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| Chester Bennington at Globe Arena in Stockholm. Photo taken by Rickard Laurin in May 2007. Found on Wikimedia Commons. |
Yesterday, the world lost another powerful voice in rock
music, Linkin
Park’s Chester Bennington. The singer lost his battle with depression and
was found having committed suicide by hanging at his home in California. He was
41.
With Linkin Park, Bennington helped foster a new era of rock
in the early 2000s. Combining the anger of grunge and the power of metal while
mixing in some hip-hop bars for good measure, nu metal became a phenomenon that
defined rock for a good portion of the aughts. And the band did it well. All
seven of their studio albums debuted in the top five on the Billboard charts. But
Linkin Park also went beyond that label. They have always experimented with
their sound, expanding on it and taking risks. In 2003 they collaborated with Jay-Z
for a remix EP that would bring open them up to a whole new fan base. On their
latest album, ‘One More Light,’ released in May, the band chose a more melodic
sound that put hip-hop on the back burner and focused on expanding their sound
and songwriting.
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, would like to
honor Chester Bennington life and legacy by taking a look back at some of
Linkin Park’s most iconic chart toppers. Here are seven of the band’s
highest-charting singles and what made them so popular.
1.
“In the End”: This is actually a hard list to
make since a lot of Linkin Park’s biggest hits showed their popularity on the
alternative and mainstream rock charts than on the general chart. But “In the
End” was a real breakthrough for the band. The fourth single from their debut ‘Hybrid
Theory,’ the song was their first number one hit on the alternative chart and
did nearly as well on the main Billboard chart, peaking at number two. Unlike
their debut singles “One Step Closer” and “Crawling,” which are far more aggressive,
“In the End” is a bit more philosophical. Its refrain of “I tried so hard and
got so far/but in the end it doesn’t really matter” has been used by countless
website tributes to Bennington as a way to understand his death.
2.
“New Divide”: In 2009, the band released “New
Divide” as a one-off single for the film ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.’
The song ended up being a big hit for the band, reaching number six on the
Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the alternative and mainstream rock charts.
It’s a little more hopeful than some of their previous singles, less about
demons and more about achieving something meaningful.
3.
“What I’ve Done”: In 2007, Linkin Park
introduced their third album with the monster single “What I’ve Done.” The song
instantly went to number one on the alternative and mainstream rock charts and
peaked at number seven on the Hot 100. “What I’ve Done” finds the band moving
towards an even bigger sound than what they had achieved on their previous two
albums, transitioning them to arena rock rather than just another
flash-in-the-pan nu-metal band.
4.
“Numb”: One of the songs that instantly come to
mind when you think of Linkin Park is “Numb.” The song has become a classic
amongst early 2000s rock hits. Peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100
and topping the alternative and mainstream rock charts, the song’s lyrics are
like an angry conversation about not meeting other people’s expectations. It’s
an important message made through gritted teeth that has provided catharsis to
many an angry at the world adolescent.
5.
“Shadow of the Day”: A rare “ballad” for Linkin
Park, “Shadow of the Day” was a slower pick following the release of more
energetic ‘Minutes to Midnight’ singles “What I’ve Done” and “Bleed It Out.” But
it worked out well for them, peaking at number two on the alternative chart,
number six on the mainstream rock chart and number 15 on the Hot 100. The song
is one of their more depressing lyrically, but showed that the band didn’t have
to scream to make a hit. They could just let the lyrics speak for themselves.
6.
“Breaking the Habit”: A detailed and powerful
song about drug addiction from the addict’s perspective, “Breaking the Habit”
again takes a serious subject and paints a picture that anyone can understand
and visualize. For an artist to connect like that early in their career is
amazing. It’s no wonder the song topped the alternative and mainstream rock
charts and peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100.
7.
“Somewhere I Belong”: Everyone can sympathize
with wanting to feel like they belong somewhere in this life. The struggle to
find oneself is real and Linkin Park put that desire into perspective in such a
way that easy to relate to and cathartic to scream at the top of your lungs.
Though the band has two singles that did slightly better on the Hot 100, “Somewhere
I Belong” did reach number 32 and top both the alternative and mainstream rock
charts and remains one of the most popular songs in the band’s catalog to date.
Linkin Park has been one of the most influential bands in
2000s hard rock. Between Chester Bennington’s passionate delivery and their
ability to write songs that capture life’s hardships in a relatable way, the
band has transcended labels and remains at the top of their game nearly two
decades later. Bennington’s presence with the band will be sorely missed, as he,
the band and their music were a beacon of hope for many.
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Find music from Linkin Park and more influential rock
artists at Vinyl Bay 777 and vinylbay777.com. Long Island’s top new independent
record shop has thousands of titles to choose from in store and online. Whether
you’re looking for hard rock, metal, punk, alternative, or any other genre (rock
or otherwise), we have you covered. Browse a wide selection of new and used
vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more. More titles
are being added all the time, so drop by this weekend to honor your idols and
see what’s new.
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