# That was their biggest hit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683 "2006-11-16T15:25:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/21 "2006-11-16T18:44:19Z")
_Date Rape_ by **Sublime**. May not be their biggest hit, but it was their first, and it is a truly awful, terrible song that I feel set their careers and their legacy way back. They are a much better band than this song indicates. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/22 "2006-11-16T18:55:07Z")
“Short People” isn’t a total departure from Randy Newman’s usual style, but a lot of people who sang along to it on the radio would have been shocked to hear “God’s Song” or “Rednecks”. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/23 "2006-11-16T19:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=Uncommon Sense] How so? VH had tons of ‘playful’ songs like that one. [/QUOTE] “Jump” doesn’t have what’s arguably the most distinctive thing about Van Halen - Eddie Van Halen playing the guitar. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/24 "2006-11-16T19:32:31Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] “Jump” doesn’t have what’s arguably the most distinctive thing about Van Halen - Eddie Van Halen playing the guitar. [/QUOTE] You might want to check back on that…Eddie plays a pretty good solo in that song. But you are right that everywhere else in the song is guitarless (unless maybe there’s some guitar-synth). ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/25 "2006-11-16T19:40:59Z")
I’m not sure if it’s their biggest hit or not, but I think it’s sad that there are a lot of people who only know **Dire Straits** as the “Money For Nothing” guys. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/26 "2006-11-16T19:42:54Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] I’m not sure if it’s their biggest hit or not, but I think it’s sad that there are a lot of people who only know **Dire Straits** as the “Money For Nothing” guys. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it’s funny that Dire Straits only became superstars after releasing a song that sounded exactly like ZZ Top. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/27 "2006-11-16T19:46:22Z")
**Like A Rolling Stone** certainly was indicitave of Dylan’s style but hardly the best representation of his talent. Yet, I believe that one was his biggest single (in the U.S. anyway) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/28 "2006-11-16T19:48:44Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Yeah, it’s funny that Dire Straits only became superstars after releasing a song that sounded exactly like ZZ Top. 🙂 [/QUOTE] And even funnier that the whole song parodies music industry’s sellout to the MTV mindset and here they go playing a song that sounds fairly generic and lo and behold. It becomes the song that put them on the “Pop” map. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/29 "2006-11-16T19:52:06Z")
Genesis-Invisible Touch. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/30 "2006-11-16T20:03:53Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] Genesis-Invisible Touch. [/QUOTE] Amen brother! I still can’t wrap my mind around how then went from post Peter Gabriel “Duke” and “The Wind And The Wuthering” to “Invisible Touch” The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/31 "2006-11-16T20:07:35Z")
For Your Love by The Yardbirds fits in here somewhere, I think. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/32 "2006-11-16T20:14:58Z")
[QUOTE=rockyroad] Naw all along the watchtower … everybody has done , go with a Hendrix original like purple haze or Hey Joe That’s it… **Hey Joe** , it has the bluesy open feel prevalent on so many of Hendrixs works [/QUOTE] “Hey Joe” wasn’t a Hendrix original, though. I’d go with “Town By Malice” by The Jam or “Our House” by Madness, which were their biggest hits in America (both groups were more well-known in the UK) but weren’t really indicative of their sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/33 "2006-11-16T23:19:12Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] You might want to check back on that…Eddie plays a pretty good solo in that song. But you are right that everywhere else in the song is guitarless (unless maybe there’s some guitar-synth). [/QUOTE] You are correct! It’s been a while since I listen to the original (as opposed to, say, Paul Anka’s version). ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/34 "2006-11-17T00:49:57Z")
The Beach Boys - Kokomo (yuk!) ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/35 "2006-11-17T00:52:04Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Harry Nilsson’s “Cocoanut” [/QUOTE] Actually, “Without You” was his biggest hit but even that was atypical of his work since Nilsson wrote most of his songs and “Without You” was a cover (as was Nilsson’s second biggest record, “Everybody’s Talking”). [QUOTE=Rube E. Tewesday] “Short People” isn’t a total departure from Randy Newman’s usual style, but a lot of people who sang along to it on the radio would have been shocked to hear “God’s Song” or “Rednecks”. [/QUOTE] The same thing can be said about Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” which was a throwaway novelty song that ended up becoming his biggest hit and the song most people knew him by (much to his chagrin). Also, I hate to say this but I think it’s highly likely “Stacy’s Mom” will end up being Fountains of Wayne’s biggest single and the _only_ song most people will think of when the group is mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/36 "2006-11-17T02:58:14Z")
[QUOTE=LateComer] Jethro Tull’s biggest hit Aqualung is notable in that it doesn’t have any flute in it. [/QUOTE] Tull’s biggest (and only Top 40) hits were “Living in the Past” (#11) and “Bungle in the Jungle” (#12). Although it is one of Tull’s best-known songs, “Aqualung” was never released as a single, so it was never a hit per se. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/37 "2006-11-17T04:43:27Z")
Apparently _Blue Monday_ was **New Order** ’s biggest hit. This drives me nuts, because I hate that song. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@The\_Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Octagon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/38 "2006-11-17T06:42:24Z")
This happens a lot - whenever an act touches a mainstream nerve or tries something different for just a song, they get a hit. Pearl Jam - Last Kiss 311 - Amber Ben Folds Five - Brick Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Fountains of Wayne - Stacy’s mom [QUOTE=rockyroad] Naw all along the watchtower … everybody has done , go with a Hendrix original like purple haze or Hey Joe That’s it… **Hey Joe** , it has the bluesy open feel prevalent on so many of Hendrixs works [/QUOTE] Hey Joe is not a Hendrix original. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/39 "2006-11-17T07:29:26Z")
[I’m noticing a trend with the mentions in this thread…](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/97/97hsongs.phtml) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683/40 "2006-11-17T08:13:25Z")
Actually, Todd Rundgren’s biggest hit was “Hello It’s Me” (#5 pop in 1973), which is much closer to his usual style. Frank Zappa is one that popped to mind:“Valley Girl” (#32 pop in 1982) doesn’t have much to do with his usually more complex work. Then again, considering how incredibly diverse his music was, I’m not sure what would be a typical Zappa song. Somewhat related is the issue of bands whose biggest chart hit wasn’t their best known work. I don’t think anyone instantly associates AC/DC with “Moneytalks” or Rush with “New World Man”, but they outcharted their far better known songs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-their-biggest-hit/380683.md?page=3)