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

just checked and john lee hooker’s too played song on spotify is “boom boom,” that’s how deep this goes!!

(“boogie chillen” is his fourth-most streamed)

For a certain generation I’d wager that Legs and Sharp Dressed Man are the iconic ZZ Top songs. I didn’t know they had any older hits back yhen

*top played, obv

Let’s see… here’s the most popular songs according to the US mainstream rock charts:

AC/DC

Big Gun #1
Hard As A Rock #1
Stiff Upper Lip #1
Rock n roll train #1

Bon Jovi

Apparently no US mainstream rock charts available for them? Livin on a Prayer and Keep the Faith both hit #1 in the gral US charts

Journey

Separate Ways #1
The party’s over #2
Be good to yourself #2

So it kinda works for Bon Jovi… they’re probably more of a pop rock band which is better for the charts, but I have no recollection of ever hearing those Journey and ACDC songs… I’d certainly wouldn’t name them in their 10 most popular songs of all time.

Separate ways was big

Sorry not really acquainted with Journey either… It’s #5 on spotify and I just heard it and it rang a bell. Not really the song everybody thinks of when they think of Journey and it wasn’t true back then either. That song dates from 1983 and it was probably a hit because it preceded their two most popular songs regardless if they were bigger chart hits or not.

I think the problem with classic rock in the charts is that it usually took a couple of years for the rest of the population to catch on and rock was more album oriented than single oriented anyways.

https://aboutthe80s.com/8-movies-and-shows-played-journeys-separate-ways-worlds-apart/

Oh i definitely remember that Journey video lol… this is hilarious if you haven’t seen it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD8ffB9JU64

The mainstream rock chart is (was?) an airplay chart that tracks a specific radio format. It's not necessarily reflective of a song's general popularity (even at the time) or hit status, for which the Hot 100 is a much better reference point.

I mean, I did listen to that format a lot in the late 80s/early 90s so I know a lot of those songs but "Doubleback" wasn't a #1 song for most people.

That said, Bon Jovi were definitely not absent from the mainstream rock charts: https://www.billboard.com/music/bon-jovi/chart-history/RTT

Oh so the one I was looking were actual the US mainstream rock charts for bon jovi, then the 2 songs I mentioned are the biggest ones according to that one.

The US Mainstream Rock Charts didn't exist until 1980 or thereabouts.

And I mean maybe? Bon Jovi depends on the age group you ask… for people aged 20-30 it’s probably “it’s my life”, for people 30+ Livin on a prayer is not a bad guess

this is a good time for everyone to vote in the zz top poll

― grove street (party) direction (voodoo chili), Saturday, September 25, 2021 12:07 PM (forty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

^THIS

It Sure Got POLLED After The Rain Fell: ILM Artist Poll #110 – ZZ Top

xpost For others it’s Who Says You Can’t Go Home

"You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer", "I'll Be There for You", and "Bad Medicine" were all #1s on the Hot 100. "Livin' on a Prayer" was surely the biggest at the time? "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" are comfortably their two most-streamed songs on Spotify.

xpost For others it’s Who Says You Can’t Go Home

― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes)

Lord almighty no

Their only #1 country song. Still gets lots of radio play.

*shudders

I'm honestly not sure who is currently a dedicated listener to the mainstream rock format, e.g. who would pick these as their favourite songs of 2020: https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2020/mainstream-rock-songs-artists

Yeesh

Tbh I look at the full 2010s list and feel extremely confused:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Mainstream_Rock_number-one_songs_of_the_2010s

No wonder most of my older rockist friends think there has been nothing exciting going on in music for the past decades.

That list is downright depressing

I was walking around a large university campus packed full of tailgating football fans today and heard Livin' On A Prayer twice, once with a bunch of drunken middle aged people singing along at full volume.

weirdly I didn't realize until just now that La Grange was a ZZ Top song (nor did I even know the name of the song, though of course I've heard it a million times...I just don't care for that type of blues rock)

Re: Those mainstream Rock #1's

WOW @ Godsmack and Papa Roach still being things in 2019.

I think even them are surprised by it.

Also props to Ozzy for being the only artist to ride the charts in 1980 AND 2020.

i feel you would be hard pressed to find any other ten-year period on ANY airplay chart where i recognize not one song title by name.

Deserves its own thread: ITT We Figure Out the Mainstream Rock Format

Lots of Canadians on that 2010s list. CanCon requirements goosing the numbers (does billboard count Canadian stations in the Mainstream list)?

I think it's based on US stations only. There's a Canadian mainstream rock chart (linked in the thread) that has even more Canadian bands.

I only count Three Days Grace, Theory of a Deadman, and Nickelback as Canadian?

Tbh I look at the full 2010s list and feel extremely confused:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Mainstream_Rock_number-one_songs_of_the_2010s

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, September 25, 2021 10:22 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

I’ve never heard of a single one of these songs.

It's like the Billboard Jazz Chart

Tbh I look at the full 2010s list and feel extremely confused:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Mainstream_Rock_number-one_songs_of_the_2010s

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, September 25, 2021 3:22 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

No wonder most of my older rockist friends think there has been nothing exciting going on in music for the past decades.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, September 25, 2021 3:24 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

That list is downright depressing

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, September 25, 2021 3:24 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, as others have said, I don't recognize a single song on that list by name. Not a one.

main takeaway from that list-- Soundgarden were still making music in 2013? huh.

Also those are the #1 songs! I can’t even fathom what the songs below them are.

Omg the #1 album on the "contemporary jazz albums" chart is Norah Jones's Come Away With Me from 2002. It has apparently been at #1 for 218 weeks (over four years). #2 is Kenny G, #3 is George Benson. Wtg GB I guess.
https://www.billboard.com/charts/contemporary-jazz

Kenny G and GB both compilations ofc.

I only count Three Days Grace, Theory of a Deadman, and Nickelback as Canadian?

So, these are all of the 20th-century songs with a billion streams:

1. Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody" 1.59B
2. Oasis, "Wonderwall" 1.22B
3. Queen, "Don't Stop Now" 1.13B
4. Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'" 1.12B
5. Queen, "Another One Bites the Dust" 1.09B
6. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 1.06B
7. Toto, "Africa" 1.06B

― jaymc, Saturday, September 4, 2021 5:34 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

Congratulations to The Police, who I see have just joined this club

I know it's demographics but still kind of wild that something like Don't Start Now, which came out only last year, has already accumulated enough streams to put it ahead of all of those 20th century 'classics'.

"Under Pressure" should be in the billions club soon. It's at 991 million now.

Take On Me is pretty close too. 973 million. If you add the 29 million for the acoustic version then they’ve already made it

"Billie Jean" at 975 million as of this writing

Don’t Let Me Down being The Beatles’ biggest song on YouTube is pretty astounding. Has it been in a bunch of movies or something?? It was only a B-side originally.