10 Greatest Posthumous Rock Songs
Death is not the end.
It's never an easy thing to deal with death in the music world. Even though many artists continue to work until their dying day, even the most legendary acts can't escape the mortal existence that we all must face. While some bands get to enjoy their success in the moment, some of their greatest material ends up surfacing long after they've gone.
Whether it was a label dispute or just a problem with management, these songs never saw the light of day until it was too late. Though fans can still relate to songs like this, the artist in question was beyond the grave before it was actually put out.
From rough demos to sketches of classics to completed songs, each of these tracks make you feel like you're peeking behind the curtain to see how your favorite artists actually work. Ranging from rock stomper tracks to beautiful ballads to unfinished fragments, each of these songs give you more context as to where these artists were in the creative process before they passed away.
These artists might not be here anymore to answer any of our questions, but we at least have the vicariousness of these songs to draw from. Give these a spin and take some time to reflect.
10. Bonzo's Montreux - Led Zeppelin
It made sense for Led Zeppelin to call it quits after John Bonham's tragic passing. After the legendary drummer was found dead of alcohol poisoning in the early '80s, there was no way the surviving members of Zeppelin could have found any other skinsman to replace him. Though Bonzo left us way too soon, we did end up getting a few scraps on the album Coda.
Being the last official release of Zeppelin's glory period, Coda is a bit of a hodgepodge of different outtakes from the group's vault. While there aren't too many fantastic songs, Bonzo's Montreux is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest percussionists in rock and roll. Built around the different solos that he would play live, this song was meant to be assembled together as Bonham's drum showcase before he died, only to have mortality take a different course.
Even though Jimmy Page tries to add different modulations with a harmonizer, the moment belongs to Bonham, who practically teaches a master class on how to eloquently assault your kit. The legendary drummer may have only been there in spirit then, but a drum performance as good as this showed just how much life Bonham had at the best of times.