00:08Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:10And today, we're counting down our picks for the top 10 songs that were so successful,
00:14they've undeniably come to be known as pop classics.
00:2710. I Love Rock and Roll – Joan Jett The punk energy that was sweeping through music
00:34in the late 1970s was largely a counterculture movement that only occasionally broke into
00:39the mainstream.
00:46In the early 80s, when the genre was more widely accepted, it was the perfect time for a rock
00:52star like Joan Jett to make it big. She had the look, the attitude, and fortunately,
00:57the songs needed to really make her mark.
01:0010. I Love Rock and Roll – It's a long time and it's you, my baby!
01:0510. On the back of her debut LP, Bad Reputation, Jett and her band, the Blackhearts, took things
01:10to a different level with I Love Rock and Roll.
01:1310. I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll –
01:30Don't be trying to dance with me!
01:339. Highway to Hell – AC-DC The carefree, fun-loving early days of AC-DC with Bon Scott
01:41provided rock music with some of its most essential anthems.
01:4410. I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll –
01:52Highway to Hell marked a major breakthrough for the Aussie legends in 1979, with the song and
01:58its album of the same name being the last to feature Scott before his untimely death.
02:0310. I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll – I
02:10Love Rock and Roll –
02:11The track doesn't dampen the edginess of anything AC-DC had done up to that point,
02:16but it was so insanely catchy that the public simply couldn't resist it.
02:2110. I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll – I
02:27Love Rock and Roll –
02:28To Hell – Though initially a big moment for the band commercially,
02:32it's one of those songs that has only continued to grow in stature.
02:36You're every bit as likely to hear this one at a football game as you are at a house party.
02:4110. I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll – I Love Rock and Roll – I
02:50Love Rock and Roll –
02:518. Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden Chris Cornell and Soundgarden arrive in the scene
02:57pre-packed with a grungy alt-rock sound that instantly made them a perfect fit for the times.
03:11However, what many people didn't expect was for them to craft one of the most
03:15essential anthems of the 1990s? Black Hole Sun.
03:29Sure, it's an alt-rocker at its core, but it is the type of well-written melody that would
03:34stand up in any genre. To this day, the track is as immediate and catchy as any song from its
03:40era,
03:40helping grunge receive even more radio play. While many other favorites from the early 90s
03:52have aged a little less well, Black Hole Sun is one of the period's truly timeless classics.
04:067. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor When Queen denied Sylvester Stallone
04:12the right to use Another One Bites the Dust in Rocky III, it ended up being a blessing in disguise.
04:25After enlisting Survivor to write an original song for the soundtrack, Stallone ended up with
04:30one of the all-time great power anthems. Not only did Survivor absolutely nail the assignment,
04:43but they also created a track, Eye of the Tiger, that became far bigger than anyone could have
04:48anticipated. It's a song that even transcends its use in Rocky, after countless references in pop
05:03culture. In many ways, it is the ultimate motivational song and perhaps the most famous montage soundtrack
05:09ever written.
05:18Number 6. Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes The riff at the center of The White Stripes'
05:24Seven Nation Army is indeed a simple one, and yet nobody had ever written it before.
05:29I'm gonna fight them all I said the nation army couldn't hold me back
05:36Jack and Meg White didn't just create an excellent rock song with their biggest hit,
05:41they crafted a riff that earned its place among the most memorable in rock history.
05:45And a message coming from my eyes is leaving the Lord
05:54The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army was a far bigger sensation than anyone could have imagined,
06:18for a band with such a raw and gritty approach to music, a true outlier in modern rock music.
06:34Number 5. Livin' on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
06:38No list of the greatest arena rock anthems of all time would be complete without a mention
06:43for Bon Jovi's iconic hit, Livin' on a Prayer.
06:46Time I used to work on the docks
06:50Union's been on track
06:52He's down on his luck, it's tough
06:55On its surface, it is indeed one of the more radio-ready tracks of its era.
07:00What the band likely didn't anticipate was that the song would go on to become one of the biggest
07:05selling singles of all time.
07:06She says we gotta hold on to what we've got
07:11It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
07:15In many ways, it's the perfect crossover rock hit,
07:19adored by millions for its massive… sing-along ability.
07:29Over time, the song just became synonymous with communal celebration,
07:34frequently showing up at sporting events, weddings, and karaoke nights.
07:38It's the type of exposure that money simply cannot buy.
07:50Number 4. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
07:53Many bands have written multi-part epics, often crossing between styles erratically
07:59while still keeping a cohesion to the whole thing.
08:11The fact that Queen managed to make a prog-rock opera piece, one of the most famous songs of all
08:17time,
08:18is a truly staggering achievement.
08:20I see a little silhouetto of a man
08:23Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the pandango?
08:26Bohemian Rhapsody is quite frequently cited as one of the greatest rock songs of all time,
08:31but to limit it to one genre would do it a disservice.
08:40It was a huge hit when it first landed, then received several noteworthy resurgences thanks
08:46to its use in films. Despite being released in the mid-70s, it's arguably more relevant today than
08:52ever before, which is a rarity for a song that is over half a century old.
09:09Number 3. Don't Stop Believin' – Journey
09:13Few songs have followed an upward trajectory of success quite like Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.
09:26Upon its release, it is easy to see why it was a smash hit, but it has popped up on
09:31enough
09:31soundtracks over the years to ensure that several generations grew up listening to it.
09:43It's a rock song with a universal message of hope and perseverance — the type of message that
09:48most people can get behind. The decision to build the song through verse after verse before arriving
10:02at its central hook was certainly an unorthodox one. In this case, though, it was a move that paid off
10:07several times over.
10:16Number 2. Mr. Brightside – The Killers
10:26While guitar riffs have not been quite as dominant in the 21st century as the decades before,
10:33The Killers managed to write an excellent one with Mr. Brightside. It's not the only strong point of the
10:39track either. The themes of jealousy and longing are compelling too, but it's the melody and anthemic
10:53chorus that really take it to another level. Few rock songs of the 2000s have reached this level of
10:59evergreen status, and yet, even after all this time, it sounds as fresh as ever before.
11:12The Killers have more than a few hits worth mentioning, but they really perfected their
11:17formula with this one. Don't be surprised if it's still heavily in rotation 50 years from now.
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11:38Are you not entertained?
11:40Number 1. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
11:44Everything about Nirvana and their biggest hit Smells Like Teen Spirit
11:48seemed designed to repel mainstream attention.
11:54The Killers
11:59Yet, as the 80s died down and the glitz and glamour of the era's rock music grew stale,
12:06the grounded grit of Kurt Cobain and company immediately stood out.
12:16The song is the quintessential grunge anthem, and despite the discomfort
12:21Cobain felt from its success, there is some masterful pop songwriting work at its core.
12:34Nirvana sometimes omitted it from their sets due to their distaste for its fame, but even if they were,
12:41by their own admission, trying to copy the Pixies, they ended up with something truly remarkable.
12:55But what do you think is the most surprising rock hit of all time? Let us know in the comments
13:01below.
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