I refuse to buy the premise that one song–or two, or even an album–can “ruin” an artist.
I don’t know about a single song, but U2 disappered (further) up its own arse when the Rattle and Hum album came out. They did good stuff before, after, and even on, that record, but it somehow marked them to me as wankers.
Let me clarify what I was getting after. I’m talking of a song that is probably the band’s most popular song or gave them the most exposure but really wasn’t respresentative of what they were really all about. Not necessarily a good band’s worst song. For it to qualify, it has to be a well heard song.
2 more, one from the early 90s, one more recent:
“More than words” by Extreme (who are actually a funk band)
“Butterfly” by CrazyTown - they said something like this in an interview:
“We did not want to be known as ‘the band that played Butterfly’, so we waited until we were established as a band.”
I don’t think they have waited long enough…
Sounds like one hit wonders to me. People who might have a large body of work but they only had one song make it into mainstream popularity.
Marc
[partial hijack]
Even as a die-hard Heart fan, I have to agree with this assessment of the song itself, but I’m not sure I agree that the song is what “killed” the band. Rather, IMHO I think that between the March 1990 release of Brigade (from which this song was the first single) and November 1993’s Desire Walks On the rock world had become quite fragmented and compartmentalized, and was less interested in their particular brand of rock. And Heart has always been criticized for mixing hard-rock with “sappy” ballads. But I do see your point, Sealemon88.
[/partial hijack]
Although Peter Cetera is not a band, I think his solo career was killed by too many duet-singles: Amy Grant, Agnetha Faltskog, Cher.
Read my earlier post about Badfinger, it did more than ruin them, the wrangling over royalties from “Without You” was a significant contributor in the suicides of two of the band.
Another odd way a particular song can affect a band:
Weezer and “Buddy Holly”. The video was included on a lot of Win95 cds. Being associated with Micro$oft is no longer considered “cool”. Viewed by some as great career move then, bad career move now.
“Mr. Roboto” by STYX.
Ugh.
I’m going on the assumption here that you’re being sarcastic. Can you explain what my parents mean by saying the Archies weren’t “a real band”? If people sang and played instuments, doesn’t that qualify as real?
disclaimer:
I LOVE this band madly and at least their latest (last…who knows?) album made amends, but…
“monday friday I am in love” by **the cure **
good god, that song makes me want to hurl.
so bad, I don’t even bother to find out the real title of the song.
::pounds head on wall::
why, Robert…why???
Billy Ray Cyrus was ruined by Achy Breaky Heart. I’m not going to say he’s some musical genius, but he has done a lot better music than that more recently. The song “Busy Man” was respectable, and even the song “Coulda Been Me” from the same album as “Achy Breaky Heart” was pretty fair.
A friend of mine is a friend of Don McLean. He says that while he isn’t sorry for the great living that he’s earned from “American Pie”, he’s frequently sorry he wrote it. The worst part is that he feels obligated to do it every time he plays a show, and it’s so damn long.
Still, I think the poster child (nudging out even “Chuck E.'s in Love”) has to be “Touch of Grey”, by the Dead. It’s a great song, and while it’s not exactly typical of the Dead, it’s as much so as a four-minute single could be. Still, most of the long-time Deadheads that I know (I’m a serious latecomer) think of it as the beginning of the end.
Dr. J
As long as we’re discussing the Dead, how about Alabama Getaway? Somehow, a Dead song including the lyrics “Before I have to hit him, I hope he’ll have the sense to run” doesn’t sit right with me.
I think “Enter Sandman” by Metallica qualifies…not quite horrible in and of itself, but certainly worse than anything that they had done before it, and it only lead to worse and worse musical direction for the group in their attempt to actually make money.
-LV
By the OP criteria, I gotta go with **DemonSpawn[/].
More Than Words by Extreme was a power ballad by a heavy metal band and its the only song anybody remembers.
Well, the song became famous for me on that Badfinger album with the picture of that hand with the bad finger. Boy was I steaming when that Nilsson came out with it–cripes, he can, and did, write his own (very) stupid songs. Oh, and didn’t McCartney have something to do with those Badfinger guys. And they all bore a striking resemblance to each Beatle.
My biggest disappointment was waiting to hear the Stones’ newest release back in 65 or 66, especially after listening to King Bee, Heart of Stone, and Tell Me, and Satisfaction of course, and they came out with that piece of shit 19th Nervous Breakdown. Thank God, they redeemed themselves, but we all had to wait a while for Beggars’ B and Gimme. It almost made them a prime candidate for this (great) thread.
I completely lost respect for Aerosmith after “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.” I can’t listen to them anymore.
Ditto for Bon Jovi and his latest drek (the name of which I don’t even want to know). The first time I heard it I thought it was The BackSync Boys.
If we’re talking about whole albums vs. individual songs ruining a band, then I’d have to say that Styx completely betrayed me when they put out Paradise Theatre. To me this album was nothing like all of their predecessors. And don’t even get me started on Kilroy Was Here.
Reviving this thread because there’s one more name I forgot, Enya.
A wonderfully talented singer who almost single-handedly brought New Age music into the mainstream, and certainly had more success in mainstream markets than anyone else. Produced some of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in my life.
So what’s her huge breakthrough hit? Orinoco Flow. Okay, it’s a nice song, but the travelogue thing’s been done before, and besides, isn’t it a little strange that an Irish singer’s big hit would be about the Carribbean and surrounding areas?
But never mind; at least it was a good song. Then, a few years after Watermark, she has a new album. Guess what her second big hit is?
Yep, Only Time…the most sickeningly sappy song she’s ever done. Which means, of course, that a multitude of radio stations, including Star 101.9 where I live (sacrilege!) have to play it ad nauseum.
I’ve posted it before. I’ll do it again. Enya is not a pop singer. Dressing her up as one won’t work. Why can’t they understand?
[Oh, and did I already mention how Aqua got absolutely fragged by Barbie Girl? Just wanted to make sure everyone got that. Oh, and www.xoverboard.com did a little update on the stupid lawsuit Mattel brought to Aqua for that song, although I’m not sure it’s on the front page anymore.]