U2 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

In his thank you card to me following his high school graduation party, my friend Pat expressed hope that I could one day launch his dream radio station: WUII. The station he dreamed up was an all-U2 radio station that played nothing but music from U2 and Bono (duh!). Sorry, Pat. That dream remains unfulfilled.

Gloria Estefan "Everlasting Love"

Everyone from Carl Carlton to U2 to Gloria Estefan has recorded "Everlasting Love". The song charted on the Billboard Top 40 in the 1960s, '70s, 80's, and '90s. It is only one of two songs to accomplish this feat.

U2 "Beautiful Day"

U2 struck gold in 2000 with "Beautiful Day" and, 10 years later, another artist would turn the song into a Top 40 hit. American Idol contestant Lee DeWyze won the ninth season of the reality show and chose to cover the song. It remains his biggest (and only) Hot 100 hit for the Mt. Prospect, Illinois native.

U2 "One"

DID YOU KNOW?

The song "One" isn't just one of the band's biggest hits -- it actually helped save U2 from breaking up. Tensions were high in the fall of 1990 as the band worked in the studio recording tracks for their upcoming Achtung Baby album. Some members of U2 weren't happy with the sound and direction the band was headed leading some to believe the band was about to call it quits. While riffing on a bridge for a song called "Sick Puppy" (that later became "Mysterious Ways"), the group discovered a piece of music that eventually morphed into what would become "One". Bono claims the song came together in about 15 minutes and everyone in the room knew they stumbled upon something great. "One" didn't just save the band--proceeds from the single went to fund AIDS research organizations across the globe. 

U2 "With or Without You"

Despite the fact U2 has sold tens of millions of albums and has a lead singer who is universally loved for his voice and his philanthropic efforts, U2 rarely found success on the Adult Contemporary Chart.  "With or Without You", for example, only managed to peak at #23 in 1987.

Kenny G "The Moment"

Adult Contemporary radio in 1996 continued its transformation from "safe" core artists such as Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, and Elton John as well as embracing newer contemporary artists like Sheryl Crow, Jewel, and Hootie & The Blowfish.  At that time, instrumentals on Adult Contemporary stations were considered a thing of the past that died along with the "beautiful music" format long popular in the 70s and 80s.  Somehow, the year 1996 proved to be an exception as three instrumentals found their way back on AC and Top 40 radio station: Robert Miles' "Children" and"Theme from Mission: Impossible" from Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. (of U2) joined Kenny G's "The Moment" with significant airplay on the radio.

The Corrs - "Breathless"

The Coors, an Irish band that definitely isn't U2, scored the biggest international hit in 2000 with "Breathless". Some might think that Belinda Carlisle (of The Go-Go's) fame sang this peppy hit, but they would be wrong (however those people should be credited for knowing who Belinda Carlisle is). If you knew that this song was part of the soundtrack of Brazilian soap opera Uga Uga, then you clearly spend too much time on Wikipedia.