash, a real American gangster.”
A few years later, in honour of 420, the cannabis-loving pals collaborated again on ‘Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die’. Funnily enough, Snoop even revealed that Nelson is the only person who has ever out-smoked him.
