There are a lot of artists that are huge & some even seen as legends... But had little to no hits on the top 40.

To name a few

Nirvana- The group that brought grunge to the mainstream are household names but only had 3 top 40 hits, and 1 top 10 hit.

Grace Jones- Huge fashion & music icon, but never had a top 40 hit... highest charting wise grace got was 69

Radiohead- Multiple grammy winning artists & usually on dozens of best ever lists

But they only had 2 top 40 hits one with Creep in 92 & Nude in 2008. In the UK they have 18 top 40 hits though.

Led Zeppelin- one of the biggets bands ever, with an impressive 4 albums that sold over 10 million copies & Led Zeppelin IV selling 23 million in the U.S

but the group only had a few top 40 hits & i think only one top 10 hit.

Luther Vandross- Legendary singer, but only had 3 top 10 hits & a few lower charting top 40's.

Pearl Jam- 2nd biggest grunge band after Nirvana, only had 4 top 40 hits & 1 top 10.

Any artists to add?

Jimi Hendrix only had 1 US pop top 40 hit.

yanowha said:

Jimi Hendrix only had 1 US pop top 40 hit.

true!

His remake of All Along The Watchtower was his only hit....

I'm still shocked by that.

Led Zep only released the one single though?

elmer said:

Led Zep only released the one single though?

They actually released 16 singles all together & some with b-sides.

ut it's true They where always more AOR more then singles

Gunsnhalen said:

Luther Vandross- Legendary singer, but only had 3 top 10 hits & a few lower charting top 40's.

but many of his singles were huge on the R&B charts

Virtually all those artist were really album artists especially Led Zep - they cared nothing about top 40 hits. I'd assume Luther had a zillion r n b hits.

Gunsnhalen said:

Grace Jones- Huge fashion & music icon, but never had a top 40 hit... highest charting wise grace got was 69

what about "Pull Up To The Bumper"? That song had to have charted higer than number 69.

SoulAlive said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Luther Vandross- Legendary singer, but only had 3 top 10 hits & a few lower charting top 40's.

but many of his singles were huge on the R&B charts

True, a lot of htese artists did rather well on there own charts like the R&B charts, rock charts etc.

SoulAlive said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Grace Jones- Huge fashion & music icon, but never had a top 40 hit... highest charting wise grace got was 69

what about "Pull Up To The Bumper"? That song had to have charted higer than number 69.

Accordng to what i read didn't even break the hot 100

mynameisnotsusan said:

Virtually all those artist were really album artists especially Led Zep - they cared nothing about top 40 hits. I'd assume Luther had a zillion r n b hits.

True, and i like when an artists can have little to no hits... but still sell a shitload of albums

Gunsnhalen said:

SoulAlive said:

what about "Pull Up To The Bumper"? That song had to have charted higer than number 69.

Accordng to what i read didn't even break the hot 100

I guess that there a tons of huge touring bands that haven't really done alot Top 40 wise. Jimmy Buffett anyone? Phish? Metallica probably only had a few top 40 songs. What about ACDC?

2Pac (9 top 40 hits, 4 top 10 hits, 2 number one hits (a double A-side)

Rick James (5 top 40 hits, no top 10 hits)

Teena Marie (2 top 40 hits, 1 top 10 hit)

Patti LaBelle (7 top 40 hits (3 with Labelle), 2 number one hits (1 with Labelle)

Kylie Minogue (while she's big worldwide she's only had 5 top 40 hits and 2 top 10 hits in the U.S)

Pet Shop Boys (while they're big in Europe they've only had 6 top 40 hits and 1 number one hit in the U.S)

Bjork (while she's big worldwide she hasn't had a single top 40 hit in the U.S)

Depeche Mode (6 top 40 hits, 1 top 10 hit)

Frankie Beverly and Maze were HUGE in the black community but they never had a Top 40 hit on the Pop charts. Never even came close.

aardvark15 said:

2Pac (9 top 40 hits, 4 top 10 hits, 2 number one hits (a double A-side)

Rick James (5 top 40 hits, no top 10 hits)

Teena Marie (2 top 40 hits, 1 top 10 hit)

Patti LaBelle (7 top 40 hits (3 with Labelle), 2 number one hits (1 with Labelle)

Kylie Minogue (while she's big worldwide she's only had 5 top 40 hits and 2 top 10 hits in the U.S)

Pet Shop Boys (while they're big in Europe they've only had 6 top 40 hits and 1 number one hit in the U.S)

Bjork (while she's big worldwide she hasn't had a single top 40 hit in the U.S)

Depeche Mode (6 top 40 hits, 1 top 10 hit)

Artists like Rick & Teena have like a billion hits on R&B chart they are GODS there

Pet Shop Boys have like 46 top 20 hits & over 50 top 40 hits in the U.K

And Depeche Mode has over 40 top 40 hits in the U.K

They owned the charts there

On R&B charts Ricks had 23 top 40 hits and 4 number one hits while Teena's had 15 top 40 hits and 1 number one hit.

Iggy Pop only charted once in the US with "Candy". Not huge as in success on the charts elsewhere but he has held a lot of massive influence over the years and has performed to sold out crowds for the last 40 some years.

[Edited 11/16/12 18:27pm]

SoulAlive said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Grace Jones- Huge fashion & music icon, but never had a top 40 hit... highest charting wise grace got was 69

what about "Pull Up To The Bumper"? That song had to have charted higer than number 69.

Is this some sort of sick on-going joke?

The Grateful Dead had only one top 40 hit in their entire career, which spanned around 30 years; that was Touch of Grey in 1987.

Judas Priest never charted in the Billboard Top 40, yet they are known as an all-time iconic metal band. The same can be said for Iron Maiden.

N.W.A. never had a top 40 charting single (most likely due to their explicit lyrics), yet Straight Outta Compton is considered a seminal album in the hip-hop world, while their third album Niggaz4life debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1991.

Believe it or not, Bob Marley is one of the most legendary artists in music, yet he never even had a single hit the Hot 100, let alone the top 40.

[Edited 11/16/12 19:42pm]

728huey said:

The Grateful Dead had only one top 40 hit in their entire career, which spanned around 30 years; that was Touch of Grey in 1987.

Judas Priest never charted in the Billboard Top 40, yet they are known as an all-time iconic metal band. The same can be said for Iron Maiden.

N.W.A. never had a top 40 charting single (most likely due to their explicit lyrics), yet Straight Outta Compton is considered a seminal album in the hip-hop world, while their third album Niggaz4life debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1991.

Believe it or not, Bob Marley is one of the most legendary artists in music, yet he never even had a single hit the Hot 100, let alone the top 40.

[Edited 11/16/12 19:42pm]

ahhh good ones!~ i forgot about those.

Marley i think was WAY more influential after he passed on...

Priest being a metal act where destined for no top 40 hits

Gunsnhalen said:

elmer said:

Led Zep only released the one single though?

They actually released 16 singles all together & some with b-sides.

They released nine singles in the US.

1969 Good Times Bad Times / Communication Breakdown #80

1969 Whole Lotta Love / Living Loving Maid #4

1970 Immigrant Song / Hey Hey What Can I Do #16

1971 Black Dog / Misty Mountain Hop #15

1972 Rock And Roll / Four Sticks #47

1973 Over The Hills And Far Away / Dancing Days #51

1973 D'yer Mak'er / The Crunge #20

1975 Trampled Underfoot / Black Country Woman #38

1976 Candy Store Rock / Royal Orleans (Didn't chart)

1979 Fool In The Rain / Hot Dog #21

Also the B side of Whole Lotta Love hit #65.

There were no singles issued in the UK yet they had eight number one albums in a row. Not bad, eh?

Some artists, that did have top 40 hits but not a lot, and also have just a few top 5/10 or 20 hits.

The Cure (have a few top 40, and just a couple of top 10/20 hits)

Pink Floyd (well, they also didn't release a lot of singles.. so that's explains a lot... concept albums..)

KISS (an iconic band, but they didn't have a lot of top 40 hits. Just 4 top 20 hits maybe, and i think 2 top 10 hits. I was made for loving you was 11 in USA, so far i know.)

Talking Heads (i think they had just 3 or maybe less top 40 hits)

Muse (huge over here in europe. But they haven't had a lot of top 40.. in the usa they are slowly getting more popular, but they are huge here and they sell out the big stadiums here in europe, especially in the UK.) well, they had some top 40 hits but not a lot, let's say you would think they had more because they are so successful almost as big as Coldplay for example here, but Coldplay got lots of more hits.

probably more, but i can't think of any atm.

pretty much British superstars ignored by the USA

Roxy Music - huge in Europe and western Europe, ignored in the USA other than "Love is the Drug" and "More than This/Avalon", moderate hits...

Iron Maiden - huge band worldwide, virtually ignored by the radios/lists; hit albums, not hit singles...

T.Rex - did Marc Bolan even play in the US? I don't know...at least Bowie had some huge hit-singles in 75/76 and 83/84...

Queen - other than "We Are the Champions/We Will Rock U" and "Another 1 Bites the Dust/Crazy Lil Thing Called Love" they weren't that big in the USA, were they?

Simple Minds - an excellent band remembered only by a mid-80s hit, "Don't U Forget About Me"

Sade - I don't know if she (they) had many US hits...

Seal - I think his only US hit was "Kiss From a Rose", I could be wrong...

[Edited 11/18/12 6:31am]

JoeTyler said:

pretty much British superstars ignored by the USA

Roxy Music - huge in Europe and western Europe, ignored in the USA other than "Love is the Drug" and "More than This/Avalon", moderate hits...

Iron Maiden - huge band worldwide, virtually ignored by the radios/lists; hit albums, not hit singles...

T.Rex - did Marc Bolan even play in the US? I don't know...at least Bowie had some huge hit-singles in 75/76 and 83/84...

Queen - other than "We Are the Champions/We Will Rock U" and "Another 1 Bites the Dust/Crazy Lil Thing Called Love" they weren't that big in the USA, were they?

Simple Minds - an excellent band remembered only by a mid-80s hit, "Don't U Forget About Me"

Sade - I don't know if she (they) had many US hits...

Seal - I think his only US hit was "Kiss From a Rose", I could be wrong...

[Edited 11/18/12 6:31am]

T. Rex had an American following but I think it stopped growing because Marc got sick before he was to perform at Madison Square Garden or something... this was around 1973 just right after he tore the stage up at the Midnight Special. Queen was big on albums here in the '70s and early '80s but not much afterwards.

I'd say some of the bop and post-bop legends of jazz, excluding Miles.

Charlie Parker (one of the most infliuential musicians of the 20th century)

John Coltrane (the case can be made that his Quartet was the best in the world in its prime)

JoeTyler said:

pretty much British superstars ignored by the USA

Roxy Music - huge in Europe and western Europe, ignored in the USA other than "Love is the Drug" and "More than This/Avalon", moderate hits...

Iron Maiden - huge band worldwide, virtually ignored by the radios/lists; hit albums, not hit singles...

T.Rex - did Marc Bolan even play in the US? I don't know...at least Bowie had some huge hit-singles in 75/76 and 83/84...

Queen - other than "We Are the Champions/We Will Rock U" and "Another 1 Bites the Dust/Crazy Lil Thing Called Love" they weren't that big in the USA, were they?

Simple Minds - an excellent band remembered only by a mid-80s hit, "Don't U Forget About Me"

Sade - I don't know if she (they) had many US hits...

Seal - I think his only US hit was "Kiss From a Rose", I could be wrong...

[Edited 11/18/12 6:31am]

Seal had 4 Top 40 hits in the US: Crazy, Prayer for the Dying, Kiss from a Rose, and Fly Like an Eagle

Sade had 5 Top 40 hits in the US: Smooth Operator, Sweetest Taboo, Never as Good as the First Time, Paradise and No Ordinary Love.

But both of them had numerous hits on the US R&B and AC charts

Queen had numerous Top 40 american hits:

Killer Queen

Bohemian Rhapsody (charted twice)

You're My Best Friend

Somebody to Love

We Are the Champions

We Will Rock You

Bicycle Race

Fat Bottom Girls

Crazy Little Thing CAlled Love

Another One Bites the Dust

Under Pressure

Body Language

Radio GaGa

and several that barely missed the Top 40

[Edited 11/18/12 15:14pm]

The Cure is a massive band that may be in the R&R Hall of Fame someday, but they've only had 3 Top 40 hits in America: Just Like Heaven (which barely grazed the Top 40, at #40), and Friday I'm in Love (hit #18). Their biggest crossover pop hit was of course "LoveSong" which hit #2, behind Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much".

Another iconic artist of the last 20 years is Tori Amos who has NEVER hit the Top 40 in the US pop charts. The closest she came was "Spark" at #49. Although of course she's had multiple chart singles on other formats (modern rock especially).

Pink Floyd had Top 40 hits in America only twice: Money and Another Brick in the Wall.

And David Bowie, as big as he is - and his icon status is unquestioned - his list of Top 40 hits in the US is pretty paltry compared to his vast catalog and the importance of his music. So many classic tunes like Heroes, Changes, Starman, Rebel Rebel, Ziggy Stardust, Ashes to Ashes, Fashion, Life on Mars? and many many more were NOT Top 40 American hits:

His list:

Space Oddity (15)

Young Americans (28)

Fame (1)

Golden Years (10)

Under Pressure w/Queen (29)

Let's Dance (1)

China Girl (10)

Modern Love (14)

Blue Jean (8)

This is Not America (32)

Dancing in the Street w/Mick Jagger (7)

Day-In, Day-Out (21)

Never Let Me Down (27)

Interesting to think that albums like The Man Who Sold the World, Heroes, Diamond Dogs, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Low, Lodger, Scary Monsters - - all undisputed classics - had a combined ZERO Top 40 hits in the US and yet he managed 2 hits from "Never Let Me Down", widely considered his worst album.

Chart positions are not the be-all and end-all in music, that is for sure.