10 Classic Rock Songs That Should've Been Singles

Any genre of music is all about the singles at the end of the day. Even if your entire album holds together as a full experience, you always need that one song to hook the listener in from the beginning. Sometimes it comes down to the catchiness or the subject matter, but a lot of songs with massive potential have been left on the cutting room floor.

Throughout rock's glory years, there are many bands who could have had huge hits if they had just released these as singles, but because of label issues, creative differences, or just indifference, they were never brought to the public. They may have never been given the same treatment as their fellow album tracks, but these songs have taken on a life of their own as of late. Since they never saw the light of day, a lot of these remain fan favorites and have even become staples in the band's live catalog because of how much they resonated with fans.

Even if they aren't released proper, some of things ended up clicking with audiences so much that they end up getting played on streaming services more often than the actual singles. They may have had a slow start, but the shelf life behind these tunes has been extremely kind.

As the '70s arena rock gave way to the neon textures of the '80s, Prince was poised to become one of the biggest stars in the world. Clad in studded outfits and boatloads of attitude, the man brought the sound of Minneapolis all the way to the top of the charts with Purple Rain. The album (and movie) have become hallmarks of the decade, but there's one outlier that could have been on par with some of Prince's greatest material.

While others focus on "Let's Go Crazy" or "When Doves Cry," the real personality of the Purple One comes to fruition on "Baby I'm a Star." Though the previous material showed Prince putting R&B into rock tunes, the dynamics seemed to be reversed on this track, feeling like an R&B song that just so happens to carry hard rock's ego. Capped off by an incredible vocal performance, the song feels most like the mission statement of the record, with the singer focusing on having a good time, blowing away the competition, and becoming a superstar by the end of the night.

This song may not have been given the same treatment as something like "Purple Rain," but it stayed in Prince's setlist up until his final appearances. Purple Rain may have sent him into the stratosphere, but with these songs under his belt, Prince was calling his shot long before he exploded.