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Some classic rock bands were not huge on the singles charts. For example, Vince Neil’s band, Mötley Crüe, never had a No. 1 hit — but they hit the top 10 twice. One of their big singles was much better than the other.

1 of Vince Neil’s big hits with Mötley Crüe was a pandering power ballad

While Mötley Crüe managed to be successful for a long time, they weren’t the biggest band on the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, the “Helter Skelter” group only produced two top-10 singles. One was “Dr. Feelgood” from the album of the same name. “Dr. Feelgood” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted on the chart for 16 weeks. The track was a clear winner for the band with its catchy melody. In addition, the tune referenced the band’s struggles with substance abuse. Listeners are often interested in songs that deal with celebrities’ lived experiences.

The other top 10 single from Mötley Crüe was “Without You.” It reached No. 8 and charted for 17 weeks. That song was also part of the album Dr. Feelgood. 

The success of “Without You” makes sense in its cultural context. Back in 1989, power ballads were huge in the world of hair metal. If anything was going to catapult Mötley Crüe into the top 10, it was “Without You.” The song isn’t as fun as other silly metal ballads like Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or Heart’s “What About Love,” but it catered to contemporary tastes.

Vince Neil sees the record as part of a bygone era

During a 2024 interview with Loudwire, Neil reflected on the 35th anniversary of Dr. Feelgood. “I hear it and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s a long time,'” Neil said. “It seems like yesterday we recorded that record.”

Famously, Mötley Crüe got sober to craft the album, which is often considered the creative highlight of their career. “It was fun recording that record,” Neil said. “It was one of the things we had that we did when we were all sober. Those are fun days, but yeah, those days are kind of over now.”

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What Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx thought of the record

Neil was not the only member of Mötley Crüe who had fond memories of Dr. Feelgood. During a 2019 interview with Billboard, Mötley Crüe icon Nikki Sixx discussed the impact of Dr. Feelgood. “As an artist, you’re just continually creating stuff, and you’re proud of something, but you’re in a forward momentum,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, it takes a landmark moment like that to stop and make you kind of reflect. Like where you lived, what you were going through in your life, what inspired some of the songs. Sometimes you can’t even remember.”

Sixx recalled what it was like to get sober. “It almost realigned us back to the way we were when we were a club band fighting for a little bit of notoriety on the Sunset Strip,” Sixx said. “We were a gang again; we weren’t just a rock band. We talked on the phone every day, or we were in rehearsals. I have really fond memories.”

Neil and company didn’t produce any No. 1 hits with Dr. Feelgood (or any other album), but that didn’t stop them from being proud of their best record.

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