Erik Satie | History's Weirdest and Most Eccentric Musician

Erik Satie was a French composer and pianist, born on May 17th, 1866 and by all accounts, he was thought of as a talentless musician in his formative years. At least that’s how Georges Mathias, his professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire described him. "Insignificant,” “laborious," and "worthless" were his exact words. Émile Decombes, another one of Satie’s piano professors called him "the laziest student in the Conservatoire." It’s true, Satie wasn’t much of an accomplished piano player -- he was a horrible sight reader -- but he was a master composer. His compositions have been featured on everything from The Simpsons and How I Met Your Mother to The Royal Tenenbaums, Dr. Who and The Benny Hill Show, not to mention hundreds of commercials.