3 Classic Rock Songs the Radio Has Overplayed

How many times have you heard “Stairway to Heaven” or “Free Bird” on the radio?

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Even if you are a fan of those songs, how many plays is too much? Those songs, in particular, are very long and require quite a commitment to endure.

But they’re not the only overplayed classics. “Wonderwall,” “Back in Black,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” to name a few more. Or “Hotel California,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and “Mississippi Queen” to give a nod to the state-minded songs.

Before streaming music on demand, you had to tolerate a disc jockey choosing songs for you. Perhaps on the drive to work or as a way to get through your workday, radio could either help shorten the hours or make them excruciatingly longer by endless spins of Bush’s “Machinehead” or Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot.”

So, in this spirit of ubiquitous rock tunes, here are three the radio has hammered through the airwaves.

“Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction from Nothing’s Shocking (1988)

This is alternative rock’s “Stairway to Heaven,” and you’ll hear it nearly as much as Led Zeppelin’s epic ballad. Perry Ferrell and Eric Avery wrote “Jane Says” about a former roommate named Jane Bainter. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2001, Bainter said most of what’s in the song is true, like her abusive ex Sergio and a trip to Spain. She also clarified that she didn’t sell her body for sex as the song implies. Still, “Jane Says” describes the origin story of the band’s name, and DJs haven’t stopped spinning it.

Jane says, “I ain’t never been in love. I don’t know what it is.”
She only knows if someone wants her
“I want ’em if they want me. I only know they want me.”

“Creep” by Radiohead from Pablo Honey (1993)

Radiohead was part of a wave of bands with quiet verses and loud choruses that major labels signed by the dozens in the 1990s. Initially, radio thought the song was too depressing to play, but eventually it became a global hit. Though it broke Radiohead commercially, the song nearly broke the band, too. Thom Yorke refused to write something similar and transformed his band into one of the most innovative of its generation. He may have run from “Creep,” but radio programmers have not.

But I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here

“Enter Sandman” by Metallica from Metallica (1991)

Several tracks from Metallica’s Black Album might make this list. “Sad but True,” “The Unforgiven,” and “Nothing Else Matters” were and remain in regular rotation on rock radio. On Metallica’s fifth album, they worked with producer Bob Rock and created a more accessible version of thrash metal. The guitars are tuned lower for heavier riffs, and the beats are slow and groove-oriented. Kirk Hammett wrote the iconic riff after listening to Soundgarden’s 1989 album Louder Than Love. It’s one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in history.

Say your prayers, little one
Don’t forget, my son
To include everyone
I tuck you in, warm within
Keep you free from sin
Till the sandman, he comes

Photo by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images