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

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.

That is weird. I suppose it’s one of the few with an actual “video” to go with it, but still.

Yeah very weird. They have plenty with a video.

Jimmy Buffett's duet w/Alan Jackson, "It's Five-O-Clock Somewhere", has 50+ million more spins on Spotify than "Margaritaville".

truly insane.

tho probably more of a streaming artifact than an indication of it becoming his legacy song, in this case... like I assume all the boomers who love hearing "Margaritaville" get their kicks by hearing it five times a day on the radio, while "Five O' Clock Somewhere" came out recently enough for it to be popular with like, the new-country parents of Spotify-using zoomers or w/e. could also be in a lot of "time to party" and "end of the day" playlists...

5 o’clock has been played consisently on Country Radio since it came out. Its numbers don’t surprise me. Though i would have figured Mville’s numbers to be higher than 90 some million.

"Margaritaville" appears to be most popular on iTunes, although it's hard to find actual numbers.

possibly everyone who loves it has the LP, cassette, or CD?

Or the ppl who loved it in 1984 are - gasp - starting to get a little tired of it and don't need to hear it frequently?

You can only live so long on spongecake alone

Run-DMC's third highest chart hit, "It's Tricky" is their big streamer...

I think their big pop hit ("Walk This Way") has kind of dulled in acclaim over the years, and the historical hip-hop head pick ("It's Like That") isn't at that critical mass yet, so I guess "It's Tricky" ultimately splits the difference and plays to both crowds pretty well

Excuse me, FOURTH highest chart hit!

Seem to recall "It's Tricky" is big Jock Jam/Sporting Events song.

the rise of rappers who stylistically rap off the beat has made listeners appreciate anew that it is indeed tricky to rock a rhyme that’s right on time

If there’s any act who didn’t deserve their legacy track to be a cover, it’s them.

also that song is fckn awesome

"Helplessly Hoping" is the top CSN song on Spotify at 92 million streams. Even if you include CSNY songs only "Teach Your Children" beats it, at 98 million. HH was used in an Alex Garland movie, I guess.

^^Good One! Definitely never heard it on Classic Rock radio.

Feel like “It’s Tricky” started its rise in the late 90s/early 00s, it appeared on a bunch of soundtracks around them

Wasn't it in used prominently in that shitty Todd Phillips road trip movie?

I remember from the ad for the video game SSX Tricky, you can guess why it was used

"Helplessly Hoping" does make sense for a soundtrack-based boost - it feels VERY much like a closing-credits song of the last 20 years, for almost any kind of movie that's not a comedy or a brutal action thriller. Apparently also used on Grey's Anatomy, in addition to Annihilation. Feels like something contemporary young people might actually make or listen to, possibly at coffee shops, while wearing old-man hats. (Not intended as a put-down to the song.)

CSNY And Sons

I remember from the ad for the video game SSX Tricky, you can guess why it was used

― Vinnie, Monday, November 15, 2021 7:29 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

yeah that game was massively popular in my neck of the woods and it definitely seemed to have this attitude of "we licensed this song so we're gonna play it EVERYWHERE"

I do wonder how many bands' top streamer is something from one of the Tony Hawk soundtracks. several people I went to school with who knew of the Ramones say they heard 'em first on Tony Hawk 3

I would have to assume that almost all of the lesser-known bands featured in any of the TH games get almost all their streams from playlists assembled specifically to duplicate those soundtracks. Those games were massive.