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.
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,”
Not rock, not rock, not rock... and not even close to rock.
It’s been (mostly) downhill since around ‘74.
I’m a baby boomer and that’s what I believe, there has been very little good rock music at all since the early 1980’s.
Rock n Roll’s been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.
“John Mellencamp (four weeks with “Jack & Diane”)”
I always thought it was John Cougar. Did he get married or something?
When I first heard “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” it was only a few years ago, long after the song came out. I didn’t know who sang it.
My first thoughts: “This song must be from some movie where the girls were all GaGa over how the singer looked. And it probably wasn’t even a professional singer. Maybe a popular actor, somebody like Johnny Depp, who is known to dabble in performing music here and there. The voice, energy and delivery are dry, raspy, lethargic to the point of being weak.
That is the sound of someone doing Kareoke after too many Tequila Sunrises, but allows himself to be recorded anyway.
Cougar is apparently his middle name. Maybe just for stage purposes.
American Graffiti.
“I’m a baby boomer and that’s what I believe, there has been very little good rock music at all since the early 1980’s.”
Bee boomer here in Japan . I’d say until late 80’s / early 90’s , especially Brit bands not so much USA .
Check out Rival Sons.
Tom Petty was the last great rocker. That is all I am going to say.
Cars would be on the “Yes” list...No?
Absolutely agree.
I still spin this once in a while
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PFWFIya2xGU
Shooting Star ‘Last Chance’
I don’t know. Seems since the original true rock&roll era, everything on the pop charts is automatically called “RR”. It’s become synonymous with “pop”. And I do mean, even circa 1980. I was alive and aware of pop then.
So, using the cool people’s definition that everything hip is “RR”, that cannot be true.
I'm a boomer and I consider the 70s to be the Dark Ages of music and the 80s to be the Renaissance. Now I only listen to 90s through today's music. 70s music makes me want to puke.
Yes, I have to seriously question them. Except as I pointed out, it seems anything hip is “rock” these days. You don’t dare call it something less hip.
Give the Bangles’ “Walk Like and Egyptian” another listen to see if that’s RocknRoll or not; then Jet “Are You Goin to be My Girl”. Bangles and Jet were rockers of the first order.
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