Hit songs aren\u2019t always popular with the artists who release them. In fact, some artists have gone so far as to say they hated their biggest hits.<\/p>\n
When a song gets so big that it becomes all an artist is known for, it can be a mixed bag of emotions for them. The ubiquitous nature of said tracks can lead artists to hate one of their biggest songs. Some musicians eventually come around to the track, while others will never take to the song.<\/p>\n
Keep reading to see three classic rock artists who have hated some of their biggest hits.<\/p>\n
Billy Joel\u2019s \u201cWe Didn\u2019t Start The Fire\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that \u201cWe Didn\u2019t Start The Fire<\/a>\u201d earned Billy Joel a Grammy nomination and a No. 1 hit, the artist has admitted on several occasions that he hated one of his biggest hits.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really think it was that good to begin with,\u201d Joel said during a 1994 Q&A<\/a>. \u201cMelodically, it\u2019s almost like a dentist\u2019s drill.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, during a 2021 interview on We Didn\u2019t Start The Fire: The History Podcast<\/a>, Joel compared the song\u2019s music to \u201ca mosquito buzzing around your head,\u201d calling it \u201cmore annoying than musical.\u201d<\/p>\n On top of that, Joel told Rolling Stone<\/a> that the lyric-heavy song is a challenge to perform live. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I\u2019m watching people sing along, hoping they\u2019ll guide me,\u201d Joel said. \u201cBecause you can get one word wrong and it\u2019s a train wreck\u2026 It\u2019s walking on a tightrope with that thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Queen\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Me Now\u201d<\/p>\n In 1979, Queen released \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Me Now\u201d, a track that\u2019s only grown in popularity since its release. Freddie Mercury penned the lyrics to the track, and Brian May was admittedly not a fan.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really take to it in the beginning. I didn\u2019t feel totally comfortable with what Freddie was singing at the time,\u201d May told Guitar Player<\/a> in 2021, adding that he\u00a0\u201cfound it a little bit too flippant in view of the dangers out there of AIDS and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually, May adjusted his view of the song because he saw that it \u201cgave people great joy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have any quarrel with it now. And I enjoy playing it onstage,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s wonderful that everybody wants to sing that. And in singing it with us, they express their own joy and their own determination to make the best out of their lives, and to keep on and not get knocked down by things. It\u2019s an amazing kind of spiritual lift. That\u2019s what the song has become.\u201d<\/p>\n R.E.M.\u2019s \u201cShiny Happy People\u201d<\/p>\n Released in 1981, R.E.M.\u2019s \u201cShiny Happy People\u201d became a Top 10 hit for the band, but that wasn\u2019t enough to make singer Michael Stipe like it. Decades after its release, the artist revealed that he kind of hated one of his band\u2019s biggest hits.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fruity pop song written for children,\u201d Stipe told the BBC<\/a> in 2016. \u201cIf there was one song that was sent into outer space to represent R.E.M. for the rest of time, I would not want it to be \u2018Shiny Happy People.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Over the years, however, the band came to terms with the track.<\/p>\n