Iconic songs that performed surprisingly poorly in the charts

[jw5]

t can be tough to pinpoint how popular many songs are. We can judge a song's popularity by many different parameters, from its cultural significance to the awards it won or how it fended in the charts. Indeed, the United States is the largest music market, so it's always a good signifier of how songs have performed on the charts.

It will shock you, however, to discover just how poorly some iconic songs performed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

 

[jw5]

Pink Floyd - 'Comfortably Numb' -

One of the band's most iconic songs failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

 

[jw5]

Van Morrison - 'Moondance' -

Despite going triple platinum in the United States (certified by RIAA), the song never charted at the time of its release.

 

[jw5]

Jeff Buckley - 'Grace' -

The song and the rest of his catalog never made the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

 

[jw5]

The Beatles - 'Here Comes the Sun' -

The song actually never entered most charts when it was released in 1969, presumably because it wasn't released as a single.

 

[jw5]

Elton John - 'Tiny Dancer' -

The song peaked at no. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972, despite going triple platinum in sales.

 

[jw5]

Led Zeppelin - 'Stairway To Heaven' - This song also didn't chart at the time of its release in 1971. It never had the chance to be entered into the charts because it too wasn't released as a single.

 

[jw5]

David Bowie - 'Ashes to Ashes' -

The song never made the Billboard Hot 100 chart, though it did reach number 101 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

 

[jw5]

The Rolling Stones - 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' -

The single didn't even make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969, and only reached no. 42 when re-released as a single in 1973.

 

[jw5]

Louis Armstrong - 'What a Wonderful World' -

The song peaked at no. 116 in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in 1967, and later only reached no. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1988.

 

[jw5]

The Clash - 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' -

Though the song reached number one in the UK, it only ever made it to no. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1982. It performed even worse on the charts when it was re-issued in 1991.

 

[jw5]

James Taylor - 'Carolina in My Mind' -

One of James Taylor's most played songs peaked at no. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970, one year after it was released.

 

[jw5]

Bruce Springsteen - 'Badlands' -

Although Rolling Stone considers this song to be the second-best song of all time, the 1986 release only ever reached no. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

 

[jw5]

Jimi Hendrix - 'Purple Haze' -

The song peaked and stalled at no. 64 on the chart before going on to become one of the most iconic songs of the 1960s.

 

[jw5]

David Bowie - 'Changes' -

This David Bowie song only made it to no. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1975.

 

[jw5]

Fleetwood Mac - 'Landslide' -

The song peaked at no. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1998.

 

[steffychun]

All are losers!

 

[jw5]

The Beatles - 'All My Loving' -

The song peaked at no. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964.

 

[jw5]

Cher - 'Strong Enough' -

The song spent 12 weeks on the charts, but only peaked at no. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999.

 

[jw5]

Queen - 'Don't Stop Me Now' -

This song spent a few weeks on the charts in 1979, peaking at no. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.