The term “classic” gets thrown around more than it should, especially in regard to rock music. Even our most revered rock songs have a way to go before standing the same test of time that the best-known works of classical music, blues, folk, or jazz have. That said, it’s impressive that, all these decades later, we’re still listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
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We’ve gotten used to the idea that “Hey Jude,” “Paint It Black,” and “Stairway to Heaven” are part of popular culture and likely will be for decades to come. These and other staples of album-oriented rock radio were already deeply ingrained in the culture by the ‘70s and ‘80s, so it wouldn’t have been hard to imagine people still listening to these songs in the 2020s. Yet there are other songs from classic rock artists that didn’t receive nearly as much notice when they came out as they are receiving now, in an era far removed from rock’s golden years.
Here are four songs that–believe it or not–are far more popular today than they were when they were new, along with some background on how they finally got their due.
1. Queen, “Don’t Stop Me Now“
To rock fans listening to radio in the ‘80s, the idea that “Don’t Stop Me Now” would someday rival or exceed “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Under Pressure,” or “We Will Rock You” in popularity would have seemed preposterous. Yet, “Don’t Stop Me Now” has been streamed on Spotify more than any of those Queen classics. (Also, radio listeners in the ‘80s would have been mystified by a discussion of popularity based on “streams,” but that’s another matter entirely.) Queen released “Don’t Stop Me Now” as the second single from their 1978 album, Jazz, and it spent just four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 86.
The peculiar rise of the song from obscurity to ubiquity was noted in a 2019 article in Billboard, and that piece traces “Don’t Stop Me Now”’s growing popularity back to its inclusion in the 2004 movie Shaun of the Dead. Then, gradually, the song started appearing in more places, from automobile and cosmetics ads to the television series Glee. It didn’t hurt that a reworked version of the song was included on the soundtrack for the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic. As of this writing, the only thing stopping “Don’t Stop Me Now” from being Queen’s most popular song on Spotify is “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is the service’s most-streamed song from before 2000.
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2. Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’“
Unlike “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Don’t Stop Believin’” was a big hit upon its 1981 release, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was, however, a long way from being Journey’s signature song. Heck, it was only the third-highest charting single from the Escape album, trailing “Open Arms” (No. 2) and “Who’s Crying Now” (No. 4). While it was overshadowed by those two singles in the early ‘80s, “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become far more popular than any other Journey song, both on Spotify and YouTube. It also became Journey’s first Platinum single in 2009.
“Don’t Stop Believin’” owes much of its increased stature in the 21st century to its use in the final scene of the finale for The Sopranos, which aired in 2007. Since then, it has dwarfed every other Journey song in popularity. With more than 1.7 million downloads on Spotify, it has more than four times the downloads of the next most-popular Journey song on the platform, “Any Way You Want It.”
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3. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Simple Man”
This track from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1973 debut album, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), was not released as a single, so it didn’t achieve the crossover success of “Free Bird,” which went to No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Free Bird” enjoyed frequent airplay on AOR stations for years, while “Simple Man” was closer to being a deep cut, but in the digital era, the two tracks enjoy a similar level of popularity. “Simple Man” is still far behind “Sweet Home Alabama”–Lynyrd Skynyrd’s highest-charting hit (No. 8)–in Spotify streams, but it has more than 10 times the streams of “What’s Your Name?” and “Saturday Night Special,” which were both Top 40 hits.
In April 2021, “Simple Man” became the second Lynyrd Skynyrd song–following “Sweet Home Alabama”–to enter Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart, peaking at No. 24. It also made an appearance on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart that same month, an achievement that Forbes chalked up to discounts on iTunes. Music fans may have also become familiar with “Simple Man” over the years, thanks to placements in The Sopranos and the 2000 film Almost Famous. “Simple Man” returned to both charts in 2023 after Colin Stough covered the tune on American Idol.
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4. Styx, “Renegade“
“Renegade” has always punched above its weight. The Tommy Shaw-penned song was the third and final single released from Styx’s 1978 album Pieces of Eight, but it was the album’s only single to crack the Top 20, peaking at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Babe” may have gone to No. 1, and “Mr. Roboto” likely takes the prize for Styx’s most culturally-referenced song, but “Renegade” is the band’s Spotify champion. Among all of Styx’s songs, only “Babe” and “Come Sail Away”–two of Styx’s eight Top 10 hits–have at least half of the 170 million-plus downloads that “Renegade” has earned.
[RELATED: Behind the Band Name: Styx]
The presence of “Renegade” in other media has likely helped it to leapfrog several Styx songs in popularity. It was used in the Adam Sandler vehicle, Billy Madison, as well as in the NBC series, Freaks and Geeks. “Renegade” was also included in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned.
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