There's a fine line between genius and insanity, and some of the greatest songwriters to ever live have walked this line. In addition, the subject of mental illness has inspired many great songs.
For this playlist I focused exclusively on Classic Rock, and have come up with 30 tracks that speak about, or have been inspired by some form of mental disease.
Medical science has made great strides in understanding and treating mental illness in the past decade. However, it's still behind in relation to advances in the treatment of other medical conditions. Today there are 374 recognized mental illnesses, and major mental illness includes clinical depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These four major areas of disease account for the highest percentage of disability in the United States, even over cancer and heart disease.
At just over 2 hours, this playlist reveals attitudes about mental illness within the world of classic rock and includes the likes of Pink Floyd, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Cheap Trick, David Bowie, Queen, The Police, Janis Joplin, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, The Grateful Dead, The Guess Who and many more.
Classic Rock Songs About Mental Illness Playlist
2. The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie
3. 19th Nervous Breakdown - The Rolling Stones
6. Digging In The Dirt - Peter Gabriel
8. Psycho Killer (Remastered Album Version ) - Talking Heads
10. Everybody's Talkin' (From 'Midnight Cowboy') - Harry Nilsson
11. Mellow My Mind - Neil Young
12. Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John
14. I'm Going Slightly Mad - Queen
19. King Midas In Reverse - The Hollies
21. Touch Of Grey - Grateful Dead
23. After Hours - The Velvet Underground
24. Diary Of A Madman - Ozzy Osbourne
25. All The Madmen - David Bowie
26. Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
27. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues - The Kinks
28. Drive - The Cars