4 Slow Songs That Paved the Way to the Top 40 for These Long-Running Rock Bands

What serves an artist well in a live setting and what gets it done for them on the pop charts are often two wildly different concepts. At the live shows, uptempo songs that bring the crowds to their feet deliver the impact. But when it comes to radio, there’s nothing like a slow song to help attract the listeners. These four slow ballad songs proved that theory, giving the bands in question their first taste of Top 40 success.

“Follow You Follow Me” by Genesis

Genesis came to the fore of the prog rock movement in the mid-70s. They relied on long songs full of musical twists and turns while also counting on the artistic vision of lead singer Peter Gabriel. When Gabriel left the group in 1975, the band stuck the microphone in front of drummer Phil Collins. They also started to balance out the more overt progressive tendencies with shorter, self-contained songs that would play better on the radio. “Follow You Follow Me”, from the band’s 1977 album …And Then There Were Three, epitomized this transformation. Written by guitarist Mike Rutherford and featuring Tony Banks’ swerving synths and Collins’ earnest vocals, the song parked at No. 23 for the band’s first-ever foray in the US Top 40.

“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” by Journey

Journey originally planned to go through its existence as a studio backing band for whoever wanted to hire them. The San Francisco unit soon realized that there was a market for a group with the kind of instrumental virtuosity that they displayed. Showing off their playing ability often meant long songs full of extended jamming, not exactly the recipe for pop chart success. That all changed when the band decided they needed a dedicated frontman. They stumbled upon a great one in Steve Perry. Perry allowed them to take the foot off the pedal on the soulful “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” in 1979. The song hit No. 16, setting the stage for their massive success in the 80s.

“Lady” by Styx

“Lady”, written and sung by Dennis DeYoung, took its time reaching the masses. Chicago-based Styx had a difficult time separating itself from the legions of other bands combining prog-rock ambition with hard-rock thunder in the first half of the 70s. They released “Lady” for the first time on their second album, released in 1973. The album and the song pretty much sank without a trace. Word of mouth kept building, however, as the band trotted out the skyscraping ballad in their live shows. A DJ started playing the song on the regular, which spurred fan requests for it. In 1975, two years after it was released and after Styx had released two more albums in the interim, “Lady” peaked at No. 6 and put the band on the national map.

“Keep On Loving You” by REO Speedwagon

You won’t find bands given such a long leash to find their commercial footing as the one afforded REO Speedwagon. They formed in 1967 and released their first album in 1971. Overall, REO released eight albums in the 70s, with nary a Top 40 single to show for it. As they were making album number nine, they started reflecting on the toll that their life of constant touring was taking on their relationships. Hence, the album title Hi Infidelity. Lead singer Kevin Cronin wrote “Keep On Loving You”, a piano-driven ballad that oozes romantic insecurity. The change in styles worried the band, but they stuck with it as the single. Not only did it become the band’s first Top 40 hit, but it shot all the way to No. 1.

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