The thread about live music made me think of this question: does any band have a non cover song that they only play live and has never been on studio album?
Yes: “Clap” - this acoustic guitar showcase by Steve Howe has been played hundreds of times in concert, and a live version appeared on the otherwise studio The Yes Album (where it was misttled “The Clap”).
Frank Zappa had tons of songs that he released only on live albums although he often blurred the line between live and studio.
The post original lineup Guns N Roses have a song called Silkworms that’s only been played live, though it’s a likely candidate for a future album if there’s ever one.
I heard Weird Al perform a parody of the Friends theme, The Rembrandt’s “I’ll Be There For You” called “I Will Drill For You” that I don’t think ever made it onto a studio album. I’m sure it hasn’t been played since that tour though (1997).
I think John Cage only ever performed 4’33" live.
The Who played Roadrunner only live as well as some blues songs such as Spoon which would be played as part of a medley live. Phish has played a lot of cover songs and albums only live such as The Who’s Quadrophenia and the Talking Head’s Remain In Light.
edit: never mind, OP wants non-cover songs.
There’s also “Chicken Pot Pie” as McCartney didn’t want it recorded. I think there’s one or two more.
Part of the answer depends on what is meant by “studio album”. It’s incredibly common for bands to perform songs that are only available on B-sides, EPs, or soundtracks/collections.
In addition, many bands break the songs in live before ever recording them.
Ruling these out, I can list a few bands off of the top of my head that I know have done this. Most notable is Neutral Milk Hotel, who have several songs of this nature, including “Ferris Wheel on Fire”, “Oh Sister”, “Little Birds”, and several others, some of which don’t even have known names.
This inspired me to check. Amazon is selling the single version for 89 cents, believe it or not. Wikipedia also lists officially released covers of it too.
That was posthumous; Cage doesn’t seem to have been involved at all.
Yeah, I checked that list before posting. But as far as I could tell – and as per the OP – Cage only ever performed it live.
Did Cage ever perform it at all? The famous premiere was performed by David Tudor. Cage was a composer, not a performer or recording artist as we usually think of those terms (although he did a little of both), so he hardly counts for this thread.
Plenty of Grateful Dead songs were never released in studio versions: “Bertha,” “Tennessee Jed,” “He’s Gone,” “Jack Straw,” “Wharf Rat,” etc.
Pretty sure Phish had a few like these, too. I don’t think “Suzy Greenberg” was ever on a studio album, for instance.
Famously, Pearl Jam’s Yellow Ledbetter.
Ah, that’s true. Forgot about that one. There’s a studio version of it (obviously, as that’s what gets played on the radio), but it didn’t appear on any album, just a B-side. If we’re going that way, there’s some Beatles song that should qualify, right. Like “Lady Madonna” off the top of my head. Although I don’t think that the Beatles ever performed it live (although McCartney did.)
Nine Inch Nails - Now I’m Nothing
Written for Lolla '91, performed a few times since, never recorded in studio.
I’d say about 15% of the set of every White Stripes show I’ve seen would qualify.
Plenty of Neil Young stuff, including the whole of the Time Fades Away album.
Tom Waits’ Nighthawks At The Diner is another live album of songs not available as studio recordings.
There’s a few Springsteen originals that haven’t been released as studio recordings - Bishop Danced, Thundercrack and Seeds are ones from official live releases, but there’s several more, as well as loads of covers.
The Allman Brothers only did “Mountain Jam” live (though it’s on several live albums).
Same with “Hot 'Lanta.”
Wet Willie only did “Macon Hambone Blues” live.
When I saw Pink Floyd live in 1974, they encored with a blues jam that I’m pretty sure was original and which they never recorded in the studio. It was so different from their usual music that is was very effective in preventing calls for a second encore (the concert was over two hours, anyway – and they only played nine songs).
Without time to check - Peter Gabriel’s ‘I Go Swimming’? I think its on a live recording but not on studio albums as far as I know.
MiM