Recording Artists Who HATE Their Biggest Hits

It always used to come as a surprise to me when I would hear that a recording artist hated some of their own records. I've heard rumors about Elvis really hating a lot of the drivel he was forced to record for his movies, but as far as I know, I guess he like most of his hits. With one possible exception and that is , "Can't Help Falling in Love." I've heard studio out takes where he makes it clear he either doesn't like the song or he's tired of singing it. Again, just my take on that one, but there are three really great examples of artists who didn't like their hits.

According to a recent article in People Magazine:

1. Neil Young - Heart of Gold - Young has not performed the song in person for about 40 years. that should give you some idea of the disdain Young has for his own million seller! Young refers to the song as a "bore."

2. Frank Sinatra - Strangers in the Night - Frank didn't just dislike this song. He hated it. Always a crowd pleaser, Sinatra forced himself to sing this song in concert, but he made no bones about how much he hated the whole song.

3. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven - To quote Robert Plant: "I'd break out in hives if I had to sing that song in every show."

A few honorable mentions are: REM - Shiny, Happy People - Michael Stipe calls it, "a fruity pop song."

Warrant- Cherry Pie" - Jani Lane, who wrote the song is quoted as saying, "I could shoot myself in the head for writing that song." I'd say he's not fond of it.

Here is a link to the People Magazine article