Artists misinterpreted by their "one-big-hit"

I've never understood the popularity of "Can I Play with Madness" is USA, was it a big hit single, does it play constantly on radio?
Iron Maiden didn't have ANY big hit singles in the U.S. But "Madness" was a single, and I've heard it on the radio before, including right after it was released. I don't know of anyone who is familiar with "Fear of the Dark" -- other than Iron Maiden fans.
 
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Extreme - More Than Words. Yes, the hair/funk metal combo with the virtuoso guitarist is mostly known by their least typical song. Similar to the Mr. Big example above.

There were a lot of bands like that in the dark hair-band years of 89-91 -- known for a sappy ballad or other not-so-good song that got radio airplay, but actually had some great album cuts. I never even gave Extreme or Mr. Big a chance after hearing their radio hits; still don't know any of their other songs, but I've been told they're good. Same goes for Cinderella; I heard "Nobody's Fool," saw the ridiculous trend-chasing outfits and hairstyles, and wrote them off -- but I'm told they had some great bluesy rock tunes too. I wrote Skid Row off as another trend-chasing poser band when I only knew "18 & Life" & "I Remember You" (though the latter was a bit of a guilty pleasure) -- then someone talked me into giving "Slave to the Grind" a fair listen and that album more than redeemed them.

I'll add the Beastie Boys in the late 80s. I hated, hated the "Licensed to Ill" album, the dumb raps, and their annoying voices (especially Adrock). Didn't even give Paul's Boutique a fair listen. Then a buddy got "Check Your Head" in '92 and played it at every party, and I realized that those guys were actually good musicians, they appreciated funk and soul-jazz, and some of their straight-ahead rap songs weren't so bad either. I later read that the songs on "Licensed to Ill" were deliberately written to be dumb, and the whole thing was kind of a goof.
 
Extreme was way better and more special than all those other hair bands named IMO
 
Never got into Mr Big. A prime example (for me) of a band with all world class musicians but the sum doesn't work.

Nuno is a far better guitarist anyway. :shred:
 
John Mayer - Daughters

I thought this was another dude with mellow voice and a acoustic guitar, but he truly is a phenomenal guitar player, especially live, superb songwriter who writes songs in many genres and a true artist in every aspect
 
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