These Conspiracies are Just Crazy and Delightful!

One of the most fascinating musical conspiracies involves the legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and his claim that he secretly played on Beatles recordings. Purdie, one of the most in-demand session drummers of the 1960s and '70s, has said multiple times that he was hired to overdub drum parts on early Beatles tracks to "clean them up" for the American market. Though no hard evidence backs this claim, and many historians believe he may have been confusing Beatles songs with early covers by Tony Sheridan (where the Beatles acted as a backing band), the mystery persists. Fans still love speculating about whether Ringo Starr really played on all those classic hits or if Purdie's famously tight grooves are hidden somewhere in the Beatles' early catalog.

Another long-running music conspiracy suggests that the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson didn't actually write or arrange much of the Pet Sounds album, but that secret session musicians or even producers from Phil Spector’s camp ghostwrote major parts of it. While it's true that the Wrecking Crew — a team of elite studio musicians — played on much of the album under Wilson’s direction, the idea that he wasn’t the mastermind is largely considered myth. Similarly, rumors have swirled for decades that guitarist Jimmy Page secretly played the iconic solo on Joe Cocker’s "With a Little Help from My Friends" instead of Henry McCullough, who is officially credited. Page, a top session player before Led Zeppelin, has neither confirmed nor totally denied playing on that track, adding even more delicious uncertainty to classic rock lore.