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Super fans might think they know every song in their favorite artist’s discography, but on occasion, a song gets written and recorded but never publicly released. Sometimes tapes get lost, collaborators disagree, or artists simply change their minds. Whatever the reason, there are many tracks from the past several decades just waiting to be discovered.
Here are just four songs that were recorded but never released to get you started.
“Carnival of Light” – The Beatles
In 1967, The Beatles were commissioned for a song that would make its debut at the Million Volt Light and Sound Rave in London. Though the details of how they were commissioned have long been debated, nonetheless, the group had to record a song to premiere at the festival.
Inspired by the London avant-garde scene, the foursome recorded a song during a session for the hit “Penny Lane” called “Carnival of Light,” the sound of which was like nothing The Beatles had done before. Beatles scholar Mark Lewisohn said the nearly 14-minute-long track had “distorted, hypnotic drum and organ sounds, a distorted lead guitar, the sound of a church organ…and, perhaps most intimidating of all, Lennon and McCartney screaming dementedly and bawling aloud random phrases like ‘Are you alright?’ and ‘Barcelona!.”
The festival took place on January 28th and February 4th. “Carnival of Light” was played multiple times over the course of the festival and was the only time the song was ever publicly played.
Whether it was artistic clashing or just too ahead of its time, “Carnival of Light” hasn’t been publicly played or released since the festival in 1967.
“Chicken Pot Pie” – Weird Al Yankovic
Best known for his parodies of contemporary music, Weird Al wrote “Chicken Pot Pie” as a spoof of the 1973 Paul McCartney and Wings song “Live and Let Die.”
Although Weird Al is not legally required to receive permission from the artists he’s covering due to the 1994 Supreme Court case Campbell v Acuff-Rose Music, Inc, which stated that parodies are protected under fair use laws, Weird Al still seeks permission.
In an interview with Conan O’Brien, Weird Al explained that while McCartney was open to him doing a parody, he was not okay with “Chicken Pot Pie” due to his own vegetarian ways.
“Paul didn’t want me to do it because he’s a strict vegetarian, and he didn’t want a parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh,” Yankovic said. “He said, ‘You can do something else like tofu pot pie.’ I said, ‘No, the chorus of my song will be ‘Bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk’ and tofu doesn’t make any noise. It’s not going to work.”
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Some of the lyrics were, “When we were young Bernie’s Deli was down the block/He made great liver pâté/But if there’s one thing in this world that I like better than a corn beef on rye/It’s chicken pot pie.”
Weird Al respected McCartney’s rejection and never released the song. He did, however, perform parts of it on a few of his tours in the nineties.
“Others Here With Us” – Prince
In April of 1985, Prince and the Revolution recorded the track “Others Here With Us.” The song was scheduled to be on the album “Parade” but was removed before the album was released. “Others Here With Us” and several other Prince songs were considered for the 1986 musical “The Dawn,” but the musical never came to be, leaving the track left in the dust.
It was almost released on the “Crystal Ball Volume II” album due to being voted on by Prince: A Celebration attendees. The track was one of 17 chosen, but the project and track were abandoned. It has not been commercially released but was leaked, giving Prince fans a chance to hear it.
Fair warning: Prince’s vocals are accompanied by horror-induced screams and an unsettling feeling.
“Wooden Mask” or “The Wooden Bridge” – Genesis
English rock band Genesis has lost several tracks, including “Wooden Mask,” or “The Wooden Bridge.”
Mike Rutherford, the bassist, and guitarist of Genesis, spoke in an interview about these tracks, saying they recorded it in the studio but lost the recording. He said it was in 1972 or 1973, following Genesis’ 1971 album “Nursery Cryme.” Although Rutherford doesn’t quite remember how it sounded, he liked it and said he could partly sing it. He called it a “shame” that they lost the masters for it.
While it’s debated whether or not the songs were demo sketches or complete songs, Steve Hackett, lead guitarist of Genesis, said the track was a sketch, while Rutherford said they were complete takes. Either way, they both agreed “Wooden Mask” was a good song.
