Every Billboard #1 Mainstream Rock hit discussion thread (1981 - present)

#430 Pop Evil, Torn To Pieces
Written by Leigh Kakaty and Dave Bassett
Produced by Johnny K
Label: eOne Music
Debuted February 22, 2014 at #31
Issued June 7, 2014 - #2 previous week - 2 weeks at #1
^16 weeks

#7 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#23 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#72 on the 2014 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End

Album: Onyx (2013)

Songfacts page? Yes

 

#431 Three Days Grace, Painkiller
Written by Gavin Brown, Johnny Andrews, Doug Oliver, and Three Days Grace (Neil Sanderson, Barry Stock, and Brad & Matt Walst)
Produced by Gavin Brown
Mastered by Joe LaPorta
Label: RCA/Warner
Debuted April 19, 2014 at #21
Issued June 21, 2014 - #2 previous week - 4 weeks at #1
^10 weeks

#6 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#24 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#64 on the 2014 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End

Album: Human (2015)

Songfacts page? Yes



In March 2014, following the departure of lead vocalist Adam Gontier the previous year, Three Days Grace announced that they had chosen to replace him with bassist Brad Walst's brother Matt. You may remember Matt as the lead singer of My Darkest Days, the band responsible for Porn Star Dancing. While Matt is a good enough singer, whether going from Adam Gontier to Matt Walst could be considered a downgrade or a lateral move is a question I will leave to your own personal judgment.
Also, in what has to be a total coincidence, the band went from Pain with Adam to Painkiller for their first single with Matt. I'm sure it has nothing to do with Adam roasting his former band on more than one occasion.

 

Happy 56th birthday to Slash!

 

Posed picture dated 2018 - he looks pretty much the same:

 

#432 Seether, Words As Weapons
Written by Shaun Morgan, John Humphrey, and Dale Stewart
Produced by Brendan O'Brien
Label: The Bicycle Music Company
Debuted May 24, 2014 at #20
Issued July 19, 2014 - #2 previous week - 5 weeks at #1
^9 weeks

#4 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#28 on Alternative Airplay
#19 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#44 on the 2014 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End

Album: Isolate and Medicate (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



After a brief period of time with guitarist Troy McLawhorn in their lineup, Seether made two albums as a trio. The first of those two was 2014's Isolate and Medicate, the band's shortest studio album to date. It was also their first album to get a vinyl release, which is nice.

 

Before we get to the next song, I've made frequent reference to Billboard's list of the most successful artists in the first forty years of the Mainstream Rock chart. Now that everyone on that list has been introduced, here it is in full:

50. Genesis
49. Soundgarden
48. Steve Winwood
47. Bryan Adams
46. Puddle of Mudd
45. AC/DC
44. Don Henley
43. Stone Sour
42. Collective Soul
41. Theory of a Deadman
40. 3 Doors Down
39. Def Leppard
38. Eric Clapton
37. Staind
36. R.E.M.
35. Red Hot Chili Peppers
34. Creed
33. Green Day
32. Bruce Springsteen
31. The Black Crowes
30. Korn
29. Volbeat
28. ZZ Top
27. Ozzy Osbourne
26. Avenged Sevenfold
25. Robert Plant
24. Pop Evil
23. Alice In Chains
22. Chevelle
21. Linkin Park
20. Stone Temple Pilots
19. Rush
18. The Rolling Stones
17. Breaking Benjamin
16. Pearl Jam
15. Nickelback
14. John Mellencamp
13. Papa Roach
12. U2
11. Aerosmith
10. Metallica
9. Foo Fighters
8. Seether
7. Five Finger Death Punch
6. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
5. Disturbed
4. Van Halen
3. Three Days Grace
2. Godsmack
1. Shinedown

 

#433 Godsmack, 1000hp
Written by Sully Erna, Shannon Larkin, Robbie Merrill, and Tony Rombola
Produced by Sully Erna and Dave Fortman
Label: Republic
Debuted June 28, 2014 at #11
Issued August 23, 2014 - #2 previous week - 3 weeks at #1
^9 weeks

#12 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#22 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#96 on the 2014 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End

Album: 1000hp (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



1000hp by Godsmack is an autobiographical song about how the band went from being ignored in their hometown of Boston to being one of the most successful rock bands of the 21st century.

 

I feel like an old man lately following this thread. Cuz I pretty much don't know any of the songs for about the last 10+ years. To quantify it a little more precisely, I went through this top 50 list and counted how many bands I could name one of their songs prior to following this thread. Turned out better than I thought: 36/50. Although for the top 10, it's only 4/10: VH, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, and Metallica.

Is it noteworthy that relatively few of the acts on this list identify as solo artists?

48. Steve Winwood
47. Bryan Adams
44. Don Henley
38. Eric Clapton
27. Ozzy Osbourne
25. Robert Plant
14. John Mellencamp

Gray area:
32. Bruce Springsteen
6. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Of these, only Bryan Adams and John Mellencamp have been solo artists from day one. The others made their bones - and I'd argue built their credibility - in a band format first. Is it something about the ethos of the mainstream rock genre that lends itself to forming bands rather than striking out on one's own? Or does the mainstream rock audience confer more credibility to a band vs. some guy (or lady) writing songs?

Maybe it's a bias on my part, but in the pop world, I view solo performers as often being "entertainers", "personalities", or "products" - more than as artists. As such, I will tend to take a rock band more seriously than a solo rock performer - where I'm more likely to feel that I'm being sold a product or a personality.

At least for the 70s-90s era, it seems to me that a lot of notable female rockers were solo artists: Pat Benatar, Tori Amos, Alanis Morrisette, Joan Jett, Lita Ford. (Admittedly, Amos and Morrisette edge toward the singer-songwriter genre.) Plenty of counter-examples, of course: Bangles, Go-Gos, Runaways, Donnas, Sleater-Kinney.

 

Those are definitely topics for interesting discussion. Unfortunately, I don't currently have enough of a meaningful insight to respond.

 

July 26 is a big day for birthdays in rock. It was the day in 1949 when Roger Taylor from Queen was born, but more relevantly for our sake, it's the birthday of two huge names in Mainstream Rock: Mick Jagger (born 1943) and The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen (born 1993). In fact, I believe it's because she shares a birthday with Mick Jagger that her middle name is "Michel" - it comes with having a classic rock nerd for a dad.
Anyway, I knew when I started this thread that I wanted to time it so I would post a Pretty Reckless song on Taylor Momsen's birthday. My original schedule would've had the Pretty Reckless song in question be Heaven Knows, but the other #1 hit they had in 2014 also works.
So here's wishing Taylor Momsen a very happy 28th birthday! Consider this my present to her. It's probably not as big a gesture as, say, an Olympic gymnast doing a routine set to Heaven Knows, but it's the thought that counts.

#434 The Pretty Reckless, Messed Up World
Written by Taylor Momsen and Ben Phillips
Produced by Kato Khandwala
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Label: Razor & Tie
Debuted June 28, 2014 at #32
Issued September 13, 2014 - #4 previous week - 1 week at #1
^12 weeks

Issued September 27, 2014 - #2 previous week - 3 weeks at #1
^14 weeks

#15 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#44 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs

Album: Going To Hell (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



"Messed Up World" is not the song's actual title, just the clean version that radio DJs can say on air without getting fined. I'm used to calling the song by its actual title because "Messed Up" doesn't pack quite the same punch, but since this website has a profanity filter, I'll split the difference and call the song by its actual title's initials.
F.U.W. marked the first time since Stevie Nicks that a female act scored two #1 hits on Mainstream Rock. It was also the first time since the Pretenders that a female act scored two #1 Mainstream Rock hits in a row. Suffice to say, it was a big deal, though obviously not nearly as big a hit as Heaven Knows. One thing that might stand out to listeners is how distinct the two songs are from each other. While both have a Seventies arena rock vibe, F.U.W. feels specifically like an homage to Van Halen. It's just over-the-top enough that I can picture David Lee Roth singing it. Heck, his first single after leaving Van Halen, a cover of the Beach Boys' California Girls that peaked at #3 on Mainstream Rock, had a music video with beach babes just like F.U.W.
Oh, that reminds me. On Taylor's right in the video thumbnail is her friend, retired porn star Jenna Haze. She had previously appeared in a music video for one of the songs from Light Me Up, and her appearance here fits with the overall theme of Going To Hell that I'll elaborate on later. For now, I will leave the "porn star dancing" jokes to you, the reader.

 

Godsmack does not currently or ever have had a female drummer.

 

*Checks Wikipedia*

…well, I screwed up royally.

 

#435 Linkin Park, Until It's Gone
Written by William Griffin and Linkin Park (Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Mike Shinoda)
Produced by Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda
Mastered by Emily Lazar
Label: Warner Bros./Machine Shop
Debuted June 7, 2014 at #39
Issued September 20, 2014 - #2 previous week - 1 week at #1
^16 weeks

#18 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#19 on Alternative Airplay
#17 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#75 on the 2014 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End

Album: The Hunting Party (2014)



This was Linkin Park's last Mainstream Rock hit. Nothing from 2017's One More Light, the last album they made while Chester Bennington was still alive, cracked the top 10.
So with that in mind, I salute you, Linkin Park.

 

#436 Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, World On Fire
Written by Slash and Myles Kennedy
Produced by Michael Baskette
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Label: Dik Hayd International
Debuted July 5, 2014 at #25
Issued October 18, 2014 - #3 previous week - 1 week at #1
^16 weeks

#16 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#43 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs

Album: World On Fire (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



Myles Kennedy seems to have a habit of replacing "difficult" people. In addition to being the singer of Alter Bridge (a.k.a. Creed without Scott Stapp), Myles has also done a bunch of work with Slash, who played with both Axl Rose and Scott Weiland. I presume for that reason Slash really enjoyed making World On Fire.
You can hear him talk about that process with Loudwire here.

 

#437 Nickelback, Edge of a Revolution
Written by Ryan Peake and Mike & Chad Kroeger
Produced by Chris Baseford and Nickelback (Daniel Adair, Ryan Peake, and Mike & Chad Kroeger)
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Label: Republic
Debuted September 6, 2014 at #16
Issued October 25, 2014 - #2 previous week - 2 weeks at #1
^8 weeks

#30 on the 2014 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#13 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs

Album: No Fixed Address (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



This album has a song with rapper Flo Rida. Yes, really.
A word to all rock bands: if you're going to put a rapper on your song, pick one because they're good and work with the song. Don't pick someone just because they're popular.
That being said, I did like She Keeps Me Up. Musically, at least. I was not expecting Nickelback to dabble in early Maroon 5-type funk.

 

And that was 2014. Here's the Year-End.

50. Of Mice & Men, Would You Still Be There (peaked at #18 - August 9, 2014)
49. Cage The Elephant, Come A Little Closer (peaked at #10 - January 18, 2014)
48. Escape The Fate, One For The Money (peaked at #11 - March 15, 2014)
47. Chevelle, Hunter Eats Hunter (peaked at #10 - September 6, 2014)
46. Arctic Monkeys, Do I Wanna Know? (peaked at #12 - April 26, 2014)
45. Young The Giant, It's About Time (peaked at #11 - April 26, 2014)
44. Korn, Never Never
43. KONGOS, Come With Me Now (peaked at #14 - June 7, 2014)
42. Five Finger Death Punch, Wrong Side Of Heaven (peaked at #2 - November 15, 2014)
41. Pearl Jam, Lightning Bolt (peaked at #6 - May 3, 2014)
40. The Black Keys, Fever (peaked at #12 - May 31, 2014)
39. Five Finger Death Punch, House Of The Rising Sun (peaked at #7 - May 3, 2014)
38. Slipknot, The Devil In I (peaked at #2 - November 1, 2014)
37. Royal Blood, Figure It Out (peaked at #3 - December 6, 2014)
36. Skillet, Not Gonna Die (peaked at #9 - March 29, 2014)
35. We As Human featuring Lacey Sturm, Take The Bullets Away (peaked at #12 - August 16, 2014)
34. A Perfect Circle, By And Down (peaked at #8 - December 28, 2013)
33. Volbeat, Lola Montez
32. Pearl Jam, Sirens (peaked at #6 - December 28, 2013)
31. Weezer, Back To The Shack (peaked at #5 - October 11, 2014)
30. Nickelback, Edge Of A Revolution
29. Adelitas Way, Dog On A Leash (peaked at #7 - July 26, 2014)
28. Pop Evil, Deal With The Devil
27. Korn, Hater (peaked at #5 - October 18, 2014)
26. Korn, Spike In My Veins (peaked at #5 - April 19, 2014)
25. Rise Against, I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore (peaked at #5 - September 20, 2014)
24. Shinedown, Adrenaline (peaked at #4 - February 1, 2014)
23. Seether, Weak (peaked at #5 - March 22, 2014)
22. Theory Of A Deadman, Drown (peaked at #4 - August 9, 2014)
21. Avenged Sevenfold, This Means War (peaked at #4 - June 21, 2014)
20. You Me At Six, Room To Breathe (peaked at #4 - October 11, 2014)
19. Alter Bridge, Addicted To Pain (peaked at #4 - March 1, 2014)
18. Linkin Park, Until It's Gone
17. Five Finger Death Punch, Battle Born
16. Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, World On Fire
15. The Pretty Reckless, Messed Up World (F.U.W.)
14. Royal Blood, Out Of The Black (peaked at #2 - June 28, 2014)
13. Linkin Park featuring Rakim, Guilty All The Same
12. Godsmack, 1000hp
11. All That Remains, What If I Was Nothing (peaked at #2 - March 1, 2014)
10. Starset, My Demons (peaked at #5 - October 4, 2014)
9. Volbeat, Dead But Rising (peaked at #3 - May 17, 2014)
8. Stone Sour, Tired
7. Pop Evil, Torn To Pieces
6. Three Days Grace, Painkiller
5. Chevelle, Take Out The Gunman
4. Seether, Words As Weapons
3. Nothing More, Ballast (peaked at #2 - August 23, 2014)
2. Avenged Sevenfold, Shepherd Of Fire
1. The Pretty Reckless, Heaven Knows

 

ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill has passed away at the age of 72.
Rest In Peace.

 

#438 Foo Fighters featuring Rick Nielsen, Something from Nothing
Written by Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, and Pat Smear
Produced by Butch Vig and Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, and Pat Smear)
Mastered by Reuben Cohen and Gavin Lurssen
Label: RCA
Debuted November 1, 2014 at #16
Issued November 8, 2014 - #16 previous week - 13 weeks at #1
^2 weeks

#14 on the 2015 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#1 on Alternative Airplay
#20 on the 2015 Alternative Songs Year-End
#8 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#95 on the 2014 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End
#46 on the 2015 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End
#28 on Adult Alternative Songs

Album: Sonic Highways (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



For the Foo Fighters' eighth studio album, 2014's Sonic Highways, Dave Grohl and co. traveled to eight major American cities. In each city, they wrote and recorded a song there inspired by its musical history. The city that inspired lead single Something from Nothing was Chicago, which I would imagine has more in its musical history than can be fit into a song that runs just under five minutes. Not to disparage the Foo Fighters, but you would expect a song inspired by the musical history of a major American city to sound like music from that city. The song features Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, who isn't from Chicago, but he is from Illinois; I suppose that's close enough. However, the song also features a guitar riff that sounds suspiciously like Holy Diver by Dio, the eponymous band of a guy from New Hampshire.
Just something to ponder. Still a pretty good song, though.

 

Bummer. Rockers have a shorter than average life expectancy, but this still seems too early.

One of those bands which has had essentially the same lineup their entire existence. (There were a few other members early on, who were long gone by the time they recorded their first album in 1971.) Wonder whether they will try to carry on. Apparently their guitar tech had been slated to fill in for Hill for a few shows while he dealt with a hip injury.

 

I only watched the video to get a sense of what Nielsen's participation was. I guess the dim lighting of the video is for effect, but for my purposes, it's mostly annoying. Where's Rick? I was skipping ahead a bit, but I believe he doesn't turn up until the 3:00 mark. I recognized his checkerboard guitar first, before his trademark cap. Too bad they couldn't toss Nielsen a co-songwriting credit, he could probably use the money more than them.

While we're on the subject of Cheap Trick - it was nice to see them hit the Mainstream Rock charts again in 2016 with "When I Wake Up Tomorrow" (#24). After a nineteen year absence....

 

#439 Three Days Grace, I Am Machine
Written by Gavin Brown, Johnny Andrews, and Three Days Grace (Neil Sanderson, Barry Stock, and Brad & Matt Walst)
Produced by Gavin Brown
Mastered by Joe LaPorta
Label: RCA/Warner
Debuted October 18, 2014 at #30
Issued February 7, 2015 - #3 previous week - 6 weeks at #1
^17 weeks

#5 on the 2015 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#91 on the Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs
#20 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#77 on the 2015 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End

Album: Human (2015)

Songfacts page? Yes

 

#440 Papa Roach, Face Everything And Rise
Written by Jacoby Shaddix and Tobin Esperance
Produced and mastered by Kane & Kevin Churko
Label: Eleven Seven
Debuted November 22, 2014 at #31
Issued March 21, 2015 - #2 previous week - 1 week at #1
^18 weeks

#19 on the 2015 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#15 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs

Album: F.E.A.R. (2015)

Songfacts page? Yes



Papa Roach's 2015 album F.E.A.R. ("Face Everything and Rise") has a song, Gravity featuring Maria Brink from In This Moment, where lead singer Jacoby Shaddix raps. Strangely, that is not the song that features actual rapper Royce da 5'9". Credit where it's due, I told rock bands to stop bringing on rappers just because they're popular. While Royce has recognition and respect in the hip-hop community - I even met him once; he's a cool guy in spite of that one anti-vax lyrics - he doesn't have mainstream celebrity status like fellow Detroit rapper and longtime collaborator Eminem. So Papa Roach did listen, I guess. Kudos for that.
Anyway, the band's Spotify page has an album of commentary tracks where Jacoby (and at one point, producer and friend of the thread Kevin Churko) talks about the meaning behind each song. I'd say it's worth checking out.

 

For Throwback Thursday, I'd like to share an interview of Kenney Jones, who played drums on the album featuring The Who's You Better You Bet. Among other things, he recalls having to fill in for Keith Moon and the conversations he had with the remaining band members about that. Definitely worth a read.

 

#441 Halestorm, Apocalyptic
Written by Lzzy Hale, Nate Campany, and Scott Stevens
Produced by Jay Joyce
Mastered by Richard Dodd
Label: Atlantic
Debuted January 31, 2015 at #17
Issued March 28, 2015 - #2 previous week - 1 week at #1
^9 weeks

#20 on the 2015 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#34 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs

Album: Into the Wild Life (2015)

Songfacts page? Yes



Throughout the decade prior to Halestorm's third album, 2015's Into the Wild Life, there were a lot of Mainstream Rock hits about sex that approached the matter in an aggressively masculine way. Now that we've returned to a point where women have a somewhat regular presence at the top of the rock chart, it was perhaps inevitable that we'd get a song about sex from a female perspective. Some of Halestorm's previous hits were already about that - heck, their debut single was essentially about that. However, Apocalyptic featured the most... shall we say, detailed depiction of sex out of all their hits up to that point. If that sounds like your jam, you will dig this song.

Probably.

From what I've read, Into the Wild Life isn't exactly regarded as the band's best album. While I have my criticisms, I would say the album as a whole is still pretty decent and Apocalyptic is one of the highlights.
Let me put it this way. I found this video of Lzzy chatting with Corey Taylor that I recommend you watch. Firstly because after the recent death of Slipknot's original drummer, I think we need all the good vibes we can get. Secondly because in it, Corey tells Lzzy - as someone who has worked with her and has nothing but respect for her and her work - that Halestorm's albums should do a better job of capturing what makes them such a great live act, ideally with some "Mutt Lange"-style production. This conversation took place well before Halestorm released Into the Wild Life, for which I understand the band got a new producer and recorded the songs live in the studio. So whether or not the band successfully made Corey's hopes a reality might be up for debate. Check the album out and decide for yourself.
Speaking of live shows, The Pretty Reckless supported Halestorm on the tour for Into the Wild Life. I'll put a pin on the two bands for now and get back to them later.

 

#442 Foo Fighters featuring Zac Brown, Congregation
Written by Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, and Pat Smear
Produced by Butch Vig and Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, and Pat Smear)
Mastered by Reuben Cohen and Gavin Lurssen
Label: RCA
Debuted February 14, 2015 at #28
Issued April 4, 2015 - #2 previous week - 3 weeks at #1
^8 weeks

#17 on the 2015 Mainstream Rock Tracks Year-End
#5 on Alternative Airplay
#27 on the 2015 Alternative Songs Year-End
#21 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
#69 on the 2015 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Year-End
#25 on Adult Alternative Songs

Album: Sonic Highways (2014)

Songfacts page? Yes



The first single from Sonic Highways, Something from Nothing, was inspired by the musical history of Chicago. The third single, Congregation featuring country singer Zac Brown, was inspired by the musical history of Nashville. There is actually a big rock and metal scene in Nashville, but it's still synonymous with country music as far as the general population is concerned, which is why there's a country singer featured on this track.