R.E.M. went from college rock indie pioneers to one of the most popular rock bands in the world, eventually selling more than 90 million albums globally. But they never managed to place a single atop the Billboard Hot 100.
The band did score a #1 in Canada with ‘Bang and Blame’ and another in Norway with ‘Supernatural Superserious.’ And in the Netherlands, ‘Losing My Religion’ made it to #1. But in the good old U.S. of A., four hits between 1987-1991 stalled out in the top ten.
It’s not a surprise to me that today’s featured artist never had a #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But I’m including The Who in this series because it is a surprise that only one of their songs even reached the top ten. And that they never scored a #1 hit in their native UK, either.
In general, The Who just hasn’t had the staying power of other classic 60s and 70s rock bands. Despite being very influential on a whole generation of musicians, they seem to have faded in the general consciousness.
Missy Elliott has released six Platinum albums and 74 singles (44 as a featured performer) without reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
She’s had five top ten singles as a solo artist and six as a feature. But what sets her apart and earns her inclusion in this list is how close she came to #1 and for how long. While Creedence Clearwater Revival have had the most songs at #2 without a #1 hit, Missy Elliott has spent the most weeks there.
One Direction might be a bigger deal in the UK, where their five albums produced four #1 singles, but they made quite a splash in the United States as well. During their four-year run, all of their albums went Platinum or multi-Platinum in the U.S., and they set a record as the first band to have their first four albums debut atop the Billboard 200.
All that success didn’t translate into a #1 hit on the Hot 100, however, despite six top ten hits.
Bob Dylan showing up on the list of notable artists who’ve never had a #1 hit isn’t exactly surprising. Even at his most popular, his music was a bit too cerebral and too far out of the mainstream to translate to chart success.
While he’s not a singles artist, Dylan’s complete albums have sold well. He has placed 20 albums in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, and five at #1. But how close has he come to a #1 single?
Meet Me In Montauk 