These classic rock hits are still legendary today, but they surprisingly never chart high in the United States upon their release. The charts aren’t always reflective of a song’s power, after all. Let’s take a look!
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “American Girl” by Tom Petty
If you’re of a certain age, you can probably sing the chorus to this Tom Petty classic from 1976 by heart. It’s one of Petty’s most well-known songs, and “American Girl” is a true American classic today. Oddly enough, this song wasn’t a Top 20 hit like “Free Fallin’”. “American Girl” didn’t even make it to the Hot 100 at the time. It seems like radio wasn’t ready for it yet.
2. “My Generation” by The Who
Another odd addition to our list of classic rock songs that never charted high in the US, “My Generation” by The Who is one of the hard rock outfit’s most defining tracks. Plenty of English bands like The Who had been making it big on the US charts in the 1960s, too. However, this 1966 track barely made it to no. 74 on the US charts. It was a huge hit in the UK, where it hit no. 2, but the US was apparently preoccupied with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones at the time.
3. “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen
“Born To Run” is a Bruce Springsteen classic, and also one of the best rock songs to come out of 1975. Unfortunately for Springsteen, though, it wasn’t as big of a hit as one would expect. The song only made it to no. 23 stateside, and it would remain Springsteen’s highest-charting song for the better part of a decade.
4. “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd
When one thinks of Pink Floyd, one often thinks of “Comfortably Numb”. This gorgeous 1979 song should have been a bigger US hit, considering its album The Wall topped the album sales chart in the US upon its release. “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)”, the first single off that album, hit no. 1 on the pop charts. Sadly, “Run Like Hell” barely charted, and “Comfortably Numb” didn’t chart at all in the US, though it’s certainly still on radio rotation today.
5. “Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan
“Blowin’ In The Wind” does not deserve to be on a list of classic rock songs that never charted high in the US, yet here we are. This is one of Bob Dylan’s greatest songs of all time from one of his greatest albums, the 1963 masterpiece The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Yet, for some reason, the folk classic didn’t even really chart in the US at all.
Photo by The Visualeyes Archive/Redferns
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