DAILY DIRT: As good as they were (and are), they’ve never had a No. 1 song

It’s simply amazing that Bruce Springsteen never reached No. 1. Simply amazing … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 651 of The Daily Dirt.

1. There are rock artists who have regularly sold out stadiums for their concerts, sold millions upon millions of albums and even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — yet never earned a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

“For some, this lack of success on the singles chart is simply a function of the era,” writes Nick DeRiso of ulimateclassicrock.com. “(Some) were album-oriented artists, rather than radio fixtures. For others, however, the mystery is how songs that were played – and, in fact, are still played – with such mind-numbing regularity on the radio (but) somehow didn’t reach the top of the chart.”Here’s my personal top 10 choices for the superstars and super groups that have never had a No. 1 single, and most likely never will:

1. Bruce Springsteen: The Boss has written a No. 1 single (“Blinded by the Light” for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band), but he’s never had his own. “Dancing in the Dark” spent four weeks at a career-best No. 2 in 1984, behind Duran Duran’s “The Reflex” and then Prince’s “When Doves Cry.”

2. Creedence Clearwater Revival: CCR has been called rock’s most consistent bridesmaids. Creedence reached the runner-up spot five consecutive times between March 1969 and October 1970, scoring No. 2 hits with “Proud Mary,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Green River,” “Travelin’ Band/Who’ll Stop the Rain” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door/Long as I Can See the Light.”

3. Bob Dylan: He never earned a No. 1 single, but he came close twice in the mid-’60s with “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” both reaching No. 2.

4. ELO: Electric Light Orchestra released 15 top 20 hits between 1974-86, becoming radio staples along the way. They never got any higher than No. 4, however, with 1979’s “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

5. Journey: You might think “Don’t Stop Believin'” made it. Or, maybe “Who’s Crying Now.” Surely, “Open Arms.” The latter got to No. 2, Journey’s best-ever Hot 100 finish. Wow.

6. Jimi Hendrix: He established himself as one of rock’s most enduring legends with just three albums. Yet he never came close to a No. 1 single on the Hot 100. “All Along The Watchtower” got to only No. 20 and “Purple Haze” reached No. 65.

7. AC/DC: Incredibly, this monster group never achieved any single climbing higher than No. 23, not even “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which topped out at No. 35.

8. Kiss: The group has nine top 10 albums, but over on the singles chart, Kiss never got any higher than No. 7 with 1976’s “Beth.”

9. Led Zeppelin: The group’s highest-charting Hot 100 hit was “Whole Lotta Love,” which went to No. 4 in 1969. The nearest Robert Plant and Jimmy Page ever got as solo artists was 1984’s No. 3 “Sea of Love” with the Honeydroppers.

10. Deep Purple: This legendary band reached No. 4 with both 1968’s “Hush” and 1973’s “Smoke on the Water,” but had only one other Top 40 U.S. single, “Kentucky Woman,” which reached No. 38 in 1968.

Also worth mentioning: Moody Blues, The Who, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kansas, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam, Pat Benatar, Tom Petty, Van Morrison. 

2. Real signs from real people spotted along life’s highway. They are, as we like to say, “Signs of the Times”:

• “Crushing pop cans is soda pressing.”
• “Stop killing buffalo for their wings.”
• “Water is heavier than butane because butane is a lighter fluid.”
• “Maybe broccoli doesn’t like you either.”
• “A joke does not become a dad joke until it is full groan.”

3. A few interesting facts about MLB’s 50 Home Run club:

• In the 147-year history of MLB, only 47 times has a player hit that many homers in a season.
• The first player to reach 50 was Babe Ruth in 1920. The next player to do it was Hack Wilson in 1930 with 56. Wilson, however, never hit more than 23 in a season the rest of his career.
• Hank Aaron never hit more than 47 in a season.
• The only father/son duo to hit 50 homers in a season was Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder. Prince Fielder also holds the distinction of being the youngest player to hit 50 when he clubbed exactly 50 in 2007 at age 23.
• The oldest player to hit 50 was Barry Bonds, who mashed 73 in 2001 at age 36. (I know, I know. This deals with another story, but he’s still in the books with 73 dingers.)
• The only active players with 50-homer seasons are Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Chicks dig the long ball.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Mark McGwire is the only St. Louis Cardinal to hit more than 50 in a season. Not Musial. Not Pujols. But, yeah…