The music industry is full of a lot of reverence. Most artists take time to give credit where credit is due, thanking their predecessors for inspiring their own careers or nodding to the younger generation for their talents. However, there are a fair few musicians that have negative opinions of their peers. Below, find four musicians who have (or had) one-way feuds with their fellow artists.
4 Artists That Had One-Way Feuds With Other Artists
1. Joni Mitchell v. Madonna
In terms of artistry, we can imagine two artists as opposite as Joni Mitchell and Madonna. Both are beloved icons that certainly did a lot for women in their respective genres. However, they have very different ideas for what an artist should be.
Mitchell once called Madonna’s flashy, sexually-charged music “Death to all things real.” While she said she understood the appeal of the pop artist’s schtick, it painted women as little more than “decorative.”
“I think women can be more than decorative,” Mitchell once said. “That’s an interesting idea, but what’s the difference between her and a hard hooker, you know? Who’s being exploited there? She’s reveling in herself, too. But she can take it. I guess that’s what it is. It’s just being able to take it, you know…There’s always been a market for it, but the danger is that she thinks she’s a role model. And it’s a terrible role model. It’s death to all things real.”
2. Elvis Presley v. the Beatles
Like many burgeoning rock stars, the Beatles look up to Elvis Presley. They greased back their hair and started attempting to find their own way into the genre. “Nothing affected me until I heard Elvis,” John Lennon once said. “Without Elvis, there would be no Beatles.”
While that praise might have been mutual for a moment, Presley famously slighted the Brit band in a letter to President Nixon. He called the band “anti-American,” a staunch jab from a famously patriotic musician.
“Presley indicated that he thought the Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit,” The National Archives reported. “He said that the Beatles came to this country, made their money, and then returned to England where they promoted an anti-American theme.”
[RELATED: 3 Musicians That Disliked The Beatles]
3. Kurt Cobain v. the Grateful Dead
Rock has taken many forms over the decades. There’s soft rock and punk rock, metal, and alternative. Given how much division there is in the genre, it stands to reason that one artist might not see the merit in another. Thus, artist feuds begin. Kurt Cobain–a trailblazer in grunge–one turned his nose up at psychedelia. In particular, he made some coded comments directed at the Grateful Dead.
Though he didn’t blatantly come out and wag his finger at the legendary group, he did wryly make comments about their titular tie-dye motif.
“You know what I hate about rock,” Cobain once said. “I hate tie-dyed tee-shirts. I wouldn’t wear a tie-dyed tee-shirt unless it was dyed with the urine of Phil Collins and the blood of Jerry Garcia.”
4. David Crosby v. The Rolling Stones
David Crosby wasn’t one to spare feelings. He routinely made his opinion known, no matter how egregious. One such opinion was his view of The Rolling Stones. The rock outfit is beloved by millions and widely considered one of the best rock bands of all time. Crosby, however, didn’t like their attitude.
“I think the major mistake was taking what was essentially a party and turning it into an ego game and a star trip of The Rolling Stones, who qualify in my book as snobs,” he once said. “I think they’re on a grotesque, negative ego trip, essentially, especially the two leaders.”
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
