3 of the Best First No. 1 Hits of 90s Classic Rock

Rock music in the 90s explored uncharted territory, making its mark on new subgenres and unique sounds. From the punk rock essentials to the karaoke classics, here are some of the best first No. 1 hits of 90s classic rock.

“Alive” by Pearl Jam

“Alive” has a pretty crazy backstory. Apparently, singer Eddie Vedder, who wrote the lyrics for the song, based its first and last verses on something that actually happened to him.

When Vedder was just a teenager, his mother told him that his biological father was dead, which meant his stepfather wasn’t really his dad.

At a 2006 appearance with VH1 Storytellers, Vedder told the audience: “In the original story, a teenager is being made aware of a shocking truth that leaves him plenty confused… It was a curse—’I’m still alive.’”

He added, “They lifted the curse. The audience changed the meaning for me.”

“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith

Famously written by Diane Warren, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” was Aerosmith’s first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“When I first heard it,” drummer Joey Kramer shared with Rich Chamberlain, “it was just a demo with piano and singing. It was difficult to imagine what kind of touch Aerosmith could put on it and make it our own… As soon as we began playing it as a band, then it instantly became an Aerosmith song.”

To this day, the track is still one of Aerosmith’s most memorable ballads.

“One Week” by Barenaked Ladies

“One Week” definitely falls in the punk rock lane under the umbrella that is classic rock.

This is one of those songs you think you’ve never heard, and then suddenly its lyrics slap you right in the face, and you realize you know every last word. The verses of this song were written totally “freestyle,” as singer Ed Robertson explained to Billboard, says Songfacts.

“I wrote the chorus structure of the song, but I couldn’t figure out the verses at all,” he shared. “I got together with Steve [Page, band member] a bunch of times and said, ‘I have this idea for a song, and I couldn’t figure out where to go with it.’ And finally Steve said to me at some point, ‘Just freestyle it! Just do what you do onstage every night. It’s gonna be great.’”

Fittingly, this song stayed atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for exactly one week only.

Photo by: Victor Chavez/WireImage

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