Posted on 02/18/2022 8:51:18 PM PST by nickcarraway
Over the past 40 years, rock has gone from the unquestioned king of genres to a footnote in the hierarchy of mainstream music.
In 1982, a rock artist held the No. 1 song in the U.S. for 44 of the year’s 52 weeks. That amounts to just less than 85 percent of the year, a staggering figure that showcases just how embedded rock was in popular culture at the time.
There are plenty of ways to split hairs on this — Daryl Hall and John Oates and Men at Work were pop-leaning artists, while Paul McCartney’s collaboration with Stevie Wonder (“Ebony and Ivory”) was decidedly pop as well — but that doesn’t change the fact that rock artists were the dominant musical force.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” spent seven weeks at No. 1 in 1982, as did McCartney’s duet with Wonder. The J. Geils Band (six weeks with “Centerfold”), Survivor (six weeks with “Eye of the Tiger”) and John Mellencamp (four weeks with “Jack & Diane”) also enjoyed extended runs in the top spot.
While no year matched 1982 for rock dominance, the rest of the decade was generally good for the genre. Throughout the ‘80s, on average rock artists spent roughly half the year atop the chart, with the low point being 1989, when only 22 weeks featured a rock artist at No 1.
Those numbers fell off a cliff as the '90s began. With the spandex bubble bursting on hair metal, many former powerhouse acts found it difficult to garner attention for their newest work. Despite the seismic cultural shift provided by grunge, none of the new subgenre’s artists were able to top the Billboard Hot 100. Neither Nirvana nor Pearl Jam — the two biggest and most commercially successful grunge acts — scored a No. 1 song; “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” arguably the era's definitive song, made it to only No. 6.
There were still occasional rock breakthroughs throughout the ‘90s, like Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” Bryan Adams’ “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” There was also the phenomenon of Elton John’s updated “Candle in the Wind,” which, in the wake of Princess Diana’s death, spent a total of 14 weeks at No. 1. Still, the rock chart-toppers were few and far between. And though the decade ended with Santana’s 1999 hit “Smooth” dominating the airwaves, it became clear the genre had fallen behind rap and pop among mainstream listeners.
While the drop from the ‘80s to ‘90s was significant, rock hits got even sparser after the turn of the millennium. Thirteen of the past 20 years (2001-21) did not feature a rock song that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even those that did were either extremely pop-leaning (Coldplay, Fun.), huge one-hit wonders (Gotye, Plain White T’s) or bands people want to forget (Crazy Town). If you want to drill down and filter out such alt-pop artists as Billie Eilish, Lorde and those already mentioned, the last traditional rock song to hit No. 1 was Nickelback's 2001 single “How You Remind Me."
Part of the reason can be attributed to the way the chart is assembled. Billboard, which curates the national charts, traditionally used a formula that combined sales numbers and radio airplay. For decades these numbers were skewed, as they generally relied on music retailers to record accurate accounts for the number of units they sold — a process that made human error and fraud commonplace. In 1991, Nielsen SoundScan — a method that tracked purchases via computerized cash registers across the country — was introduced, resulting in a much more accurate sales picture.
Similarly, radio, which for decades relied on participants using handwritten journals to note their listening habits, switched to the Portable People Meter (PPM) around 2007. The small device senses what its user is listening to and automatically records the data, once again increasing accuracy while significantly lowering the likelihood of fraud or error.
These technological advancements, along with the later adoption of streaming numbers into Billboard’s charts equations, undoubtedly affected rock’s footprint. It’s no coincidence that rock No. 1’s fell precipitously after their introductions. Still, the long trend cannot simply be chalked up to new means of recording data.
Rock acts such as Linkin Park, Green Day, Evanescence and Blink-182 all boast albums among the best-selling in the 21st century and had songs peak within the Top 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, yet none was able to reach No. 1. Twenty One Pilots’ 2015 LP, Blurryface, was the best-selling rock release of the '10s, but its highest-charting single, "Stressed Out,” peaked at No. 2.
Charts aren't the be-all, end-all of music. Sales figures, streaming numbers and concert attendance suggest that rock fans are still as passionate as always. And given the cyclical tendencies of pop culture, it seems likely that a rock resurgence could come at any moment. Rock isn’t dead, and it won't ever die. But we probably won’t ever see another year like 1982.
I'm the monster Rock and Roll,
Hated by all whose hearts are old.
I'm blamed for everything in the book;
Seems I've got the country shook.
Mention my name, they blow their lids,
And nobody loves me but the kids.
I make the critics blow their nuts
The louder they shout, the harder I rock.
All of them saying, I'll soon be dead,
Trying to kill me, cut off my head
But when you cut my head off, Son,
Two will grow where there was one.
The battle was on, the fight began.
A musical war throughout the land.
Scratched their heads and started to think,
Calypso music would make me sink.
Hawaiian ballads and hillbilly, too,
They threw them all into the stew.
Ate them up, and what came out?
Rock-a-hula, rock-a-shout.
Rockabilly and rock-a-sweet,
Nevertheless, it had the beat.
No matter how many fights they stage,
We're living in the new rock age,
I'm the monster Rock and Roll.
The kids all love me, heart and soul.
That's why I'll never be left alone;
When they grow up, I'll have a home.
After the shouting along the ring,
Rock and Roll will still be king!
Thanks, but I was not the one all that interested in Mellencamp. I was responding to another poster.
I’ve never paid all that much attention to J. Mellencamp.
Different entertainers for different people.
Metallica were masters of hypnotic melancholy.
Rather that gripe and argue about when rock died, I’m going to suggest checking out the Marcus King Band. Marcus is a young kid who does Southern Blues/Rock that’s very recognizable as a continuation of the trail that was started by the Allman Brothers. I’m going to go see him next week.
Bravo! Thanks for posting this. You are absolutely correct.
McCartney - not sine the 70's
The J. Geils Band - not since the 70's
Survivor - Not Rock ‘n Roll
John Mellencamp - Not even close to Rock ‘n Roll
Well I for one miss the 70’s and 80’s rock music. In fact there was a morning show duo in Detroit that issued “dread” cards. Detroit rockers engaged in the abolition of disco. I was a card carrying member.
Music now isn’t the same but I’m listening to my classic rock and country music almost exclusively.
I had my Jazz show for 3 years, but occasionally I would introduce listeners to new bands
For example, all the jocks would say, R.E.M.? That's one of them PUNK bands,ain't it?
Well, R.E.M. sold how many records, I was a professional musician for 22 years, and Mr. Jock never made the NFL.
DO NOT listen to commercial radio.
I also listened to the oldies station KFMK 97.8 morning show with Lee Jolly and Chuck Shramek (later the Hale-Bopp guy) as my wake-up station.
-PJ
1960s===>*The* classic decade.Rock,pop,folk,etc.
1970s===> Very little worth listening to
1980s===> Some interesting,and fun,stuff released.
Those quote-unquote "rock" songs sounded like pop.
Maybe that's why they reached #1 on the pop charts in '82.
Cougar was a stage name.
The 1990's had great rock music: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc.
But, it returned in the 1990's.
Rock is dead. Hip hop sucks.
How is anyone supposed to find original rock and roll without having to wade through all the dreck on that site?
LOL, my interests in music pretty much stopped at 1981, the year I returned to the States from a 4 year tour in Germany. I lived off base, so I went without TV. To fill what little off time I had, I mixed my own tapes from a library of about 400 albums I acquired over the years.
When I got back home, other pursuits took over, followed by the usual: marriage, kids, work, etc.
Great thing about my time in the Army, was the exposure to a wide variety of music. I became a big fan of Southern Rock and jazz, specifically George Benson and Spyrogyra.
True rock music is album oriented and so many rock artists do not even bother much with promoting singles. They tend to focus on albums and live performances. Led Zeppelin is famous for that, they hated putting out singles and so rarely did so.
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