Music history is packed with songs that arrived too soon, too quietly, or simply in front of the wrong audience. Some of the most iconic tracks ever recorded barely registered when they first hit shelves, climbing no higher than the lower reaches of obscure charts, getting turned down by radio stations, or selling only a few thousand copies. What makes these stories so fascinating is not just the eventual triumph, but the gap – sometimes years, sometimes an entire decade – between when a song was born and when the world was finally ready to hear it.
1. “Hallelujah” – Leonard Cohen (1984)
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” released in 1984, is now recognized as one of the most covered and revered songs in music history. But at first, Cohen’s version was largely overlooked, with his album “Various Positions” even being rejected by his American label. That’s a staggering fact to sit with – one of the greatest songs ever written was considered too uncommercial to even distribute in the United States. The song simply did not connect with the mainstream audience of the mid-1980s, and it quietly faded from view.
The tide began to turn a decade later when Jeff Buckley recorded his haunting, ethereal cover in 1994. Even so, Buckley’s version didn’t chart until years after his own tragic death in 1997. During the early 2000s, “Hallelujah” appeared in key moments on TV shows like “The O.C.” and in films, sparking a resurgence. By 2008, Buckley’s “Hallelujah” reached number one on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs chart. The song’s journey from a shelved album to a chart-topping anthem took nearly a quarter of a century – proof that timing can be everything in the music industry.
2. “Creep” – Radiohead (1992)
“Creep” arrived in the UK on September 21, 1992, with a thud. BBC’s Radio One reportedly considered it “too depressing” for airplay. The song only made it to number 78 on the UK chart, selling roughly 6,000 copies – far from the breakthrough success many had hoped for. Frontman Thom Yorke was reportedly devastated by the cold reception, and the band reluctantly included it on their debut album, “Pablo Honey,” in early 1993. Few people at the time could have predicted what was coming next.
In late 1992, “Creep” became a hit in Israel after the DJ Yoav Kutner began playing it on Israeli radio. Radiohead quickly set up tour dates in Israel to capitalize on the success. “Creep” had similar success in New Zealand, Spain, and Scandinavia. The San Francisco alternative rock radio station KITS began playing “Creep” in December 1992. By Christmas, it had become the station’s most requested song, leading the Los Angeles station KROQ-FM to add it to its rotation, where it also became successful. The reissued single hit number 7 in the UK, establishing Radiohead’s fanbase at home and abroad. On April 23, 2024, “Creep” surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube.
3. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” – Tina Turner (1984)
Terry Britten and Graham Lyle had written “What’s Love Got To Do With It” years before, and the song had been rejected by singers like Cliff Richard and Donna Summer. Many stars, including Donna Summer, had rejected the song, and Turner took a great deal of convincing to record the track. Turner herself later recalled: “Did you know that when I first read the lyrics for ‘What’s Love got to do with it,’ I rejected the song?” The artist was wary about the fact that the single fit more into the pop genre instead of her typical R&B and rock and roll, even going so far as to call the song “terrible.”
Until the release of “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” Tina Turner had not had a US top-ten single since the early 1970s. The single went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks, giving Turner her first and only solo number-one hit in the US. Turner was 44 when the song hit number one, at the time making her the oldest female solo artist to place a number-one single on the US Hot 100. The track was the best-selling single of 1984, shifting over 2,000,000 copies worldwide, and remains her only song to top the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, it won three Grammys, including “Song Of The Year,” cementing Turner’s legacy as the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
4. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers (1988)
When Scottish duo The Proclaimers released “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” in 1988, it was a moderate hit in the UK, peaking at number 11. In the US, however, it barely made a dent. The song’s infectious energy and unique vocals didn’t find an American audience until five years later. For half a decade, the track lived in relative obscurity outside of the British Isles, largely unknown to the massive American market that would eventually embrace it so enthusiastically. It’s one of those songs that feels so inherently joyful that its slow start seems almost impossible to explain in hindsight.
In 1993, the quirky romantic comedy “Benny and Joon” used the track during a pivotal scene, and suddenly, radio stations across the country were clamoring for it. By July of that year, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” had climbed to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The film’s success breathed new life into the song, showing just how powerful a movie soundtrack can be in catapulting old music into new heights. Billboard’s senior director of charts noted it is among the rare examples of a song becoming a top five Hot 100 hit in 1993, five years after its original release.
5. “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo (2017)
Though it did not chart upon release, “Truth Hurts” became a viral sleeper hit in 2019 after gaining popularity on the TikTok video sharing app and being used in the Netflix movie “Someone Great.” The song was included as a bonus track on the deluxe version of Lizzo’s third studio album “Cuz I Love You” and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lizzo’s first song to do so. The two-year gap between release and chart domination is almost unheard of in contemporary pop music, where songs typically peak within weeks of dropping. Lizzo herself described the original release day as devastating, telling People magazine: “The day I released ‘Truth Hurts’ was probably one of the darkest days I’ve had ever in my career. I remember thinking, ‘If I quit music now, nobody would notice. This is my best song ever, and nobody cares.'”
She followed Lauryn Hill and Cardi B as the only female rappers to achieve that with a solo song. It spent seven weeks at number one, becoming the longest-running number-one for a solo song by a female rapper, earning her a Guinness World Record. Rolling Stone listed it as the 24th best song of the decade, and Billboard included it among the 100 songs that defined the decade. In 2021, it was included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A song that almost killed its own creator’s career in 2017 ended up being one of the most decorated tracks of its entire era.
6. “Running Up That Hill” – Kate Bush (1985)
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” was a UK hit in 1985, reaching number 3 on the British charts, but it only managed a modest number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100. For decades, the song remained a cult favorite, beloved by fans but largely forgotten by the mainstream. It occupied that curious space that many ahead-of-their-time records inhabit – respected enough by dedicated listeners to survive, but never quite finding the enormous mainstream audience it deserved. That would change in the most unexpected of ways, nearly four full decades after the song was first recorded.
In 2022, the supernatural drama “Stranger Things” featured the track in a pivotal scene, sparking a massive resurgence. The song shot to number one on charts in Australia, Sweden, and several other countries, and became Bush’s first US top-ten hit – 37 years after its release. The astonishing revival demonstrated just how powerful a TV show can be in reintroducing classic music to new generations, making “Running Up That Hill” a global anthem nearly four decades after it was written. It stands as perhaps the most dramatic example of delayed recognition in modern music history, a reminder that great art truly has no expiration date.
