Bands with lengthy and respected careers, but whose very first single is still their biggest hit

Can’t think of anyone who embodies this more than Radiohead, but I am sure there are other examples there. Open to suggestions

This was true of Kate Bush until very recently.

Good one!

The Kinks

nope, I'm sorry. Discogs has You Really Got Me as their first single, this is not true.

but..... Britney Spears

Yes Britney

were the Spice Girls respected enough for this thread?

xposts discogs does not sort into date order, only year.

So, it looks wrong. Kinks 1st = "Long Tall Sally"

Ha! Morio Agata!

initial sales is not an accurate metric, "Toxic" is a bigger hit than "...Baby One More Time"

Oh, on a technicality!

Pet Shop Boys

A-ha

I suppose the biggest one could be Mungo Jerry, they had hits for 4 years but does that count as lengthy? Probably not...

Boston

The Killers

Aimee Mann (via Til Tuesday)

Rick Astley, he's still recording isn't he?

Laurie Anderson, although her very first release was this but I'm not counting it
https://www.discogs.com/release/2314478-Laurie-Anderson-Its-Not-The-Bullet-That-Kills-You-Its-The-Hole

re Radiohead, they only do this on a technicality really? I guess there might be some disagreement but personally I think an EP is an (extended) single (and counted as one for the UK charts), so Creep is their second single, and was only a hit after it was reissued, by which time they'd also released Anyone Can Play Guitar

Oh, on a technicality!

Pet Shop Boys

No.

The Bar-Kays

Kesha. "Timber" might be bigger than "Tik Tok" but she wasn't the lead artist on it

Julie London

quite possibly... aerosmith!

This is tougher than it seems but The Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the UK probably counts.

Van Morrison?

In 2011, "Brown Eyed Girl" was honoured for having 10 million US radio air plays; it was one of only ten songs registered with BMI to have received that number of radio plays.[21] As of 2015, "Brown Eyed Girl" remains the most downloaded and most played song of the entire 1960s decade.[22]

Not really, it only reached no. 38 in the UK singles chart. God Save The Queen famously stalled at no. 2 and every other single up to 1979 (except for The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle) went top 10.

xp

soulja boy

If an artist's work with previous bands is to be included in their "career": Alex Chilton.

Not sure the Sex Pistols had a lengthy career where recordings are concerned.

At least in the US, Robyn would count here. "(Do You Know) What It Takes" was her first US single and, by Hot 100 stats (#7 peak, #29 year-end), was her biggest hit. Follow-up "Show Me Love" has nearly identical Hot 100 stats, too. But those are her only two Hot 100 hits in the US.

"Lucky Man" is still the song ELP is known for but its fair to say it's not really representative of the band's sound or what their fans really like about them. bonus points since it might actually be the first song Lake ever wrote period

this is a great question, can't really think of any examples other than the ones mentioned (Aerosmith a very good call)

Julie London also a good call

13th Floor Elevators do not have a "lengthy and respected discography" or they would qualify

Beck, if one discounts his pre-Geffen underground slabs

Link Wray

nice

don't think Aerosmith works -

Dream On

RIAA: 4× Platinum
BPI: Platinum

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

RIAA: 5× Platinum
ARIA: 2× Platinum
BPI: 4× Platinum
BVMI: Platinum

lol dammit

Saint Etienne

Depending on how you want to define biggest hit: Spotify has "Dream On" at #1.

as god intended

the doors

steely dan

I suggested Pet Shop Boys as their first single was the Bobby O version of "West End Girls", but I guess they had bigger hits subsequently...

Status Quo vis-à-vis the USA

was surprised to learn that "Hello, I Love You" also went to #1, but Doors still a good call

Beck is a great one

Maybe Counting Crows as well

Van Morrison?

this is a great call imo

Oh and thinking of reality music show winners, Will Young's debut single Evergreen is (sadly) still his biggest single by a mile.

I wasn't sure about nominating Van Morrison as he had produced significant work before going solo -- to this day he finishes shows with "Gloria" (and doesn't even play BEG).

George Michael is a similar case.

Ozzy too.

“The Sound of Silence” was a monster (and S&G’s first single) but gets edged out just a bit by “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

America, though ymmv with respectability.

Ozzy too

ozzy also had objectively bigger hits later, in his power ballad years.

"Fast Car" is obviously TC's biggest hit, chart placing aside.

this is as otm as otm gets

Ozzy's only American is the top ten Lita Ford collab "Close My Eyes Forever."

The Clean with Tally Ho?

cardi b so far

Lorde appears to be one of these

America, though ymmv with respectability.

― Who's going to stop 200 balloons? Nobody! (President Keyes), Saturday, February 28, 2026 10:47 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

it's true the Declaration of Independence is still our highest-charting hit, on the other hand blue jeans have gone on to be our "legacy song" and biggest iTunes seller

Pizza is big too but that’s a cover so it don’t count

Pearl Jam?

in what way

Not a chart hit.

Spotify suggests that "Even Flow" is their most popular song ("Alive" being #2).

That one’s a bit weird. I hear Alive and Jeremy on the radio pretty often but almost never hear Evenflow.

Last Kiss also technically their highest chart peak. I think they're more typical of a big longstanding rock band where there really isn't one single obvious "biggest hit." I think we've also explored this in songs that weren't a bands biggest hit, but have gone on to be their legacy song and biggest iTunes seller.

Those songs from Ten were huge MTV hits, which didn’t always translate to the charts.

this thread is the most fun and most confusing we’ve had since arguing about how to count the beat in roll
out

Was wondering about Carol King. I think her first single as an artist was It’s Too Late which was the highest charting single from Tapestry. I see any singles from her first album, Writer

…don’t see …

It seems that she released earlier singles, among which:

Also in 1970, Carole King herself recorded "Up on the Roof" for her solo recording debut Writer, from which it was issued as a single.

“even flow” is a big song on tiktok

The Breeders - no singles from Pod, Safari is an EP so “Cannonball” is their first and biggest.

nice one. we should poll the ones here that qualify, lol

I keep thinking there must be some first wave punk band that qualifies here but there really isn't

“I’m Stranded” is the Saints biggest song on streaming, but it didn’t make the UK or US charts.

The 80s incarnation had some modest hits which charted higher than the early stuff.

Carole King started releasing singles in the late '50s. Her first charting (top 100) single was "It Might as Well Rain Until September" from 1962

Counting Crows are mentioned in passing upthread but I’d like to highlight them, I think they definitely qualify. Mr. Jones seems to definitively be their first single, and its only competitor s as their biggest hit is their dire Big Yellow Taxi cover, but I refuse to believe that’s bigger than Mr. Jones

i remember when "hanginaround" was inescapable but yeah mr. jones is bigger

luther vandross?

if we're going strictly by the billboard hot 100, he would unquestionably go on to have bigger hits than "never too much." but if we're going by the billboard r&b chart, which is where both luther and his audience lived, he basically peaked at the very start with that amazing, chart-topping first single from his first album. (also, this means not counting the handful of singles his first group, "luther," released in the 1970s before he broke up the group and signed his solo deal. which i believe is the correct thing to do!)

"Never Too Much" is his biggest hit for sure.

fact wrecking cuz

No one will remember that his biggest Hot 100 hit was....the "Endless Love" cover with Mariah Carey.

fact wrecking cuz

:)

No one will remember that his biggest Hot 100 hit was....the "Endless Love" cover with Mariah Carey.

otm

(or, as with, say, aerosmith, they'll remember but they won't care)

The Undertones

Phil Collins

true story i didn't hear "in the air tonight" until that youtube reaction video

however "another day in paradise" is burned into my brain since childhood

not saying this is in any way an objective disqualifier

lol that's amazing. the guy who lived in the singles dorm room next to me used to blast ITAT every day, multiple times, at top volume circa spring of 1985

ADIP definitely had the higher chart placing in the US, but ITAT has totally outsold it... ADIP was Gold, ITAT is 3 x Platinum

You gotta factor streaming. "Another Day in Paradise" went 500,000 gold cert with cassingles and CD singles. "In the Air Tonight" got to 3X platinum on downloads (legit) and streams (a little less legit for "actual" sales).

ITAT also has Pop Culture cachet: the Miami Vice premiere; The Hangover; the whole urban legend about its inspiration...

In the US "I Missed Again" was his first single

yup

And charted equally as high (#19). Curiously, both singles also peaked at #19 on the Cashbox chart.

Tinashe