# Songs based on rehearsal riffs and such **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 1, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640 "2021-11-01T17:42:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/1 "2021-11-01T17:42:08Z")
Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk was an expansion on Lindsey Buckingham’s sound check riff, and TIL that ZZ Top’s La Grange started the same way. Educate me, Dopers. What other well-known songs started out as throw-away riffs? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/2 "2021-11-01T17:49:46Z")
I’m pretty sure that was the story behind “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N Roses. Slash was practicing some sort of broken chord riff and the band were like “hey! that’s cool!” and the song grew behind it. Let me see if I can find some cite for that. Well, this is was Wikipedia says. This is similar to what I heard: > During a [jam session](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_session) at the band’s house in the [Sunset Strip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Strip),[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Child_o%27_Mine#cite_note-qmag-8) drummer [Steven Adler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Adler) and Slash were warming up and Slash began to play a “circus” melody while making faces at Adler. Rhythm guitarist [Izzy Stradlin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izzy_Stradlin) asked Slash to play it again. Stradlin came up with some chords, [Duff McKagan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duff_McKagan) created a [bassline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassline) and Adler planned a beat. In [his autobiography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(autobiography)), Slash said “within an hour my guitar exercise had become something else”. Lead singer [Axl Rose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axl_Rose) was listening to the musicians upstairs in his room and was inspired to write lyrics, which he completed by the following afternoon.[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Child_o%27_Mine#cite_note-slash-9) [Sweet Child o' Mine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Child_o%27_Mine#:~:text=Lead%20singer%20Axl%20Rose%20was,d%20got%20that%20heartfelt%20feeling%22). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/3 "2021-11-01T18:27:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > and TIL that ZZ Top’s La Grange started the same way. I can’t hear that riff without thinking that he was just riffing fast on “Spirit in the Sky”. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/4 "2021-11-01T18:27:44Z")
I recall an interview where Joe Walsh’s Funk 49 started as a warmup exercise riff. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/5 "2021-11-01T18:28:34Z")
According to Bill Wyman’s autobiography “Stone Alone” and the book “The Rolling Stones - All The Songs”, the bass player came up with the riff for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” played on keyboards while jamming in the studio with only Charlie and Brian. When Mick came in, he told them not to stop and repeat the riff. A few weeks later, Mick and Keith came to the studio with the riff worked out to the final song, and in usual Glimmer Twins fashion, Wyman didn’t get a credit. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/6 "2021-11-01T18:36:20Z")
Rush’s Geddy Lee said in an interview that the synth riff in Tom Sawyer was something he played during soundchecks. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/7 "2021-11-01T18:40:38Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > and TIL that ZZ Top’s La Grange started the same way. > > I can’t hear that riff without thinking that he was just riffing fast on “Spirit in the Sky”. IANAG, but I’ve always heard the “LaGrange” riff as a pretty standard progression that’s at the core of hundreds of songs. That doesn’t make the song any less awesome, of course. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/8 "2021-11-01T18:43:28Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > IANAG, but I’ve always heard the “LaGrange” riff as a pretty standard progression that’s at the core of hundreds of songs. That doesn’t make the song any less awesome, of course. This, for instance ca. 157 John Lee Hooker songs and this by Canned Heat (which is older than “Spirit In The Sky)”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lfdbZlwahKc/maxresdefault.jpg "Canned Heat - Fried Hockey Boogie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfdbZlwahKc) ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/9 "2021-11-01T18:46:01Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > … ca. 157 John Lee Hooker songs … Yes, exactly. The Record Company has been closing shows with a cover of Hooker’s “Boom Boom” that demonstrates how foundational he is to their sound and so many others. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/10 "2021-11-01T18:46:39Z")
“American Woman” by The Guess Who. From Wikipedia (emphasis mine): > The music and lyrics of the song were improvised on stage during a concert in [Southern Ontario](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ontario)[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Woman#cite_note-superseventies.com-10) (the guitarist, [Randy Bachman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Bachman), recalled it being at a concert in [Kitchener](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchener,_Ontario),[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Woman#cite_note-Prato-11) although [Burton Cummings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_Cummings), the lead singer, said it was at the Broom and Stone, a [curling rink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling_rink) in [Scarborough](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarborough,_Toronto)).[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Woman#cite_note-Ouzounian-12) **Bachman was playing notes while tuning his guitar after replacing a broken string, and he realized he was playing a new riff that he wanted to remember.** He continued playing it and the other band members returned to the stage and joined in, creating a [jam session](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_session) in which Cummings improvised the lyrics.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Woman#cite_note-Prato-11) They noticed a kid with a cassette recorder making a [bootleg recording](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootleg_recording) and asked him for the tape.[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Woman#cite_note-BurtonRecalls-13) They listened to the tape and noted down the words that Cummings had extemporized, and which he later revised. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/11 "2021-11-01T19:04:06Z")
REM’s “Losing My Religion” grew out of a riff Peter Buck recorded while he was figuring out how to play the mandolin. > Buck said that “when I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there’s what became ‘Losing My Religion’, and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin.” > **[Losing My Religion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losing_My_Religion)** > > "Losing My Religion" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in February 1991 as the first single and the second track from the group's seventh album, Out of Time (1991). Built on a mandolin riff, the song was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering extensive airplay on radio as well as on MTV and VH1 due to its critically acclaimed music video. The single became R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and expanding the ... ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/12 "2021-11-01T19:20:58Z")
Kansas, Dust In the Wind. Per wikipedia (and my memory of watching “Miracles Out of Nowhere”) Kerry Livgren devised what would be the guitar line for “Dust in the Wind” as a finger exercise for learning fingerpicking. His wife, Vicci, heard what he was doing, remarked that the melody was nice, and encouraged him to write lyrics for it ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/13 "2021-11-01T20:13:42Z")
I’ve seen several places that “Thunderstruck” from AC/DC arose from a finger picking practice that Angus Young did. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/14 "2021-11-01T20:14:06Z")
Rumble by Link Wray. > At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in early 1958, attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds’ “The Stroll”, Link Wray & His Ray Men came up with the instrumental “Rumble”, which they originally called “Oddball”. It was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night. > **[Rumble (instrumental)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble_(instrumental))** > > "Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Wray Men. Released in the United States on March 31, 1958, as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side), "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and tremolo, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. > In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles. > At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in early 1958, while attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds' "The Stroll", Link... j ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/15 "2021-11-01T20:29:21Z")
Not exactly the same, but the theme to _The Smothers Brothers Show_ (their controversial variety show, not the earlier sitcom) was inspired by a mistake someone made while playing the novelty song _Cinderella Rockefella_ > **[Cinderella Rockefella](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_Rockefella)** > > "Cinderella Rockefella" is a novelty song written by Mason Williams and Nancy Ames. It was originally recorded and released by Israeli folk duo Esther & Abi Ofarim on their 1967 album 2 in 3. It became an international hit single in 1968. > Esther Ofarim and the Smothers Brothers first performed "Cinderella Rockefella" on the CBS variety program The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in April 1967. Mason Williams, who co-wrote the song, was a writer for the series. Ofarim recorded the song with her ... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BBjI1aC4yCM/maxresdefault.jpg "Esther & Abi Ofarim "Cinderella Rockefella" | Archive INA") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBjI1aC4yCM) > **[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smothers_Brothers_Comedy_Hour)** > > The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. > The series was a major success, especially considering it was scheduled against the major NBC television series Bonanza, with content that appealed to contemporary youth viewership with daring political satire humor and major music acts such as Buffalo Springfield, Pete Seeger, Cream, and the Who. Despite this success, continu... [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VdyBJoM22cI/hqdefault.jpg "Smothers Brothers Theme Music - Mason Williams") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdyBJoM22cI) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/16 "2021-11-01T20:32:17Z")
There are plenty of “check one”'s in dance music (I think it comes from West Indian sound system culture?) Though arguable how many are actually sound checks: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/84ZyRbb20-4/maxresdefault.jpg "Inspection (Check One) (Remastered)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84ZyRbb20-4) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/17 "2021-11-01T20:52:00Z")
Oh and also the classic intro to Poison by the Prodigy (NSFW lyrics, specifically “Someone on the phone for you man. F_ck sake trying to write this f_cking tune man”): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y0r4FYv_Kxk/hqdefault.jpg "The Prodigy - Poison (from the "Music For The Jilted Generation" album)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0r4FYv_Kxk) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/18 "2021-11-01T22:13:04Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > According to Bill Wyman’s autobiography “Stone Alone” and the book “The Rolling Stones - All The Songs”, the bass player came up with the riff for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” played on keyboards while jamming in the studio with only Charlie and Brian. When Mick came in, he told them not to stop and repeat the riff. A few weeks later, Mick and Keith came to the studio with the riff worked out to the final song, and in usual Glimmer Twins fashion, Wyman didn’t get a credit. Ry Cooder has claimed that he was riffing in the studio and the Stone recorded it. Then they used the tape for several songs, including “Honky Tonk Woman.” ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_McQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Steve\_McQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_McQwark)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/19 "2021-11-01T22:33:10Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I recall an interview where Joe Walsh’s Funk 49 started as a warmup exercise riff. Here’s an interview where Joe Walsh describes “Life in the Fast Lane” starting as an exercise. Apparently he’s really good at exercising. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DyMGNpRZyas/maxresdefault.jpg "Joe Walsh Tells Paul Shaffer How A Practice Lick Became An Iconic Eagles Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyMGNpRZyas) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640/20 "2021-11-01T22:34:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > According to Bill Wyman’s autobiography “Stone Alone” and the book “The Rolling Stones - All The Songs”, the bass player came up with the riff for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” played on keyboards while jamming in the studio with only Charlie and Brian. When Mick came in, he told them not to stop and repeat the riff. A few weeks later, Mick and Keith came to the studio with the riff worked out to the final song, and in usual Glimmer Twins fashion, Wyman didn’t get a credit. > > Ry Cooder has claimed that he was riffing in the studio and the Stone recorded it. Then they used the tape for several songs, including “Honky Tonk Woman.” Yeah, also Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood and Billy Preston had enough influence on some of the Stones’ recordings to had have deserved credit (better credit than “Inspiration by Ron Wood/Billy Preston” ). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-based-on-rehearsal-riffs-and-such/953640.md?page=2)