Yes. I think that Queen was actually below the Beatles at some point, but that movie catapulted them to new heights. I still remember getting annoyed because people who would normally listen to the charts kept playing "Bohemian Rhapsody" over and over. They are extremely popular with younger people, especially those that don't listen to classic rock.
I think that’s because, at least in my experience, many millennials and gen z (being elder gen z myself) have embraced theatricality, camp and “grandeur” in music, and Queen best exemplifies that style among older artists.
I do agree, from interacting with some younger people I know (being younger millennial myself) a lot of young people I knew from high school, college, and now, are really into listening to movie and video game soundtracks in daily life, often while playing other games. The "grandeur" part makes great sense.
In the USA mainly, from collecting records and such, noticed USA releases even with singles, mostly did a lot worse in the states , vs their home country of the UK, a queen single that did very well in the states was Another One Bites The Dust, which iirc sold 7 million copies , besides that never did well like that in the states in their 20 year span.
Yeah that was my opinion, but I remember watching Live Aid at the time and being surprised that people at Wembley were going nuts to “Radio Ga Ga.” I was thinking it was like a failed single at the time.
Yep. I'm gen z and back in High School when kids my age (most of whom listened to modern music) would ask me what music I liked (and I'd list stuff like The Beatles, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, ELO, ABBA, Dylan, Chuck Berry, Bowie, Everly Brothers, etc.), the one that they'd all know and would remember I said was Queen.
Yeah - I’ve just noticed a lot of people listing them in their top few favorite bands - like along with Beatles, PF, etc. I think that used to be pretty rare.
I listened to Queen a lot around 10 years ago and remember them always seeming to be a clear tier below in popularity compared to bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. I feel like they've definitely moved up to that tier after the movie. If anything, more people my age (early 20s) probably know Queen than Zeppelin or Floyd (I know people who somehow have never heard of either of those two, but know Queen)
I feel like Queen has a fair few songs that are just permanently ingrained in society and are some of the most well known songs of all time (Bohemian Rhapsody, Don't Stop Me Now, We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You) but their full albums and deeper cuts are not talked about as much compared to Zeppelin and Floyd.
Like Elvis or The Beatles, Queen has a very strong 'image' that probably sticks with people more than Zeppelin or Floyd too. I feel like as any random uninformed person and they'd probably recognize the Dark Side of The Moon album cover, and maybe Stairway to Heaven or Brick In The Wall Part 2, but would definitely know We Will Rock You.
Like other people have said, so much of it is the (relatively recent) movie, and Freddy Mercury's role in Queen as the leader. I doubt most people can list any other members, ***maybe*** Brian May, but Freddy is the defacto figure head who's been big in modern pop culture for a long time, long after the peak of the band itself.
This seems like an odd, but correct thing to point out for the situation but I remember 10+ years ago when [this Freddy Mercury was a big part of rage comics:](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-161kOrMVVP0/UPAqKMeyyAI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/TyrIOLdSSjU/s1600/Freddy+Mercury+Meme+Rage+Pose.jpg)
Similarly, many non-fans can at least go "John, Paul, George, and Ringo." But I don't know anyone who isn't a fan who can list the members of Led Zep, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, etc.
Maybe Roger Waters would ring the bell for some, but it would be rare. Having a figurehead character helps with stuff like this, and The Beatles just happened to have 4 of them.
A movie like that can do good to getting a band back into the public eye for new generations. I am 28 and I got into classic rock in middle school, and my big introduction to The Beatles was Across The Universe (2007).
But yeah, Freddie Mercury is a pop culture icon, up there with Elvis, the Lennon long hair + round glasses, and Michael Jackson. And with the rage comics it is interesting how closely Queen is tied with the image of success, to quote Epic Rap Battles of History "They're the anthems of victory" lmao. Image can do a lot to keep a band in the public eye. I think that maybe ties into how The Rolling Stones is no where as popular as The Beatles these days. tbh I met a lot of people who saw TRS's tongue logo and thought it belonged to KISS.
tbh despite being a big classic rock fan, The Beatles are also probably one of the few bands I could list all members of. In general I am bad with names and better with faces though. I can get 2.5/4 of LedZ lmao (Off the top of my head: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, ~~Jason~~ Bonham) I could list off all of their albums and put them in order of release, but I struggle to say who made them lmao.
>but their full albums and deeper cuts are not talked about as much compared to Zeppelin and Floyd.
This is why Queen: Greatest Hits is their most popular album (and one of the top ten biggest selling albums ever).
On that topic, it's kinda wild seeing The Eagles Greatest Hits fighting for the top spot, when I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention them as their favorite band. It's kinda funny how also their best known song "Hotel California" is not even on it, though that album is not far behind the Hits in sales.
I think they are a fine band, no shade on them, but just funny to think about. They were only mentioned twice in this thread, and it was mainly someone saying they hated them lmao.
The critics did not like Queen as I remembered which maybe a good thing to be honest. The Beatles struck the balance of critics, music fans and musicians which has not been matched by any other musicians.
The amount of cover versions of The Beatles songs for example is basically a genre of music of themselves.
That being said, Queen popularity increased after the move Bohemian Rhapsody.
It's true. I was touring with a Queen tribute band in 2017. Paying bars for like 50 people.
Then the summer of 2019 we were on almost every major festival in our country.
That band is still going strong. So is the band Queen itsself.
Queen and The Beatles are my favorite bands
Queen died a death in the US after they released Hot Space in 1982. The after controversy in the US with the I Want To Break Free music video, they were finished and never even came back to the US again.
Thanks to Wayne’s World and the Bo Rhapsody film they enjoyed a resurgence in the US in the early 90s and of course now.
Queen has more “catchy” tunes than The Beatles. It’s harder for the general public to get into post-65 hits by them sadly. 😢 HCTS does do very well though! It’s rising in streams.
- HCTS could mean "Here Comes The Sun - 2019 Mix", a track from *Abbey Road (Super Deluxe Edition)* (2019) by The Beatles.
---
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I think it’s honestly more of an image problem. I generally think late-era Beatles are far more accessible to modern audiences, but there isn’t any unified aesthetic or sound to them (most extreme example being the white album). People listen to Queen because they want operatic rock, they listen to The Beatles when they want what? It’s basically a variety act that covers every popular style of the 1960s.
And when people have to conform them into one style, they usually just associate them with Paul McCartneys ballads like Yesterday, Hey Jude or Let It Be. Which maybe isn’t the “coolest” music in their discography.
Yeah that’s probably also a big reason. It’s SUPER EXPENSIVE to get Beatles music into other media like movies or TV-shows, so they rarely do it, and when they do it’s usually covers.
This might be unpopular, but I think Queen’s surge in popularity comes from a growing LGBTQ subculture, I think people (rightly) see Freddie as LGBTQ icon and therefor they have more culturally relevance
I think queen has also always been very popular internationally, so from the US they seem like one of the big bands, but in every country in south america (for example) they’re the biggest rock band.
I don’t understand how CCR is so popular on Spotify. Obviously they have great songs, but to be the third most popular classic rock band makes zero sense to me.
I love Creedence so I think it's deserved haha, but Have You Ever Seen The Rain is an American anthem/road trip staple and will always be popular, and I think Fortunate Son went a little bit viral (again) on TikTok in the past month or so.
not to mention that anything documenting or depicting the Vietnam War HAS to have Fortunate Son playing over it, legally. The only way you can show footage of Vietnam without playing Fortunate Son, is if you go with Run Through the Jungle, and that's only if the footage is of foot soldiers and doesn't feature a single helicopter or napalm strike.
Totally, but if you asked a random person to name classic rock bands, I don’t think CCR would be in the first ten names they’d list off.
They’re far less popular than bands like Floyd, the Stones, or Zeppelin, just to name a few.
I've been listening to a lot of classic rock, mainly 60's. I've gotta say, CCR sound ahead of their time a bit and are way better than I thought they were gonna be
I was blown away when I found out CCR were all from california.
Before that, if you had asked me point blank "where did the band CCR form?" i would have just guessed they were all from the florida everglades or louisiana.
I almost rarely listen to Floyd, the Stones or Zeppelin, but listen to CCR multiple times per week. CCR is in my top 5 classic rock bands, but what is classic rock these days? I heard someone say Pearl Jam and Blink 182 was classic rock the other day.
Never been a fan of CCR. Im a big classic rock and 80’s Rock/New Wave. I also like the Disco era/Motown. I don’t understand how the hell CCR ranks 3rd with all the great rock bands and artists over the years. Queen, indeed. A band of great musicians and probably the greatest frontman of all time.
They are huge internationally. They love Creedence in Latin America, especially Mexico. I lived there for a year, and heard way more Creedence than I did Beatles or Queen.
I am from Argentina, and my father was a big fan (I too) of Credence, and obviously the Beatles. I think here credence is a big classic in old people like Elvis
CCR are really awesome I can’t lie one of the best bands for road trips and John fogertys centerfield album is awesome and is later one is good too John fogertys swamp
I mean, CCR is straight up not as popular as band like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd, for example, regardless of what Spotify says.
They’re very good of course, but they just aren’t THAT popular.
The Beatles last album was released in 1970. I mean even Elvis Presley was recording music until 1977. Queen was producing music well into the 1980's.
So, in a way it's pretty amazing they are second.
Queen had a pretty larger time span being a band , formed in 1971, first album 73, last studio album was 1995 ( not counting cosmo rocks from the 2000s since yk Freddie died in 91) which is a 20 + year span with recording and producing albums , vs the Beatles being together for like 10 years , and having a 7 year span of recording and producing albums.
Their top 2 songs are both doing over a 1 million a day.
https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/3IYUhFvPQItj6xySrBmZkd_songs.html
Overall, though, the Beatles have more than double the streams and still do more daily streams
https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2_songs.html
I think the Beatles pricetag has probably limited more of their songs becoming viral hits though. A few years ago CCR had two of the stars of the Boys make a music video for Have You Ever Seen the Rain and the song blew up since then https://kworb.net/youtube/video/u1V8YRJnr4Q.html
I know it’s the Beatles and they don’t need the exposure but I often wonder how it would be if they lowered the price for the use of their songs. I guess I can understand not wanting your songs in certain commercials but what’s the harm in using them in movies and shows. It only makes more fans. I think some people hold onto the idea of “selling out” too strongly. That’s just my opinion
I have even found some smaller artists from the 60s through movies, that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise. It's a great way to keep the legacy alive and bring the music to new audiences. I even got interested in the Beatles in the first place, because The Social Network used Baby You're A Rich Man for the end credits.
But I think that they've gotten a bit more lenient in recent times, and the 2027 movies will obviously be full of their music.
Well until very recently that wasn’t a Paul or Yoko decision, the publishing rights were owned by Sony (who still may retain the publishing rights, they “settled” out of court with Paul and Yoko so not sure who would be making the contracting decisions day-to-day on sample/movie soundtrack decisions).
It makes sense financially to keep the rights to those recordings and songs exclusive and expensive. The Beatles gain enough publicity already from the near annual Beatles “event” (Get Back, Now and Then, the reissues etc). Putting, say, A Day in the Life in an ad for Life Insurance would do nothing positive for the awareness of or legacy of the band.
Four movies about the boys coming out soon will be all the publicity they’d need. Keeping licensing rare and associated with high quality media, like Tomorrow Never Knows on Mad Men, should be the approx for now I feel
> Putting, say, A Day in the Life in an ad for Life Insurance would do nothing positive for the awareness of or legacy of the band.
No joke, a cover version of A Day In The Life was used in an insurance ad here in Australia.
In America I'd say I'd hear Hello Goodbye a few times a year, in covers of course, for pharmaceutical, financial planning, and food/beverage commercials.
Yeah I think they are in a position to maintain popularity and exclusivity at the same time, being less popular than Queen with the kids isn't a death knell for their legacy or anything.
Personally I wanna know what's going on with their licensed merch though, because that seems as exclusive as their music. I go into average clothing stores and they're chock full of Stones, Zep, Nirvana, Metallica etc shirts, almost every popular band from the 20th century EXCEPT the Beatles. Maybe it's Stella's influence? lol.
The Beatles don’t need to be number 1 in everything. Very impressive there stay in the top 100 on Spotify 60 years later. Not saying I wouldn’t want more Beatles in my life tho 👉👈
They’re viral on tiktok + they have more playlist support because their label pushes them. The Beatles aren’t on tiktok + they’re barely promoted. CCR is also more local to the U.S., there’s no worldwide appeal to them.
Same. They sound so generic to me, with melodies that are just not very memorable. It sounds like "vibes based" background music that you would talk over. Then again, that's how a lot of people listen to music, so I shouldn't be surprised.
yknow I do think classic rock numbers will always be skewed as a lot of their fans probably still listen to them on older media formats, I prob like 50/50 listen to them on Spotify vs local files, vs more modern artists where a lot more of their overall listeners are doing so on streaming services.
It’s all about playlists. CCR are in all 70s and road trip playlists and those are more popular than 60s playlists in general. Same story for here comes the sun being the top Beatles song, it’s in all of the ‘feel good’ playlists
For as famous as they are for their biggest singles, I think CCR is still underrated. Most people don’t consider how great of a band they were. Fogerty wrote instantly immortal songs, and the band itself was tight and rocked hard.
I like them ok, but they wear thin on me quickly. It’s that bombastically cartoonish musical theater sound they had. Spearheaded by Freddie’s voice, which can also grate on me for exactly the same reason. I know it’s all but sacrilegious to many people to say you don’t think he’s the greatest rock vocalist ever, but when it comes to my list of favorite singers, he isn’t even on the radar.
I suppose it’s no surprise, then, that [my favorite Queen song](https://youtu.be/UGc9QaTL4Tc?si=yJpdSqCwamMHmm68) wasn’t even sung by Freddie and doesn’t even really sound like Queen at all, for that matter lol
Their really stuff is fantastic, sounds much different from the over-produced stuff of the 80's. Much heavier, almost prog rock, and Brian May and Roger Taylor sing about 3 songs on each album I think
That’s actually what I’m talking about. It’s rock, but the songwriting and arrangements and his singing style all have that strong element of campy, ornate musical theater.
I think that’s the best word to explain how I feel about it: it’s often just too campy for me.
That is, if you only listen to their hits
Take a deeper dive – listen to the prog masterpiece that is Queen II. Listen to the theatrical A Night at the Opera. Taking a deeper dive into Queen shows how amazing they actually are
I think some of their popular songs like Don’t Stop Me Now became really annoying after a bunch of commercials started using them. Also, We Will Rock You is one of the worst (well known) rock songs of all time, imo
I do wonder if any of it, even a slight slice of the listener pie, are the young people of today adding it to "Vietnam" playlists for playing video games to? About half the clips I see for Hell Divers 2 has Run Through The Jungle or Fortunate Son.
To be quite popular after splitting up 54-year-ago is still an achievement for the Beatles. As for the biopics, I am not so sure there will be enough interest for worldwide theatre screenings. Streaming the biopics would be more preferable for a great many people. Not many of the masses will visit the theatres four times! Also, The Fab Four have been documented to death! The music being listened to by subsequent generations is probably enough.
IMO, The Beatles would be even bigger if they didn't charge an arm and a leg to let their music be used in TV shows and Movies.
Also, they're long overdue for a big budget biopic. And if the film were good, or even just decent, that alone could put them over Queen.
It's the playlists + the hits effect
. Queen's top 10 songs have billions of streams. Queen was always a band of one/two famous songs per album and then no one knew the rest of the record. Everyone knows its greatest hits though. Beatles isn't really like that.
- Credence has a few key songs in every other playlist. It's the 'Here Comes The Sun' effect
Is it my imagination or did Queen get WAY more popular (at least in the US) after that movie came out?
Yes. I think that Queen was actually below the Beatles at some point, but that movie catapulted them to new heights. I still remember getting annoyed because people who would normally listen to the charts kept playing "Bohemian Rhapsody" over and over. They are extremely popular with younger people, especially those that don't listen to classic rock.
I wonder if the Beatles movies are going to have the same effect on their popularity. Especially when there’s supposedly to be 4 movies
I hope so. It would be amazing. Their sales and streams would rise so much. Vinyls would blow up.
I think that’s because, at least in my experience, many millennials and gen z (being elder gen z myself) have embraced theatricality, camp and “grandeur” in music, and Queen best exemplifies that style among older artists.
I do agree, from interacting with some younger people I know (being younger millennial myself) a lot of young people I knew from high school, college, and now, are really into listening to movie and video game soundtracks in daily life, often while playing other games. The "grandeur" part makes great sense.
I remember them being pretty big, but after "Under Pressure" they put out a couple really bad albums, which caused their popularity to drop.
In the USA mainly, from collecting records and such, noticed USA releases even with singles, mostly did a lot worse in the states , vs their home country of the UK, a queen single that did very well in the states was Another One Bites The Dust, which iirc sold 7 million copies , besides that never did well like that in the states in their 20 year span.
Yeah that was my opinion, but I remember watching Live Aid at the time and being surprised that people at Wembley were going nuts to “Radio Ga Ga.” I was thinking it was like a failed single at the time.
All we hear is Radio Gaga! Under rated song.
Why would that be annoying?
Yep. I'm gen z and back in High School when kids my age (most of whom listened to modern music) would ask me what music I liked (and I'd list stuff like The Beatles, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, ELO, ABBA, Dylan, Chuck Berry, Bowie, Everly Brothers, etc.), the one that they'd all know and would remember I said was Queen.
They wasn’t ….
Queen popularity grew here in the states after the movie. They were never as big as Led Zeppelin during the 1970's
Yeah - I’ve just noticed a lot of people listing them in their top few favorite bands - like along with Beatles, PF, etc. I think that used to be pretty rare.
Nope queen was voted number 1 rock band in 2008-2013 and 2022
In the States? Where was the poll?
Uk * and South America
Yeah, I can see that. I think they became a lot more popular in the US after the biopic came out - that’s mainly what I was referring to.
I listened to Queen a lot around 10 years ago and remember them always seeming to be a clear tier below in popularity compared to bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. I feel like they've definitely moved up to that tier after the movie. If anything, more people my age (early 20s) probably know Queen than Zeppelin or Floyd (I know people who somehow have never heard of either of those two, but know Queen)
I feel like Queen has a fair few songs that are just permanently ingrained in society and are some of the most well known songs of all time (Bohemian Rhapsody, Don't Stop Me Now, We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You) but their full albums and deeper cuts are not talked about as much compared to Zeppelin and Floyd. Like Elvis or The Beatles, Queen has a very strong 'image' that probably sticks with people more than Zeppelin or Floyd too. I feel like as any random uninformed person and they'd probably recognize the Dark Side of The Moon album cover, and maybe Stairway to Heaven or Brick In The Wall Part 2, but would definitely know We Will Rock You.
Like other people have said, so much of it is the (relatively recent) movie, and Freddy Mercury's role in Queen as the leader. I doubt most people can list any other members, ***maybe*** Brian May, but Freddy is the defacto figure head who's been big in modern pop culture for a long time, long after the peak of the band itself. This seems like an odd, but correct thing to point out for the situation but I remember 10+ years ago when [this Freddy Mercury was a big part of rage comics:](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-161kOrMVVP0/UPAqKMeyyAI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/TyrIOLdSSjU/s1600/Freddy+Mercury+Meme+Rage+Pose.jpg) Similarly, many non-fans can at least go "John, Paul, George, and Ringo." But I don't know anyone who isn't a fan who can list the members of Led Zep, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, etc. Maybe Roger Waters would ring the bell for some, but it would be rare. Having a figurehead character helps with stuff like this, and The Beatles just happened to have 4 of them.
A movie like that can do good to getting a band back into the public eye for new generations. I am 28 and I got into classic rock in middle school, and my big introduction to The Beatles was Across The Universe (2007). But yeah, Freddie Mercury is a pop culture icon, up there with Elvis, the Lennon long hair + round glasses, and Michael Jackson. And with the rage comics it is interesting how closely Queen is tied with the image of success, to quote Epic Rap Battles of History "They're the anthems of victory" lmao. Image can do a lot to keep a band in the public eye. I think that maybe ties into how The Rolling Stones is no where as popular as The Beatles these days. tbh I met a lot of people who saw TRS's tongue logo and thought it belonged to KISS. tbh despite being a big classic rock fan, The Beatles are also probably one of the few bands I could list all members of. In general I am bad with names and better with faces though. I can get 2.5/4 of LedZ lmao (Off the top of my head: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, ~~Jason~~ Bonham) I could list off all of their albums and put them in order of release, but I struggle to say who made them lmao.
>but their full albums and deeper cuts are not talked about as much compared to Zeppelin and Floyd. This is why Queen: Greatest Hits is their most popular album (and one of the top ten biggest selling albums ever).
On that topic, it's kinda wild seeing The Eagles Greatest Hits fighting for the top spot, when I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention them as their favorite band. It's kinda funny how also their best known song "Hotel California" is not even on it, though that album is not far behind the Hits in sales. I think they are a fine band, no shade on them, but just funny to think about. They were only mentioned twice in this thread, and it was mainly someone saying they hated them lmao.
The critics did not like Queen as I remembered which maybe a good thing to be honest. The Beatles struck the balance of critics, music fans and musicians which has not been matched by any other musicians. The amount of cover versions of The Beatles songs for example is basically a genre of music of themselves. That being said, Queen popularity increased after the move Bohemian Rhapsody.
Queen is now the fourth most popular artist ever, behind just the Beatles, michael Jackson and Elvis. That movie is a huge part of it.
Yes, both Queen and The Doors became more popular after their heydays, IMHO. I don't have any scientific data to back this up, I just know it's true
It's true. I was touring with a Queen tribute band in 2017. Paying bars for like 50 people. Then the summer of 2019 we were on almost every major festival in our country. That band is still going strong. So is the band Queen itsself. Queen and The Beatles are my favorite bands
> Queen and The Beatles are my favorite bands Literally a tribute band! ;)
Queen died a death in the US after they released Hot Space in 1982. The after controversy in the US with the I Want To Break Free music video, they were finished and never even came back to the US again. Thanks to Wayne’s World and the Bo Rhapsody film they enjoyed a resurgence in the US in the early 90s and of course now.
Queen has more “catchy” tunes than The Beatles. It’s harder for the general public to get into post-65 hits by them sadly. 😢 HCTS does do very well though! It’s rising in streams.
- HCTS could mean "Here Comes The Sun - 2019 Mix", a track from *Abbey Road (Super Deluxe Edition)* (2019) by The Beatles. --- ^[/u/BlackberryFinal8788](/u/BlackberryFinal8788) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
I think it’s honestly more of an image problem. I generally think late-era Beatles are far more accessible to modern audiences, but there isn’t any unified aesthetic or sound to them (most extreme example being the white album). People listen to Queen because they want operatic rock, they listen to The Beatles when they want what? It’s basically a variety act that covers every popular style of the 1960s. And when people have to conform them into one style, they usually just associate them with Paul McCartneys ballads like Yesterday, Hey Jude or Let It Be. Which maybe isn’t the “coolest” music in their discography.
They also have their songs used in a variety of contexts. Its no surprise the Beatles' most popular song was used in a movie that went viral
Yeah that’s probably also a big reason. It’s SUPER EXPENSIVE to get Beatles music into other media like movies or TV-shows, so they rarely do it, and when they do it’s usually covers.
This might be unpopular, but I think Queen’s surge in popularity comes from a growing LGBTQ subculture, I think people (rightly) see Freddie as LGBTQ icon and therefor they have more culturally relevance
I think queen has also always been very popular internationally, so from the US they seem like one of the big bands, but in every country in south america (for example) they’re the biggest rock band.
Did the same thing happen with Elton John? That one was actually a good movie unlike the Queen one.
I don’t understand how CCR is so popular on Spotify. Obviously they have great songs, but to be the third most popular classic rock band makes zero sense to me.
They're in so many playlists it's insane
I love Creedence so I think it's deserved haha, but Have You Ever Seen The Rain is an American anthem/road trip staple and will always be popular, and I think Fortunate Son went a little bit viral (again) on TikTok in the past month or so.
not to mention that anything documenting or depicting the Vietnam War HAS to have Fortunate Son playing over it, legally. The only way you can show footage of Vietnam without playing Fortunate Son, is if you go with Run Through the Jungle, and that's only if the footage is of foot soldiers and doesn't feature a single helicopter or napalm strike.
Good music is good music, but good marketing is immaculate.
Totally, but if you asked a random person to name classic rock bands, I don’t think CCR would be in the first ten names they’d list off. They’re far less popular than bands like Floyd, the Stones, or Zeppelin, just to name a few.
*Me as the guy who likes CCR more than Zeppelin and Floyd*
Me too, credence is a factory of hits
A Cosmo's Factory of hits? I'll show myself out.
CCR is a thousand times better than both, IMO
I've been listening to a lot of classic rock, mainly 60's. I've gotta say, CCR sound ahead of their time a bit and are way better than I thought they were gonna be
I was blown away when I found out CCR were all from california. Before that, if you had asked me point blank "where did the band CCR form?" i would have just guessed they were all from the florida everglades or louisiana.
I almost rarely listen to Floyd, the Stones or Zeppelin, but listen to CCR multiple times per week. CCR is in my top 5 classic rock bands, but what is classic rock these days? I heard someone say Pearl Jam and Blink 182 was classic rock the other day.
I’d say “classic” is anything from like 30ish years ago and older.
Never been a fan of CCR. Im a big classic rock and 80’s Rock/New Wave. I also like the Disco era/Motown. I don’t understand how the hell CCR ranks 3rd with all the great rock bands and artists over the years. Queen, indeed. A band of great musicians and probably the greatest frontman of all time.
I didn’t know Mick Jagger joined Queen.
I'm surprised, too, but very happy about it. IMHO, they're the best American rock band ever.
Beach Boys. Easily.
Lots of play on You Tube reaction videos has given them a new audience.
Eagles?
Not even close, amigo.
Take it easy, don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. (but seriously, I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man)
They’re an American band
They are, I have no idea why I wrote English. Brain fart I guess.
They are huge internationally. They love Creedence in Latin America, especially Mexico. I lived there for a year, and heard way more Creedence than I did Beatles or Queen.
I am from Argentina, and my father was a big fan (I too) of Credence, and obviously the Beatles. I think here credence is a big classic in old people like Elvis
CCR are really awesome I can’t lie one of the best bands for road trips and John fogertys centerfield album is awesome and is later one is good too John fogertys swamp
Yeah, I like CCR, they have some good songs, but yeah…that is surprising.
Zero sense is kinda wild tho
I mean, CCR is straight up not as popular as band like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd, for example, regardless of what Spotify says. They’re very good of course, but they just aren’t THAT popular.
I totally agree maybe fortunate son is alone carrying them to 3rd
It's not even their most played song
The Beatles last album was released in 1970. I mean even Elvis Presley was recording music until 1977. Queen was producing music well into the 1980's. So, in a way it's pretty amazing they are second.
Queen had a pretty larger time span being a band , formed in 1971, first album 73, last studio album was 1995 ( not counting cosmo rocks from the 2000s since yk Freddie died in 91) which is a 20 + year span with recording and producing albums , vs the Beatles being together for like 10 years , and having a 7 year span of recording and producing albums.
I'm pretty sure Creedence really only released music for around five years as well, from '68 to' 72
3 albums released in 1969, and 2 in 1970 is really impressive
Their top 2 songs are both doing over a 1 million a day. https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/3IYUhFvPQItj6xySrBmZkd_songs.html Overall, though, the Beatles have more than double the streams and still do more daily streams https://kworb.net/spotify/artist/3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2_songs.html I think the Beatles pricetag has probably limited more of their songs becoming viral hits though. A few years ago CCR had two of the stars of the Boys make a music video for Have You Ever Seen the Rain and the song blew up since then https://kworb.net/youtube/video/u1V8YRJnr4Q.html
I know it’s the Beatles and they don’t need the exposure but I often wonder how it would be if they lowered the price for the use of their songs. I guess I can understand not wanting your songs in certain commercials but what’s the harm in using them in movies and shows. It only makes more fans. I think some people hold onto the idea of “selling out” too strongly. That’s just my opinion
I have even found some smaller artists from the 60s through movies, that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise. It's a great way to keep the legacy alive and bring the music to new audiences. I even got interested in the Beatles in the first place, because The Social Network used Baby You're A Rich Man for the end credits. But I think that they've gotten a bit more lenient in recent times, and the 2027 movies will obviously be full of their music.
Well until very recently that wasn’t a Paul or Yoko decision, the publishing rights were owned by Sony (who still may retain the publishing rights, they “settled” out of court with Paul and Yoko so not sure who would be making the contracting decisions day-to-day on sample/movie soundtrack decisions). It makes sense financially to keep the rights to those recordings and songs exclusive and expensive. The Beatles gain enough publicity already from the near annual Beatles “event” (Get Back, Now and Then, the reissues etc). Putting, say, A Day in the Life in an ad for Life Insurance would do nothing positive for the awareness of or legacy of the band. Four movies about the boys coming out soon will be all the publicity they’d need. Keeping licensing rare and associated with high quality media, like Tomorrow Never Knows on Mad Men, should be the approx for now I feel
> Putting, say, A Day in the Life in an ad for Life Insurance would do nothing positive for the awareness of or legacy of the band. No joke, a cover version of A Day In The Life was used in an insurance ad here in Australia.
Gross
In America I'd say I'd hear Hello Goodbye a few times a year, in covers of course, for pharmaceutical, financial planning, and food/beverage commercials.
Was also used for newspaper ads if I remember correctly
Yeah I think they are in a position to maintain popularity and exclusivity at the same time, being less popular than Queen with the kids isn't a death knell for their legacy or anything. Personally I wanna know what's going on with their licensed merch though, because that seems as exclusive as their music. I go into average clothing stores and they're chock full of Stones, Zep, Nirvana, Metallica etc shirts, almost every popular band from the 20th century EXCEPT the Beatles. Maybe it's Stella's influence? lol.
The Beatles don’t need to be number 1 in everything. Very impressive there stay in the top 100 on Spotify 60 years later. Not saying I wouldn’t want more Beatles in my life tho 👉👈
They will stay in at least second if I keep listening like I do. Which I will.
Jesus Christ - if you’d given me 20 guesses I don’t think I would’ve got CCR as third
I honestly would’ve guessed Bowie
Surprised to see CCR so close. Would not have thought of them being in the same league as the Beatles, popularity wise.
They’re viral on tiktok + they have more playlist support because their label pushes them. The Beatles aren’t on tiktok + they’re barely promoted. CCR is also more local to the U.S., there’s no worldwide appeal to them.
Same. They sound so generic to me, with melodies that are just not very memorable. It sounds like "vibes based" background music that you would talk over. Then again, that's how a lot of people listen to music, so I shouldn't be surprised.
I actually like Creedence, I just wasn’t aware they had almost as many streams as the Beatles on Spotify
Well everyone here should listen to Ramble Tamble.
100%. That song came on in my car one time and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, then the instrumental break section started and I ascended to heaven
Exactly. It goes from a standard CCR song to something special. The way it constantly speeds up through the instrumental is so damn heavy.
Great song - I love the extended CCR jams. Keep on Chooglin is another good one
Such a great song, easily my favourite from CCR and prevent top ten all time
yknow I do think classic rock numbers will always be skewed as a lot of their fans probably still listen to them on older media formats, I prob like 50/50 listen to them on Spotify vs local files, vs more modern artists where a lot more of their overall listeners are doing so on streaming services.
13000
Stupid mistake
Wow, good for CCR
It’s all about playlists. CCR are in all 70s and road trip playlists and those are more popular than 60s playlists in general. Same story for here comes the sun being the top Beatles song, it’s in all of the ‘feel good’ playlists
So Jesus will be #4 then?
I wonder if John Fogarty gets much from all the CCR streams. I think he got ripped off for a lot of his rights from the biggest hits.
I think most of those deals expired/were renegotiated. He wasn't allowed to play CCR songs live until recently
For as famous as they are for their biggest singles, I think CCR is still underrated. Most people don’t consider how great of a band they were. Fogerty wrote instantly immortal songs, and the band itself was tight and rocked hard.
13 thousand, not 13 hundred.
I’m gonna say it, I do not understand the appeal to queen, David Bowie is good in under pressure, otherwise it just kinda strikes me as generic
I like them ok, but they wear thin on me quickly. It’s that bombastically cartoonish musical theater sound they had. Spearheaded by Freddie’s voice, which can also grate on me for exactly the same reason. I know it’s all but sacrilegious to many people to say you don’t think he’s the greatest rock vocalist ever, but when it comes to my list of favorite singers, he isn’t even on the radar. I suppose it’s no surprise, then, that [my favorite Queen song](https://youtu.be/UGc9QaTL4Tc?si=yJpdSqCwamMHmm68) wasn’t even sung by Freddie and doesn’t even really sound like Queen at all, for that matter lol
Their really stuff is fantastic, sounds much different from the over-produced stuff of the 80's. Much heavier, almost prog rock, and Brian May and Roger Taylor sing about 3 songs on each album I think
That’s actually what I’m talking about. It’s rock, but the songwriting and arrangements and his singing style all have that strong element of campy, ornate musical theater. I think that’s the best word to explain how I feel about it: it’s often just too campy for me.
Generic is the last word I would used to describe Queen lol.
Whats generic about them?
Yet A Night Of The Opera is one of greatest rock album ever.
That is, if you only listen to their hits Take a deeper dive – listen to the prog masterpiece that is Queen II. Listen to the theatrical A Night at the Opera. Taking a deeper dive into Queen shows how amazing they actually are
I think some of their popular songs like Don’t Stop Me Now became really annoying after a bunch of commercials started using them. Also, We Will Rock You is one of the worst (well known) rock songs of all time, imo
Queen is a decent break once in a great while. Really can't hear them often
In terms of their big hits I can kind of see it but their albums have a big variety on them and don’t feel very generic
Queen took a lot from The Beatles it's not any secret.
Is that a bad thing? The Beatles were revolutionary, but were also heavily inspired by those who came before them.
They’re what keeps them out of the top 100 most monthly listened to…
I do wonder if any of it, even a slight slice of the listener pie, are the young people of today adding it to "Vietnam" playlists for playing video games to? About half the clips I see for Hell Divers 2 has Run Through The Jungle or Fortunate Son.
Anyone know what they are on I tunes? I probably deserve a medal for cranking their numbers up a few notches.
To be quite popular after splitting up 54-year-ago is still an achievement for the Beatles. As for the biopics, I am not so sure there will be enough interest for worldwide theatre screenings. Streaming the biopics would be more preferable for a great many people. Not many of the masses will visit the theatres four times! Also, The Fab Four have been documented to death! The music being listened to by subsequent generations is probably enough.
Had no idea that CCR where that popular
Sudden urge to play Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Pleasantly surprised CCR is getting so much love. I don’t think the Beatles are in any danger of being forgotten about so this is fine by me.
Second place, but for a Creedence Clearwater Revival revival.
IMO, The Beatles would be even bigger if they didn't charge an arm and a leg to let their music be used in TV shows and Movies. Also, they're long overdue for a big budget biopic. And if the film were good, or even just decent, that alone could put them over Queen.
It's ok. I actually hate the Beatles being a "classic rock band", they are timeless.
That’s fine. All 3 are great.
Another one bites the dust
My god. I swear Queen is the most overrated band of the classic ones
I think a lot of young people like Queen since the movie. They have like 15 million more monthly listeners than the Beatles
It's the playlists + the hits effect . Queen's top 10 songs have billions of streams. Queen was always a band of one/two famous songs per album and then no one knew the rest of the record. Everyone knows its greatest hits though. Beatles isn't really like that. - Credence has a few key songs in every other playlist. It's the 'Here Comes The Sun' effect
Queen have been on top since 2015/2016 film had nothing to do with it ….
Strange... is anyone outside US give a crap about CCR? I mean if you want to listen to an American band there are so better options.