10 Classic Songs With Killer Guest Stars
Beat It wouldn't be the same without Eddie Van Halen.
It's every musician's dream to make a song that stands the test of time. No matter how much money it tends to rake in from being played everywhere, the main goal is to create a song that will last long after your star has faded from memory. Then again, sometimes it's better if you have some help from a friend.
For as many artists have amazing cuts on their own, there have been plenty of songs that have become classic when someone else stepped in. Whether it be helping out with a vocal line here and there or just delivering the perfect background instrument, these songs didn't really come alive until we got these additional personnel.
Whereas most artists make a big deal about their guest stars, these little features were often left as surprises that only the diehard fans knew about. Sometimes the experiment ends up going so well that the artists become frequent collaborators, often appearing on each others songs on more than one occasion.
Plenty of artists have tried to sell their songs based on their guests' name recognition, but these are the surprises that wowed fans back in the day and continue to hold up now. These songs may have had a solid foundation, but once these sonic duets were created, they became monumental.
10. Right Turn - Alice In Chains
In the grand scheme of grunge bands, there was no one darker than Alice in Chains.
Though bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden had their moments of dark material in their catalog, these guys were the closest thing to a metal band that the Seattle scene ever spit out, with songs that would make Black Sabbath proud. Even though they could write some of the heaviest riffs imaginable, they still had their mellow side as well.
Long before the band became famous for acoustic material on Jar of Flies, the SAP EP was one of the band's first forays into acoustic music.
The whole album had a slapdash delivery, but the real magic came when you got to "Right Turn." Though we had gotten used to hearing both Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley harmonize with each other across the band's material, there are quite a few more vocalists at play here.
Towards the outro of the song, the band invited all of their friends to sing, with Chris Cornell, Mark Arm from Mudhoney and the Wilson sisters from Heart all chipping in on the final verses.
The supergroup assembled ended up being so distinct that the band credited the song to "Alice MudGarden." "Right Turn" would have made a fine acoustic song on its own, but this little tidbit makes you feel like a fly on the wall in the studio as the band were cutting these tracks.