Many of the most enduring classic rock songs of all time were instant hits when they were released, such as The Rolling Stones‘ “Ruby Tuesday” and The Jimi Hendrix Experience‘s cover of Bob Dylan‘s “All Along the Watchtower,” but other now-iconic tracks failed to find success in their time. Luckily, music fans, critics, and filmmakers often revisit old, underappreciated gems, enabling the sleeper hit phenomenon in which songs become hits long after they were originally released. Ahead, three classic rock sleeper hits that have aged like fine wine.
“Silver Springs” (1977)
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicksoriginally wrote “Silver Springs” for Fleetwood Mac‘s 1977 album Rumours. The breakup ballad eviscerated her ex and bandmate Lindsey Buckingham. However, before the album was released, Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood nixed it from the tracklist. In an interview with PEOPLE, Nicks said that although the two admitted it was “the best song [she’d] ever written,” the two were adamant and onlyincluded as a B-side to Buckingham’s anti-Nicks breakup song, “Go Your Own Way.” Later, in 1990, Nicks left Fleetwood Mac over a dispute with Fleetwood over the rights to “Silver Springs:” Nicks wanted to release her song on her 1991 compilation album, Timespace, but Fleetwood refused, explaining that he wanted to include the song on the upcoming 1992 Fleetwood Mac box set, 25 Years – The Chain.
However, Nicks and her song were vindicated. In 1997, the band reunited to record their acclaimed live album, “The Dance,” and Nicks finally performed “Silver Springs.” Her raw vocals and performance have become the stuff of legends: She took her mic in hand and turned to Buckingham while singing, “I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice will haunt you” and “You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you.” After, the song broke Top 100 charts globally in 1997 and 1998. Amid more recent interest in Nicks, the song has also charted in Ireland in 2025 and has seen a slew of praise on social media worldwide.
“Lust for Life” (1977)
Artist: Iggy Pop
When Iggy Pop collaborated with David Bowie on his 1977 album Lust for Life, he thought that its title track would be an instant hit. After all, “Lust for Life” was not only co-written by a fellow rock legend, but it also boasts the proto-punk sound that the artist used earlier in his career, when he was the frontman of The Stooges. It also tapped into several references that former punks and beatniks would instantly have recognized—namely, its frequent references to William S. Burroughs‘ experimental cult classic novel The Train That Exploded. However, while “Lust for Life” did moderately well in a handful of international markets, it didn’t achieve the success that Pop or Bowie expected. In a 1999 interview quoted in Joe Ambrose’s 2002 book about Pop, the musician blamed “the stranglehold of radio in America,” which he felt prevented the song from reaching countless would-be fans.
Enter Trainspotting. The 1996 cult classic film by Danny Boyle features “Lust for Life” in its opening scene, in which the protagonist, a heroin addict named Mark Renton (played by Ewan McGregor), runs from the police. The song is fitting for such a sequence, as its tempo matches Renton’s wild urgency and its lyrics make numerous references to drug use. After the film’s release, “Lust for Life” became such a runaway hit that it charted in six different countries and was reissued as a single. It was also given a new music video which cut Trainspotting scenes with footage of Iggy Pop, and it spurred renewed global interest in Pop as an artist: The same year, Virgin Records released an Iggy Pop compilation album, Nude & Rude, and Pop found commercial success as advertisers began approaching him for use of other old, underappreciated singles such as The Stooges’ “Raw Power.”
“Layla” (1970)
Artist: Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton is perhaps best known for his now-classic song, “Layla,” which was written with Jim Gordon and originally released in 1970 by their short-lived band, Derek and the Dominos. Its lyrics were based on an Arab legend, later immortalized by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi,in which a man falls so in love with a woman that he loses his mind and cannot marry her. In writing “Layla,” Clapton channeled the story to express his love for Pattie Boyd, an English model married to The Beatles‘ George Harrison(Boyd and Clapton later married).
Two-thirds of “Layla” consists of pure instrumentals, which made it considered unmarketable, so it was shortened for its 1971 release. It achieved lackluster success and did moderately better when it was re-released the following year, but it wasn’t until 1982 that the song began to receive its due. That year, the song was released in full—including its long outro—after which it began climbing global charts and appearing on outlets’ lists of great rock songs.
In 1990, Martin Scorsese revitalized interest in “Layla” when he used it in his film Goodfellas, and in 1992, Clapton performed the song on MTV Unplugged—a session so successful that the live album quickly sold out. Consequently, “Layla” became one of the most popular songs of 1992 and 1993, with its acoustic rework earning a 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The ballad remains highly regarded and has been covered and sampled by artists as wide-ranging as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and DJ Khaled.
Of course, these classic rock sleeper hits speak to the skills of their songwriters and performers, who managed to channel their emotions into songs that have transcended decades. However, these tracks also prove that songs should never be written off, even if they failed to achieve success upon their initial release. This weekend, indulge in these enduring classics and consider which overlooked songs of our era might find their stride twenty years from now.
