Al Melchior

Each of the three artists featured here had their greatest popularity during the golden age of MTV, but each felt the need to go against the grain. All three would make videos for some of their songs, but they weren't happy about it. Instead of completely surrendering to the status quo, each used at least one of their promotional videos to take shots at the popular medium. As it turned out, biting the hand that was feeding the music industry wound up helping all three of these three artists commercially.

While members of different generations grew up with different music, we all share one thing in common.

Some bands may be comfortable with putting out music that is less than perfect, but those bands aren’t U2. The Irish superstars have built a reputation for second-guessing their own work and spending months—or even years—tweaking their compositions. Perfectionism hasn’t always translated into perfect songs, but in the case of their 2004 hit “Vertigo,” it resulted in one of their biggest chart successes. One could plausibly argue that “Vertigo” was U2’s last truly big hit.

Billboard has been publishing a country singles chart since 1958, but it took close to half a century for a rock band to occupy its No. 1 spot. The rock band in question—Bon Jovi—didn't tread into unfamiliar chart territory all on their own. When recording “Who Says You Can't Go Home” for their 2005 album Have a Nice Day , Jon Bon Jovi knew he had a potential crossover hit. He also knew he'd need some help with the vocals to make it a true country song.

It's hard to overstate exactly how much of a pop juggernaut Born in the U.S.A. was for Bruce Springsteen.

Rock ruled the album charts in the 1970s, and a look at the Billboard 200 rankings from 50 years ago really brings the genre's dominance into focus. Five different albums spent time at No. 1 during the month of November 1974, and each was performed by a rock act that had already enjoyed great success during the decade.

Formed in 1980, the New Jersey-based pop-rock band Franke & The Knockouts seemed destined for big things.

Before hitting it big with “How Long,” Carrack's band Ace had been struggling to find an audience while playing in pubs across the UK. For “How Long,” Carrack wrote of his disgust with a partner's infidelity, but he wasn't writing about a romantic relationship. Ace's lone Top-40 hit was about how the dishonesty of one of his bandmates created tension in the group—and how Ace's lack of commercial success fueled those tensions.

“Give It Up” was notable for more than simply bringing KC and the Sunshine Band back into the spotlight. The song represented a return to the style of music that made the band wildly popular in the ‘70s, and it was also a personal triumph for founder and namesake Harry Casey. Those who lived through KC-mania in real time may be surprised to learn exactly how robust the legacy of “Give It Up” has become, even compared to KC and the Sunshine Band's other hits.

When Hotlegs took the initial steps to write and record “Neanderthal Man,” they were not intending to write a song at all, much less a hit single. What began as a day of experimenting with new equipment eventually led to one of the bigger hit singles for a trio of musicians who would not lack for success in the coming years. It was also an important step towards the creation of 10cc, who recorded the highly influential 1975 hit “I'm Not in Love” and the 1976 Top-10 smash “The Things We Do for Love.”