songs that weren't a bands biggest hit, but have gone on to be their legacy song and biggest iTunes seller

Came across a potential candidate for this thread today: Weezer's most popular song on Spotify by a wide margin is "Island in the Sun," the 9th highest charting single of their career.

It's almost twice as popular as "Say It Ain't So," their second most popular track ("Buddy Holly," which I would have pegged for #1, is third). It's their #1 iTunes song as well.

Not sure if it's their "legacy" song, but I was legitimately surprised that a song I pegged as "moderately well-liked" evidently towers over the rest of their catalogue in popularity.

― intheblanks, 12. toukokuuta 2015 3:51

Ctrl+f is your friend.

not sure if there's a separate thread for most played on Spotify, but a song I don't even remember from Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill has 1.4 million plays compared to just over 1 million for "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping" (expected pick).

Despite not being as commercially successful as its predecessor singles, "The Kids Aren't Alright" remains the most-listened to Offspring song amongst Last.FM[5] and Spotify (where it also is the most popular song of the 90s)[citation needed] users, and still receives some radio play.

I've never heard of this song... Are they really claiming that it's the most popular song of the 90s in Spotify? Not just the most popular among the songs Offpsring released in the 90s?

In 2014 at least, their most popular 90s song was "Pretty Fly", as you'd expect.

I remember that song, it's a lot better than "Pretty Fly" but I'm still surprised it has 105,138,511 views on Youtube

never heard of it either

it's a bit the opposite to this thread, sorry, but I just noticed that "crazy in love" is far from being Beyonce's song with the most plays on spotify (far behind "7/11", "Drunk in Love", "Halo", all above 220M while "Crazy in Love" is only at 144M).
surprising.

Songs that were released and become hits in the Spotify era probably have a leg up on catalog songs

yeah, that's what I thought too but still surprised it's so far behind since it's (arguably) her legacy song.

I'd put her a lot closer to the Madonna category where one single legacy song just doesn't apply. So Crazy In Love would be her Material Girl or Like a Virgin - early-to-mid-career, huge hit, strongly associated with her, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Like A Prayer or Papa Don't Preach or Vogue or even Ray of Light were more popular on Spotify.

"like a prayer" far ahead (36M) with "material girl" 2nd (21M) ("like a virgin" very far behind with 16M).
Nah, like President Keyes said, it's clearly the difference between hits since spotify started/earlier hits.

Still D.R.E. has 300 million views on youtube

it is a perfect song, but surely G Thang was the bigger hit?

it came out at the exact time the first millennials were finishing high school and entering college

oh, I don't know if it's been said already but the Smiths have a good one : "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
by far their most popular on Spotify (60 millions with "This Charming Man" second with 47 millions)... and it was not their biggest hit since it wasn't even a single (while the band was in activity) !

wtf when and how did this happen

It always seemed like There is a Light was THE the Smiths song, even if How Soon is Now got played on 120 Minutes a lot.

For me it's "Ask," it always was "Ask," it always will be "Ask"

Honestly, of the ones in the top 5 on Spotify, "Bigmouth" at #5 is the only one I truly think of as in the conversation for legacy song

Ooh La La

http://i.imgur.com/UjC1ssa.png

"The Weight"? Peaked at 63 vs. 25 for "Up on Cripple Creek," but five times the Spotify plays.

Aretha Franklin's 1969 soul music arrangement peaked in the U.S. at #19

but yeah that's a good example

oh and

Jackie DeShannon's 1968 pop music arrangement, debuting on the Hot 100 one week before The Band's, peaked at #55 in the U.S

"The Weight" is one of those songs that was an instant standard. Practically every interpretive singer who wasn't in the Sinatra school took a crack at it between '68 & '73-ish.

see also: covers that folk/rock/soul song-interpreters of the '60s and '70s would have on their records

Seeing that Faces 'Ooh La La' up above - surely there must be many Faces 'Stay With Me's attributed to Rod splitting the vote?

Seems preposterous to suggest Big Yellow Taxi is Joni Mitchell's legacy song, nonetheless it's her top streamer

Why preposterous? That song is much more likely to be known by the average person than any of her others.

"Help Me" was a bigger hit at the time, but agreed that at the least the "choooo bop bop" was probably what the average radio listener would conjure up if asked to do a Joni Mitchell impression.

Yeah help me has the chart placing but I'm guessing taxi has had more sales (it was rereleased) and certainly had far more radio play.

"Big Yellow Taxi" was in my Grade 7 English textbook!

I'd have guessed Both Sides Now would be her legacy song.

Big Yellow Taxi was the first song of hers i remember from my youth, so dang catchy. there have been a number of crappy modern covers so makes sense that would be her big song rn.

"Help Me" was a bigger hit at the time, but agreed that at the least the "choooo bop bop" was probably what the average radio listener would conjure up if asked to do a Joni Mitchell impression.

I've never heard of "Help Me" tbh.

I would say "Both Sides Now".

! "Help Me" is wonderful. Essential LA-sound early 70s pop imo.

totally, it's a perfect song

Why preposterous?

well, maybe not preposterous then but BYT is kinda one of her children's song songs imo, it's a decent song but not very representative

'Big Yellow Taxi' is the first song that I think of whenever someone brings up Joni Mitchell, so I'm not surprised to hear that it's her most streamed song. I hate it, though.

I wouldn't say I hate it but the songs on fx Hejira and Hissing are on an entirely different plane

It put me off checking out her other material for the longest time.

have to say though, first 100 times I heard the refrain was on the Janet Jackson song where it works perfectly imo, Q-Tip on point

damn I would've thought "A Case of You" or "Woodstock"

Judy Collins' version of "Both Sides Now" is the one that reached the Top Ten in the US

...and "Woodstock" has two competing hit covers w/CSNY and Matthews Southern Comfort.

Everyone's covered "Both Sides Now".

Letters To Cleo: "I Want You To Want Me" (a Cheap Trick cover from 10 Things I Hate About You) way outpaces "Here And Now" on Spotify (5 mil spins vs. 1 mil)

...and their other 10 Things cover (Nick Lowe's "Cruel To Be Kind") is almost at 2 million.

such a good movie