There is no doubting the fact that many singers and song writers have used drugs as a basis for their music. Some musicians consider drugs to be a gateway towards inspiration while others use the topic to express tragedy or loss. Below are the top ten songs that were influenced by drug abuse and addiction (links to song incldued).
1. Got to Get You Into My Life – The Beatles
John Lennon described Got to Get You Into My life as some of Paul McCartney’s best work and it topped charts in 1976. The song was thought to have been about a particular person but was later explained by McCartney as his desire to smoke pot.
2. Mother’s Little Helper – The Rolling Stones
“Mother’s Little Helper” is a song about a housewife who abuses prescription drugs to get through the day. Although the Stones were also heavily into drugs they wanted to point out that housewives popping pills were not far from rockers taking smack.
3. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
This song was written and performed by Grace Slick after she joined Jefferson Airplane in 1966. Slick based the lyrics to “White Rabbit” on the Lewis Carroll book Alice In Wonderland where she discovered a number of trippy images and drug references.
4. Cocaine – Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton recorded his version of the Oklahoma blues hit “Cocaine” a year after it was released. Clapton himself struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism in the early ‘80s and eventually opened a rehab center to help others in the fight against addiction.
5. The Needle and the Damage Done – Neil Young
Some call it a touching song about losing a friend to drug addiction while others see it as a part of the worst album ever made by Neil Young. The song is about band member Danny Whitten’s struggle with heroin and how it led to his tragic and untimely death.
6. Heroin – The Velvet Underground
This early Velvet Underground song depicts the dangers of heroin abuse and the withdrawal symptoms associated with it. Lead singer Lou Reed was a known heroin user who claimed the drug dominated his life while he was working as a pop songwriter.
7. Captain Jack – Billy Joel
Captain Jack is a song that was based on an actual drug dealer who lived near Joel on Long Island. Although Joel claims that “Captain Jack” is an anti-drug song this fan favorite failed commercially because of marijuana references.
8. Puff the Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul and Mary
While the band claims that Puff the Magic Dragon is about “losing the innocence of childhood” many believe it to be about drugs, particularly marijuana. Drug rumors about the song were spread by an article in Newsweek magazine and the song was eventually banned in Singapore and Hong Kong.
9. Superfly – Curtis Mayfield
This soul song was written and produced by Curtis Mayfield and can be found on the soundtrack to the 1972 film Super Fly. The film is about a drug dealer who is trying to escape the drug business and it is one of the few films to ever have been outgrossed by its soundtrack.
10. Because I Got High – Afroman
Originally written as a joke for his friends, this hit single topped the charts in 2000 describing Joseph Foreman’s not-so-positive experiences with marijuana. This single also become a major hit on music-sharing services like Napster after it was played repeatedly on the Howard Stern radio show.
