# Sorry, we don't do ballads **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729 "2019-11-20T21:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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 20, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/1 "2019-11-20T21:32:15Z")
I’m looking for bands/artists who never do ballads. First that come to mind are AC/DC. I heard a long time ago an atrocious early ballad (which was certainly suggested by their record company) of theirs with their first forgotten singer Dave Evans on youtube , but after Bon Scott joined they never recorded anything you could call a ballad. They had slow blues like [Ride On](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUGvdxuQGQ) or [Night Prowler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX93gmyya7c), but you can’t call that a ballad IMHO. A similar case is Motörhead, but I only know their first six albums and don’t know if they later recorded ballads. Who else is there, can be any genre (though I suspect most will come from metal, punk/hardcore or industrial)? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/2 "2019-11-20T21:35:13Z")
The Ramones? I’m mostly guessing, but it seems like a safe guess. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/3 "2019-11-20T21:39:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The Ramones? I’m mostly guessing, but it seems like a safe guess. https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQdOyN9_5k8?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLc1UMM6ygW1gZDXFAk_lszN7-EFkKxDLb There are a few. ---
**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 20, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/4 "2019-11-20T21:42:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The Ramones? I’m mostly guessing, but it seems like a safe guess. Nah, they always had [one or two tear jerkers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS8oYNK73Ek), as Joey called them, on their albums. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/5 "2019-11-20T21:57:03Z")
Did Joan Jett do any ballads? She did Crimson and Clover, but her version had rock in it. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/6 "2019-11-20T22:04:40Z")
Stevie Ray Vaughan? He had some slower blues tunes like Texas Flood and Lenny, but I can’t think of any outright ballads. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/7 "2019-11-20T22:06:09Z")
The soft stuff is generally buried deep within the album, but Joan Jett has done a few. Ronnie James Dio once said, “I don’t write love songs. I leave those to people who have no imagination.” Now, “love song” and “ballad” are not synonyms, and I don’t know enough of Dio’s work to say for certain, but he might be a contender. ---
**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 20, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/8 "2019-11-20T22:15:19Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Stevie Ray Vaughan? He had some slower blues tunes like Texas Flood and Lenny, but I can’t think of any outright ballads. That’s a good one. I know his work quite well and can’t think of any full blown ballad either. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/9 "2019-11-20T22:16:51Z")
Megadeth? Slayer? Black Sabbath? Judas Priest? Avenged Sevenfold? The Beastie Boys? ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/10 "2019-11-20T22:19:20Z")
Wait what about SRV’s big hit “Pride and Joy”? It’s bluesy, but it’s also kind of a ballad. ---
**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 20, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/11 "2019-11-20T22:23:53Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > Wait what about SRV’s big hit “Pride and Joy”? It’s bluesy, but it’s also kind of a ballad. I would call that a rather fast poppy blues with a romantic theme, but not a ballad. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/12 "2019-11-20T23:13:41Z")
Even KISS did “Beth”. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/13 "2019-11-20T23:59:12Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Even KISS did “Beth”. Sort of. Peter Criss did “BETH”. Gene and Paul wanted nothing to do with it and were pretty much pissed when it went to number one. ETA - IMHO “Hard Luck Woman” (written by Paul Stanley and sung by Criss) is a better ballad by KISS. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/14 "2019-11-21T00:07:14Z")
ETA - Sorry, I screwed that up. “BETH” peaked at #7 on the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/15 "2019-11-21T00:10:19Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > Black Sabbath? “Changes” comes to mind. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > A similar case is Motörhead, but I only know their first six albums and don’t know if they later recorded ballads. It was billed as a solo recording rather than as Motörhead, but Lemmy did [an amazingly good cover of “Stand By Me”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZrntE3vNe8) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/16 "2019-11-21T00:28:47Z")
CCR? I have their albums through Cosmo’s Factory. I can’t think of a ballad unless you consider a slow song like Have You Ever Seen the Rain. I don’t think it’s a ballad? Midnight Special is a old country song CCR covered. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/17 "2019-11-21T00:30:18Z")
Sex Pistols - definitely no ballads on their one album. The Clash - can’t think of anything off the top of my head Rancid - not that I know of David Lee Roth-era Van Halen, but Hagar-era had several. ---
**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 21, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/18 "2019-11-21T00:34:07Z")
Spike Jones and his City Slickers. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/19 "2019-11-21T00:47:53Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Ronnie James Dio once said, “I don’t write love songs. I leave those to people who have no imagination.” Now, “love song” and “ballad” are not synonyms, and I don’t know enough of Dio’s work to say for certain, but he might be a contender. He must have forgotten [Rainbow Eyes.](https://youtu.be/XR59iQqD208?t=739) I too am uncertain about the definition here of “ballad”. Is it love song? Slow/quiet song? Off the top of my head, I think anyone who’s never recorded a slow, quiet song is probably lacking in some basic musical skills (turn it lower, slow it down). Ted Nugent comes to mind, but even he did [“Sasha”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1DTTRg6gnc) I’m reminded of an overeducated/underemployed radio DJ I once heard back announcing “Ode to Billie Joe”: “I’ve been playing songs all day, but that was the first ode”. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729/20 "2019-11-21T01:08:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > CCR? > > I have their albums through Cosmo’s Factory. > > I can’t think of a ballad unless you consider a slow song like Have You Ever Seen the Rain. I don’t think it’s a ballad? Midnight Special is a old country song CCR covered. Lodi might be considered a balkad. Also ‘I Put a Spell on You’, ‘Long as I Can See the Light’ and Suzie Q’ might be considered ballads. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-we-dont-do-ballads/843729.md?page=2)