3 Songs That Saved Artists’ Careers Just When They Were About To End

Careers aren’t guaranteed to last forever. Sometimes an artist will rise up and be in the limelight for a few decades, and other times their career spans just a few weeks. But occasionally, certain songs can revive lives.

And that’s just what we wanted to highlight below. We wanted to explore three songs from back in the day that helped to lengthen legendary careers. Indeed, these are three songs that saved an artist’s career just when it was about to end.

“Hurt” by Johnny Cash from ‘American IV: The Man Comes Around’ (2002)

To be fair, Johnny Cash enjoyed a lengthy career that began all the way back in the 1950s. The country star was known for his locomotive-like songs about rings of fire and boys named Sue. But by the late 1990s and early 2000s, there weren’t nearly as many diehard fans of the old outlaw. But then, in 2002, with the help of acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, Cash released his rendition of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt”. And he became an icon all over again. The song about pain and depression somehow breathed new life into Cash’s career. Fans all over the world dove into his new stuff and his classic catalog.

“What’s Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner from ‘Private Dancer’ (1984)

Tina Turner has one of the best rock voices of all time. It’s raspy, it’s electric. But in the 1980s, the rock singer’s career was fading. The light was going out. Then she received a song idea. At first, the song seemed to pop. Turner rejected it. But upon second thought, and urging from her manager Roger Davies, she recorded it. And boom! It became her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned her three Grammy Awards. All of a sudden, Turner was a global sensation.

“Smooth” by Santana from ‘Supernatural’ (1999)

Bay Area-based guitarist Carlos Santana first made his mark on the musical landscape in 1969 at the original Woodstock music festival. But some 30 years later in the 1990s, people weren’t out there on the hunt for new stuff from the six-string player. Well, then things changed. At the end of the 20th century, Santana released his album, Supernatural, and he became a household name all over again. The LP featured big-name collaborations with the likes of Dave Matthews, Lauryn Hill, and Rob Thomas. With the latter, the duet “Smooth” remains iconic. With it, Santana was all over MTV and other popular outlets of the day.

(Photo by © Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images)