Is Hold Me the Mac's most successful single?
 

People may say Dreams was the Mac's most successful single since it reached #1 for a single week. However, statistics don't reveal it was the most successful song for the Mac. Dreams finished 1977 as the 39th most popular song that year. Hold Me finished as the 31st most popular song in 1982. Hold Me was cock blocked from the #1 spot by Eye of The Tiger (#1) and then by Hurt So Good (#2). Hold Me stayed at #4 for a then record of 7 weeks.

Foreigner had a similar situation with Waiting For A Girl Like You which spent 9 weeks at #2 blocked by Physical. Foreigner had other #1 songs like I want to know what love is but Waiting For A Girl Like You was a bigger hit.

All these stats are based on weeks on the charts. On another note, we all know how brutal the Hold Me video was for the band. They were not getting along. John was drunk and tried to punch the director. Mick was hitting on Stevie's friend. Nicks was high and Christine was late. If you notice the band never appears together as a band in the video. There are separate segments for each member that are then pieced together. Yes, things were that bad.
Anyway here is a chart of Mac's singles on the charts. Interesting that both Say You Love Me and Rhiannon both hit #11 in 1976 yet Say You Love Me was a bigger hit.

Billboard Year-End performances
Song Year-End Position

1976
"Say You Love Me" 53
"Rhiannon" 77

1977
"Dreams" 39
"Don't Stop" 52
"Go Your Own Way" 94

1980
"Sara" 87
"Tusk" 94

1982
"Hold Me" 31

1987
"Little Lies" 51
"Big Love" 81


* If song was not in the top 100 for the year, it is not listed

The above makes me wonder whether 1982 might have been a relatively weak year.

I see that "Ebony And Ivory" was released that year. What were other big songs from 1982?

It amazes me that even "Gypsy" didn't beat out "Hold Me."

What do you mean weak year? 1982 like any year was big in music. Huge artists like MJ's Thriller released, Asia was huge, Toto, John Cougar, etc. It was so huge which caused the charts to get unusually clogged. Same reason Gypsy crapped out at #12 (or something). Even Bella Donna was so big it bled into 1982.

I don't understand your point I guess

While Gypsy is one of the most beautiful songs ever made and quite possibly Fleetwood Mac’s best song ever, I can see why Hold Me did so well in the charts in 1982, it’s a poppy, yacht rocky, catchy tune, despite being very chorus heavy and the chorus only being two words, the song is brilliantly crafted. Gypsy, like most Stevie Nicks songs, was more poetic. Hold Me was the catchy pop song. I am surprised that Gypsy didn’t break the top 10 though, peaking at #12.

I tell ya, I hear Hold Me in the Goodwills still, A LOT. Pretty amazing, that they regularly rotate a 40yo song.

It's probably my #2(no, not that) song, right behind(yet another pun) Think About Me.

In terms of longevity, Hold Me has to be pretty low. I know Homer says he hears it a lot still, so maybe it’s a regional thing; in my area, Go Your Own Way is still played often, but I can’t tell you the last time I’ve heard Hold Me on a local radio station. I’ve even heard Got a Hold On Me lately! The Rumours singles, Rhiannon, Little Lies, Everywhere, and occasionally Gypsy, Tusk, and even Sara are FM songs I still hear, but not Hold Me.

When I was in college in 1990 I had a Japanese roommate. I was a loser listening to BTM and OTSOTM while other cool kids had to current stuff. My roommate had over a few Japanese students were enrolled in the English school before they could start classes. Their English was not great. I was playing Greatest Hits and Hold Me came on. I was floored. The girl who could barely speak any English sang the entire song Hold Me in English without missing a word. Her connection to Fleetwood Mac was not Rumours but this song.
Hold Me is an incredible song from the beginnings of one of the coolest piano riffs in music to the cool percussion parts in the end. The guitar solo is fantastic too. Its pure pop greatness and then some. Clearly if the song was released about a month earlier, it could have been a #1 song for several weeks.

The reason you dont hear it on the radio that much is because its almost a lost hit of the 80s. The Mac songs that get played on lamestream radio are usually classic rock stations. They play songs from the White Album and Rumours only. Adult contemporary stations may play Sara and Gypsy. Hold Me really does not fit classic rock and it does not fit adult contemporary that much. Same reason you dont hear Big Love. Rock/classic rock stations wont play it and neither will adult contemporary. If you have an 80s channel you may hear it but its pretty rare.

I remember when Hold Me was released. Pre internet, we didn't know much about when albums were being released, and the like. I remember riding around in the back of my friend's car, listening to the radio, and every time that piano note intro would come on, I'd SCREAM at everyone to STFU, and CRRRAAAAANNNNNNNNKKKKK ITTTTTTTTTTTT!:lol:

From a production standpoint, it's a very interesting song!

Dreams is their best single. #1, Rumours, Tik Tok. It doesn't get any better than that.

Nope. GYOW is a way better song.

Da googles says that their top 10 digital downloads are:
1 GYOW
2 The Chain
3 Everywhere
4 Little Lies
5 Dreams
6 Albatross(okay, where do they get these numbers?)
7 Landslide
8 Don't Stop
9 Big Love
10 Songbird

Another page lists GYOW as #1, too.

Think About Me will ALWAYS be my #1.

And no "Hold Me"? Not even in the top 10. Doesn't say much for the topic at hand, at least with your criteria.

I don't quite understand the chart data cited, but it wouldn't surprise me if Christine had predominately more songs with heavier radio play.

It's no surprise.
No, it's no surprise.

I heard that at Walmart the other day.

Take that up with Macfan... I'm an odd duck. I couldn't give two flying f*cks what anyone else likes. #1 in my life is the ONLY chart that matters. I listen to country from the 50's and 60's, much of the time. And Western Swing from the 1930's and 40's.

Yeah, you might not enjoy riding in my car....:lol:

Until I put on Think About Me. Then volume is on 11, and I'm singing at the top of my lungs!:wavey:

It's just the perfekt song to me. The beat. That rocking guitar. Christine and Lindsey singing in unison. Probably my favorite song of all time. I love everything about it.