10 Music Legends With ONLY One Top-10 Hit Song

The Billboard charts can be a tricky landscape, sometimes not fully reflecting an artist’s true impact. Many acts we consider giants, who’ve sold out stadiums and shaped culture, have a surprising chart history: just a single song cracking the US Top 10. It’s a reminder that long-term influence isn’t always measured in weekly sales spikes. Let’s dive into 10 iconic musicians and bands whose legendary status far outweighs their Top-10 singles tally.

Weird Al Yankovic

You might know “Weird Al” Yankovic from his iconic glasses and mustache, or later, his long hair and colorful Hawaiian shirts. For almost 40 years, this king of song parodies has stayed a familiar face in pop culture. He keeps making funny versions of popular songs. His recent “Strings Attached Tour” even had a full symphony orchestra. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote and starred in Broadway’s Hamilton, said Weird Al was his childhood hero.

It’s surprising, but Weird Al’s biggest and only Top-10 hit is “White & Nerdy.” It reached #9 on the charts in 2006. This song made fun of Chamillionaire’s rap song “Ridin’ Dirty.” Instead of lyrics about police and fancy cars, Weird Al sang about MIT, Dungeons & Dragons, and Star Trek’s Klingon language. His next biggest hit was “Eat It,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” That song got to #12 in 1983. Another famous parody, “Amish Paradise,” based on Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” only hit #53.

Metallica

Metallica, fronted by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, is a giant in heavy metal. Even though their last six albums all hit #1, including 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, they weren’t always a singles chart favorite. Their sound was often a bit too loud for mainstream radio.

Despite selling out arenas worldwide, Metallica’s only Top-10 single was “Until It Sleeps.” This track climbed to #10 in 1996, certainly keeping listeners awake. Other popular songs like “Enter Sandman” (1991) peaked at #16, and “Nothing Else Matters” (1992) reached #32. Interestingly, “Master of Puppets,” a fan favorite from 1986, couldn’t chart at the time. This was because it was only a promotional single, not sold to the public. The band even got their own Guitar Hero game, an honor shared with only Aerosmith and Van Halen.

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black,” was a true music legend. He wrote simple songs and sang them with a power that connected deeply with people. However, this didn’t always translate to high positions on the singles charts.

His biggest hit, “A Boy Named Sue,” made it to #2 in 1969. It was kept from the top spot by The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women.” Rolling Stone magazine (not the band!) called Cash’s song “I Walk the Line” the greatest country song ever. Yet, it only peaked at #17. Other famous tunes like “Ring of Fire” (1963) also stopped at #17, while “Folsom Prison Blues” (1968) reached #32. Cash sang about going everywhere in “I’ve Been Everywhere,” but the very top of the Billboard Hot 100 wasn’t on his travel list.

Grateful Dead

Led by the iconic Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead were famous for their incredibly long live shows. These concerts created a devoted following known as “Deadheads.” The band was always on tour, building a unique musical community.

Their sole Top-10 hit came in 1987 with “Touch of Grey,” which landed at #9. Their next highest charting song, “Truckin’” from 1971, only made it to #64. Jerry Garcia’s legacy also lives on in a sweet way: the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor Cherry Garcia. It was the company’s second best-seller in 2020! In a surprising move, the Grateful Dead once sponsored Lithuania’s 1992 Olympic basketball team. The team couldn’t afford to go, so the band helped out. The players even wore tie-dyed uniforms and won a bronze medal.

Oasis

Oasis, the band famous for brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, was a massive success in their home country, the United Kingdom. They had eight #1 songs there! Fun fact: Ringo Starr’s son, Zak Starkey, played drums for them. In 1996, about 2.5 million people tried to get tickets for their Knebworth House concerts. That’s over four percent of the UK’s population at the time!

But across the Atlantic, in the U.S., their chart performance was different. Their biggest American hit, “Wonderwall,” reached #8 in 1996. Their next most popular song, “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” only got to #55 that same year. Many of their UK #1s didn’t even make the Top 100 in the States. Today, the Gallagher brothers famously don’t get along. Noel once described Liam as “like a man with a fork in a world of soup.”

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd, often associated with leader Roger Waters, got their name by combining the names of blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. They are famous for creating two of the best-selling albums ever: “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall.” Only a few artists, like The Beatles and Whitney Houston, can claim such massive album success.

However, Pink Floyd’s music, known for long instrumental parts and deep themes, wasn’t always ideal for radio singles. Radio stations preferred shorter, catchier tunes. Despite this, the band did hit #1 on the singles chart with “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” in 1980. This was their only Top-10 hit. Their next closest song to the top was “Money” from 1973, which peaked at #13. Even though their albums overshadowed their singles, they certainly made plenty of “money.”

Garth Brooks

Back in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, country songs sometimes topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart. But by the 90s, rap, pop, and hip-hop became so popular that country music found it harder to reach those top spots. Because of this, the biggest country star since 1990, Garth Brooks, surprisingly only has one Top-10 hit. And the wildest part? It wasn’t even a country song!

Garth Brooks dominated the album charts. For example, his 1991 album “Ropin’ the Wind” stayed at #1 for an incredible 18 weeks. But his highest-charting single was “Lost in You,” which hit #5 in 1999. This pop song had very few country elements and was released under the name “Chris Gaines.” This was part of a short-lived project where Brooks pretended to be an alter ego, even though everyone knew it was him. His next biggest song as Garth Brooks was “Wrapped Up in You” (2001), reaching #46. Despite being a Republican, he performed “Amazing Grace” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, emphasizing unity.

The Who

Many Super Bowl halftime show performers have multiple #1 hits and many more Top-10s. The Who, who certainly felt as huge as any headliner, had a different story on the singles chart. Led by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, the band was first called The Detours. Their main success came from albums.

They were pioneers of the “concept album,” telling stories through albums like Tommy and Quadrophenia. The group’s single Top-10 hit was “I Can See for Miles,” which reached #9 in 1967. Their next closest songs were “See Me, Feel Me” at #12 (1970), “Won’t Get Fooled Again” at #15 (1971), and “Pinball Wizard” at #19 (1969). A fun fact for their modern legacy: they were once parodied on The Simpsons as a band called “The Whom.”

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin achieved incredible album success, with six albums topping the charts between 1969 and 1979. However, they didn’t see the same level of consistent success on the singles chart. The band, known for the phrase “get the led out,” started as the New Yardbirds.

They changed their name after founders Jimmy Page and Robert Plant joked that their new group might “go down like a lead balloon.” They changed “balloon” to “zeppelin” and spelled “lead” as “led” so people wouldn’t mispronounce it. Their highest-charting song, and only Top-10 hit, was “Whole Lotta Love,” which peaked at #4 in 1970. Their next closest was “Black Dog,” reaching #15 in 1972. Iconic tracks like “Immigrant Song” hit #16, while the legendary “Stairway to Heaven” was never released as a commercial single, so it couldn’t chart at the time.

Nirvana

Nirvana, the Seattle trio of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic, became the voice of grunge music. They completely changed what rock music could sound like in the early 90s.

Their breakthrough hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” was a cultural game-changer. It was named after a deodorant brand Cobain’s girlfriend at the time wore. Everything about the song was different: the raw, nihilistic lyrics, Cobain’s mumbled singing, and the band’s deliberately messy look in the music video. Rolling Stone magazine even named it one of the 10 greatest songs of all time. This monumental track reached #6 in 1992, becoming their sole Top-10 hit. The band’s next biggest singles, “Come as You Are” and “Lithium,” from the same year, peaked at #32 and #64 respectively. Despite this, their album “Nevermind,” with its famous baby-in-a-pool cover, is one of the best-selling and most acclaimed albums ever.

These ten acts clearly show that a band’s or artist’s lasting impact isn’t solely defined by a string of Top-10 singles. Their influence, album sales, and cultural significance tell a much bigger story. It makes you wonder which contemporary artists will be remembered decades from now for their overall legacy, rather than just their chart peaks.

What do you think about these chart surprises? Did any of these artists astound you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!