As well as being a celebrated cartoonist, Far Side's Gary Larson was also a huge music fan and dedicated guitarist. It's therefore not surprising that so many Far Side comics have jokes about music - and some even take on real-world musicians.

Here are the 10 funniest Far Side comics inspired by real-life musicians and bands, from Elvis Presley to Metallica.

10 Madonna

The Singer's Iconic Cone Bra Just Became a Huge Problem

Madonna made headlines in 1990 with the debut of Jean Paul Gaultier's cone bra, unveiled during her Blond Ambition tour. While some were inspired and others were outraged, Gary Larson had a truly unique reaction: asking whether the garment could puncture a lifeboat. This Far Side comic says yes, with a group of survivors sadly not long for this world after the iconic Vogue and Like a Virgin singer falls over headfirst.

9 Liberace

Far Side's Brings Back the Pianist's Unique Sense of Style

Liberace was known for his flamboyant style as much as his talent as a musician, with 'The Glitter Man' sporting a range of vibrant costumes with the themes of gold, pink and shimmer. However, while Liberace's theatrical style was made for the Las Vegas stage, Larson imagines it in a far more mundane setting. Larson redefines Liberace's style not as something that emerged from his role as a performer, but as a happy coincidence that - up until he got famous - he was still wearing every day. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics set in classrooms.

8 Elvis Presley

Gary Larson Knows What Really Happened to the King

Elvis appears a few times across Far Side's run, with Larson playing on the popular conspiracy theory that the King of Rock and Roll isn't actually dead. Larson imagines Elvis accidentally stepping into the plot of Psycho and hiding out with Salman Rushdie during the period in which he was in hiding while targeted by Imam Khomeini's fatwa.

7 Charlie Parker

Far Side Sends the Jazz Icon to Hell

Gary Larson made more references to the music he hates than the music he loves in The Far Side, with various comics mocking accordionists and ukulele players. However, New Age music appears to be his bête noire. In this strip, he imagines revolutionary jazz musician Charlie Parker forced to listen to the milquetoast music in his own personal Hell, contrasting the composer's love of fast tempos and creative improvisation with the placid sounds of Enya.

6 New Kids on the Block

Gary Larson's 'Albums to Avoid'

Taking aim at everyone from country music singer Grandpa Jones to heavy metal group Metallica, Larson serves up a range of duets where the musicians involved aren't bad, but are embracing songs and collaborators that are diametrically opposed to their usual style. Larson slips in a sincere dig at New Kids on the Block, who aren't shown doing anything unusual - they're just worth avoiding (at least in Larson's view.)

5 Fats Domino

Far Side Knows the Real Lyrics to Blueberry Hill

Larson loves the gag of mishearing song lyrics. In this strip, the character (or his friend) have apparently misunderstood the lyrics to Blueberry Hill, which states, "I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill." Or maybe it's us who have been getting it wrong the whole time - after all, this character's drill was exactly where he expected.

Blueberry Hill became famous thanks to Fat Domino's rock and roll interpretation, but was first released by Sammy Kaye and composed by Vincent Rose.

4 The Kingsmen

Louie Louie Isn't the Whale Son We Expected

Scientists listening for whalesong are generally hoping to pick up the distant, sonorous modulations of underwater calls. However, in the world of Far Side, everything is far more literal, leading to a karaoke-hungry whale serenading Larson's characters with a cetacean rendition of The Kingsmen's Louie Louie. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics starring whales.

3 Three Dog Night

Far Side Takes Joy to the World's Weird Lyrics Seriously

Three Dog Night's seemingly nonsensical song includes the claim that:

Jeremiah was a bullfrog

He was a good friend of mine

I never understood a single word he said

But I helped him drink his wine

And he always had some mighty fine wine

Fans have debated the meaning of these lyrics for decades, including Biblical reasons centered on the prophet Jeremiah. However, Far Side argues for a far more literal reading - it's just an alcoholic frog reminiscing about a former acquaintance. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics starring frogs.

2 Dizzy Gillespie

Far Side Imagines the Trumpeter's Childhood

Iconic jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie is considered one of the greatest trumpeters of all time, and Gary Larson imagines him possessing superhuman lung capacity even in childhood, blowing a party horn for all he's worth. Gillespie appears again in Far Side's 'infamous moments in jazz,' which commemorates the (fictional) lowest points of the musical genre.

It's no surprise to see jazz musicians in The Far Side, as it's actually the job Larson always wanted. Larson has loved jazz music for decades, discussing it in his infrequent interviews and apparently playing guitar on a daily basis. In a quote published by The San Francisco Chronicle, Larson wrote:

I’m interested in jazz and I play the guitar, so here’s my fantasy: I’m on the bandstand of a smoke-filled club in New York. Joe is on one side of me and Django Reinhardt’s on the other. I have on dark shades; a cigarette is hanging from my mouth; I have 100 times the ability I have today. I finish my solo and Joe starts his. I lean over and say, ‘Come on Joe, get it together.’

1 The Philadelphia String Quartet

Far Side Takes Air Guitar One Step Further

A string quartet founded by Veda Reynolds, Irv Eisenberg, Alan Iglitzin and Charlie Brennand, the Philadelphia String Quartet were renowned for their incredible musical skill. So of course Gary Larson strips them of their violins, violas and cellos and reduces them to incredibly technically adept air guitarist.

Those are the 10 funniest Far Side comics about real musicians and bands - let us know below which of these strips is the best, as well as what bands you wish Larson had satirized.