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Some of the biggest classic rock stars weren’t radio giants. Case in point: Bruce Springsteen never managed to have a No. 1 single, but he did get to No. 2. Interestingly, he worried that broadening his appeal could backfire.

1 Bruce Springsteen pop hit was about his ‘alienation’

Springsteen’s only single to make it to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 was “Dancing in the Dark.” In his 2016 book Born to Run, Springsteen explained what he was thinking when he penned “Dancing in the Dark.” “That evening I wrote ‘Dancing in the Dark,’ my song about my own alienation, fatigue, and desire to get out from inside the studio, my room, my record, my head and … live,” he recalled. “This was the record and song that’d take me my farthest into the pop mainstream.”

Springsteen had mixed feelings about embracing dance music with “Dancing in the Dark.” “I was always of two minds about big records and the chance involved in engaging a mass audience,” he wrote. “You should be. There’s risk.”

The rock ‘n’ roll star said that going mainstream could have ended poorly for him. “Was the effort of seeking that audience worth the exposure, the discomfort of the spotlight, and the amount of life that’d be handed over?” he wrote. “What was the danger of dilution of your core message, your purpose, the reduction of your best intentions to empty symbolism or worse?”

The Boss said the song helped make him as big as Michael Jackson

Springsteen noted that his mid-1980s success put him in the same league as other icons of the MTV era. “Onstage, this music swept over my audience with joyous abandon,” he remembered. “We had hit after hit and in 1985, along with Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, and the stars of disco, I was a bona fide mainstream radio ‘superstar.'”

While Springsteen was right to have some concerns about selling out, he made the correct decision in the end. Writing songs for the radio made him more of a legend, not less. Today, he stands alongside other rock stars like David Bowie and John Lennon, who were able to balance popular appeal and artistic credibility.

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1 Bruce Springsteen album took over the world

“Dancing in the Dark” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 21 weeks. The Boss scored other top 10 singles, including “I’m on Fire,” “Glory Days” and “Hungry Heart,” but none of them charted as highly as “Dancing in the Dark.”

“Dancing in the Dark” appeared on the album Born in the U.S.A. That album topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks, lasting on the chart for 144 weeks. By all metrics, Born in the U.S.A. is Springsteen’s most popular record in the United States. In addition, the cover of the album — a picture of Springsteen in jeans taken from behind — has become one of the most iconic album covers of all time, inspiring many imitations and spoofs. It also solidified Springsteen’s image as a working-class guy from New Jersey who just happened to be one of the most famous people alive.

“Dancing in the Dark” didn’t make it to the top but it’s still one of the most beloved tunes from the 1980s.

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