Favourite Song by Band

I really don't know if it applies to Queen and/or Wings, but the usual story (in an oldschool pre-Spotify world) is that because the UK is a small country word of new bands spread faster there and that the BBC or an appearance on Top of the Pops could allow a band to break nationwide in a way you really can't in a large country like the United States.  "Breaking America" so to speak required bands to tour for years and kiss the asses of radio programmers in various markets and to some extent you had to keep on doing that to have continued success.  If you're an American band you just do this because you don't have any choice, but if you've already become a superstar "across the pond" you're less inclined to put in the work to start over from scratch in another country.  That's why you have these bands like Madness or The Jam or Slade who are considered to be massively important in the UK but who barely got a foothold stateside.   

It doesn't always go like this (The Beatles were an obvious exception) but it replayed itself like that enough that I could easily see Queen failing to reach their full potential simply by remaining a UK based outfit and not doing quite enough of the work to become absolute chart toppers despite obviously having a following and getting plenty of ears at the time, especially given that the competition for arena rockers in the 70s was probably quite fierce.  Wings, on the other hand didn't really need to go through the same rigmarole because McCartney had already made his name so to speak in the previous decade and when a former Beatle puts out a single people pay attention. 

He didn't put out an album between 1975 and 1980... and have you listened to those albums?  They were not exactly commercial.  He also rather infamously never resumed touring like McCartney did and generally wasn't going through the hustle.  George Harrison and Ringo Star had something to prove by putting out popular solo singles, Lennon was more interested in what we would now call "indie cred."  

Probably, but that wasn't the critical consensus at the time.  Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass were considered these introspective personal materpieces while McCartney's early solo albums were seen as more scattershot and commercial and less in keeping with The Beatles legacy.  Lennon also said as much in interviews and even released what is essentially a damn diss track.  



McCartney had the last laugh though because after the Imagine album in 1971 Lennon kind of "lost it" and his next couple albums were pretty meh.  Hard to tell what would have happened if he'd lived.  He was by all accounts in a pretty good place creatively when he died and very well could have had a better 80s than McCartney.

Doomsday thebtskink


Dracula , I took the extra steps to investigate things further. 

John Lennon's Imagine was released as a US Single on October 11, 1971 and peaked at #3 on November 13. It was beat by Isaac Hayes' Theme From Shaft at #2 and Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves by Cher at #1.






Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was released on Halloween 1975 and peaked at #9 on April 24, 1976. It took quite a bit for the song to catch on our side of the pond. The #1 song that week was Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor.

On the flip side.


Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love was released on October 5, 1979. It reached #1 on February 23, 1980. Michael Jackson's Rock With You was at #5 and Donna Summer's On The Radio was at #7.





Later that year, Queen's Another One Bites the Dust reached #1 on October 4. Right under it at #2 was All Out Of Love by Air Supply and further down at #8 was I'm Alright (from Caddyshack) by thebtskink favorite Kenny Loggins.





Then to wrap up 1980, a year that saw Ronald Reagan get elected as President, John Lennon was shot and killed. (Just Like) Starting Over reached #1 on December 27. Ironically, at #9, was Pat Benatar's Hit Me with Your Best Shot. Ouch.

Green Day

Basket case or longview.

Ogs still the hitters.

She is also one of my favs.

Probably Basket Case, Longview, or When I Come Around. All those Dookie singles are basically on even footing with me. Brain Stew is also good. Generally with Green Day the famous songs are famous for a reason, don't have too much affection for the album cuts.

Not a fan

I think the discourse would say that the Bee Gees were the ones appropriating a black/gay music genre to greater success than their influences.  They were the Elvis of disco, motherfuck them and John Wayne.