10 classics that peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100

“Purple Rain” by Prince (1984)

Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” the lead single from his international smash album Purple Rain, is one of the songs that prevented Bruce Springsteen from getting to number one, so I suppose it’s only fair that third single from Purple Rain – the title track – was itself kept one spot shy of number one. But did it have to be Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” that played the spoiler? I don’t really hate that snappy little George Michael confection, but come on – it’s no “Purple Rain.”

“Purple Rain,” in its full album form, is a titanic piece of music. Clocking in at just under nine minutes, it features Revolution stalwarts Wendy and Lisa on guitar and synths, as well as a rhythm section, electric grand piano, and the equivalent of a string quartet. And, of course, Prince plays a million instruments and sings the hell out of it. The single release was cut in half but lost little of its epic grandeur. Even so, it got left hanging like a yo-yo.

“Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (1992)

RHCP was a constant presence at the top of the rock chart at the end of one millennium and at the dawn of a new one. But they only cracked the top ten on the Hot 100 three times. Two of those top-ten hits, “Scar Tissue” and “Dani California,” were indeed number-one rock chart hits. But the other one – the song that got closer to the top than any other, was only number-six on the rock chart. That makes “Under the Bridge” the only RHCP single that scored higher on the Hot 100 than on the rock chart.

It also served as something of an early turning point. Though it bothered some early fans who didn’t appreciate the move away from funk rock, it broadened the appeal and introduced them to many new listeners. They would continue to balance harder funk with more introspective ballads to great popular success for the next several decades.

The song that kept “Under the Bridge out of number one was not quite as introspective, though it did promise to “make you bump, hump, wiggle and shake your rump,” which is something that RHCP might well do I a different song. Only this time it was Kris Kross doing it in “Jump.”

That's it for today. I think I'll try to write something called "King of the Number Twos" and see if Bloodhound Gang is interested.

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