20 songs in which famous artists switched up their sound

Prior to recording what would become The Hollies' defining song ("He Ain't Heavy"), the group was known for its wonderful three-part vocal harmonies. However, this up-tempo, quirky rocker featured mostly the vocals of Allan Clarke, whose guitar work is also prominently featured. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

When Kiss drummer Peter Criss brought the song to producer Bob Ezrin during the sessions for 1976's Destroyer album, it was reworked, and the title changed from "Beck" to "Beth." The result was a memorable ballad that reached No. 7 on Billboard's Hot 100 (the band's highest-ever chart performance), earned gold status, and even won a People's Choice Award. But, to this day, there are members of the vaunted Kiss Army who can't stand the tune, regarding it almost a sellout of sorts amid the group's legendary make-up era. It didn't make sense. Then again, nothing in rock and roll does.

Professional music critics and historians have long contended this was the song that elevated Dylan from a folk star to a rock star. Included on his iconic 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited, "Like a Rolling Stone" — which happens to be one of Dylan's most confrontational tunes — generated more than ample mass appeal and is arguably his most accessible track. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked this No. 4 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

The opener to Go to Heaven (1980), both the album and this particular tune ushered the Dead into the 1980s and with it, more commercial and mainstream awareness. It's an uptempo, 1950s-like rocking number that delivers some solid guitar work from Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia. It's also the listener's introduction to new keyboardist Brent Mydland. His talented presence is felt right off the bat on a tune that reached No. 68 on Billboard's Singles chart. Yet, it still seemed like a strange option for these mellow, jam-band legends.

The Kevin Cronin-Gary Richrath songwriting duo brought these Midwest rockers much more commercial success with You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish (1978) and turned them into mainstream, pop-rock giants via Hi Infidelity (1980). The latter included this quintessential power ballad of the time, which became the band's first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 — as well as, for that matter, its initial top 50 hit. From there, Cronin steered the band in a more soft-rock direction, leading to Richrath's departure in the late 1980s. 

It was when keyboardist/guitarist and songwriter Jonathan Cain came aboard (following Gregg Rolie's departure) for the massively popular Escape (1981) record that Journey's musical direction shifted to a pop-rock arena sound. When Cain and vocalist Steve Perry brought "Open Arms" to the table, guitarist Neal Schon wondered what his role in the song would be. The quintessential power ballad of the 1980s, the song was a slow-dance staple at junior high and high school dances, and made the band a mainstream pop rock force.

For roughly a decade spanning the late 1960s and '70s, Chicago made a living as a highly talented rock band that fused jazz, blues, and R&B, and was most notably known for its innovative brass section. However, after leader and guitarist Terry Kath died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1978, and the 1980s rolled around, Chicago became a soft-rock band. That was none more evident with the release of "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," from Chicago 16, a power ballad that earned a Grammy Award nomination, began the band's run as MTV staples, made Chicago kings of elevator music and bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera an adult contemporary star.

With guitarist Mick Jones on lead vocals, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" has become perhaps the group's most recognizable mainstream hit, hailing from 1982's Combat Rock — the band's most commercially successful record. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" is still popular within the realm of pop culture in the U.S. The track has been dismissed for years by hardcore punks, but "Should I Stay or Should I Go" helped introduce The Clash to the masses — for better or worse.

With the massively successful and career-defining 1984 album, the direction of Van Halen's sound took a rather dramatic turn when Eddie Van Halen incorporated keyboards and synthesizers into the mix. Though famed frontman David Lee Roth was not a fan of that direction, the keyboard-driven "Jump" opened the door to a larger group of mainstream rock fans for Van Halen, and might be the group's most recognizable tune to the masses. "Jump" is also the only Van Halen song to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100, and the video was must-see television on MTV or Friday Night Videos.

The departures of vocalist Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett eventually allowed Genesis to shed its critically acclaimed but not-so-commercially-successful progressive rock sound. Drummer Phil Collins, whose solo work was more radio-friendly, became the main vocalist, leaving a three-piece Genesis with Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. From there, it became a full-fledged pop-rock band, and it can be argued the infectiously poppy, up-tempo, hook-driven "Invisible Touch" officially got the ball rolling in that direction. 

Aerosmith's 1987 comeback record Permanent Vacation essentially reintroduced the band to a new generation of fans, and MTV certainly played a big part. Not to mention that pop rock songwriting legend Desmond Child had something to do with the band's resurgence, co-penning such hits as "Angel," a top-five single. Beginning with this schlocky, made-for-'80-makeout-sessions number, Aerosmith's musical arsenal became littered with power ballads, including the unnecessary "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," some 10 years later. 

Hall of Famers Cheap Trick are known for classic rockers such as "Surrender," "I Want You to Want Me" and "Dream Police." However, the band's only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 is this ballad from 1988's Lap of Luxury. The song was not written by any member of the band, and was only presented to the group when its label insisted the guys work with outside writers, presumably to generate a hit — a feat which had eluded Cheap Trick for several years. Though the band was apprehensive at first about the song, they recorded it and enjoyed a career resurgence off of its success.

These gangsta rap pioneers were known for their raw, unabashed and controversial brand of hip hop. However, "Express Yourself" is really none of the above. In fact, it's arguably the "safest" song N.W.A. ever recorded. Penned by Ice Cube, rapped by Dr. Dre and armed with a positive vibe of empowerment, "Express Yourself" is neither laced with profanity nor filled with depictions of violence, a departure for the group. From the classic Straight Outta Compton record, the cut seems something more out of the Public Enemy camp than N.W.A.'s.

Young's music usually has a message. Protest, awareness. However, when it came to "Rockin' in the Free World," the song was a departure from his traditional folk and mellow rock sound — and he hasn't come close to anything this heavy since. It was a tell for his disdain at the George H.W. Bush administration and all the classic rocker hated about it. One of Young's most popular songs, it's still a rallying cry for hard-rocking liberals around the country. 

Boston's Extreme was a creatively solid rock band that fused elements of funk metal and glam, thus allowing itself to stand out from other pop metal bands of the time. Not to mention, Nuno Bettencourt is one exceptionally talented rock guitarist. However, Extreme wasn't a household name until the acoustic ballad "More Than Words" was released on the band's 1990 breakout album Pornograffitti. It was part of a movement where rock bands were performing and releasing more acoustic material as the "unplugged" fad began to take over mainstream music.

Queensryche was among the heaviest, most melodic bands of the 1980s, while often finding itself categorized within the realm of progressive rock and metal. However, what's likely the band's most well-known hit, like others on this list, was the dreamy, Pink Floyd-esque "Silent Lucidity." At the time, more and more rock bands were turning to ballads to achieve mainstream stardom. From 1990's massively popular Empire album, "Silent Lucidity" was a top-10 hit, in heavy rotation on MTV and even earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.  

Perhaps Scorpions' most personal song, singer Klaus Meine wrote the lyrics to this soft rock hit following the band's visit to the Soviet Union. When the USSR fell shortly after, the song became an international hit for the band (reaching No. 4 in the U.S.), though plenty of hardcore, old-school Scorpions fans took exception to the track. It didn't warm those diehards with its slower-paced, FM radio-like vibe that didn't really fit with the group's catalog, even though the band was headed in a more mainstream, made-for-MTV direction since 1984's Love at First Sting album was released.

There is much going on within the confines of 1991's Achtung Baby, the experimental record that opened the door for U2's seemingly continuous musical evolution. "Mysterious Ways" was at the forefront of the project. Though it delivered enough ever-dependable guitar work from The Edge, it channeled an alternative pop sound that was about to break big on the mainstream music scene. In the U.S., "Mysterious Ways" reached as high as No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 and was a consistent presence on MTV.

Hardcore Metallica fans consider this the moment the band officially sold out or went soft. Actually, those same supporters feel that way about the massively successful self-titled 1991 album (a.k.a. the "Black Album," the band's first Billboard No. 1-selling album) which houses this ballad. Regardless of when that moment can be placed with certainty, "Nothing Else Matters" was a major hit for Metallica and further helped introduce the group to an entirely new audience while cementing itself as one of the band's best-known and most-popular songs. The song, a live staple since its release, has been played at high school dances and was even re-mixed/sampled into a dance tune. 

Like Kiss with the aforementioned "Beth," Green Day's most widely recognized hit is a ballad. Veering from its signature pop-punk sound, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is an acoustic number from 1997's Nimrod that was a major hit upon release and, as of 2025, is certified quintuple-platinum. The tune spanned various avenues of pop culture and became a staple at high school proms. Yet, even for a band that has enjoyed extended mainstream pop rock success, this was a little too schlocky.