10 More Rock Songs That Insulted Other Musicians
8. Smooth Dancer - Deep Purple
Deep Purple have had more members than the US Senate at this point, as people have cycled in and out of the group at an alarming pace over the years.
The group's current vocalist Ian Gillan has taken a couple of hiatuses from the band, the first of which started in 1973 not long after the release of the album Who Do We Think We Are.
Gillan had foreshadowed his departure in a song he wrote for the record called Smooth Dancer. On the surface, it's your classic Purple rocker with a heavy riff and Gillan's distinctive gravelly voice.
Lying below the crust though is a man very unhappy with one of his bandmates.
Behind the scenes, Gillan and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore did not get on. The singer was tired of Blackmore's controlling nature and felt like he was a bit of a poser.
In the lyrics of Smooth Dancer, Gillan mocked Blackmore's dress sense and his inflated sense of self, remarking "Though you try to make me think you're magical/I think you're crazy."
How these two ever reconciled well enough to play together again in 1984 is a miracle.