The Best Debut Singles By Supergroups, Ranked

After rock 'n' roll matured, evolved, mutated, and thoroughly took over mainstream music in the mid-20th century, the tantalizing phenomenon of the supergroup emerged. Essentially, all-star bands made up of musicians already extremely famous and acclaimed from years of work in other groups or as solo stars — the best supergroups in history — sometimes made legendary music. Others became footnotes in the annals of classic rock, leaving potential fans puzzled about what went wrong and what could've been.

A supergroup's future hinges on their debut. Following an announcement of their very existence, the release of music for the world to hear for the first time is crucial because it shows whether or not the product lived up to the hype. The following are the best initial singles ever by major supergroups, ranked by critical and commercial impact, lasting relevance, and how well they met audience expectations and blended the disparate talents of their famous members.

Woodstock wasn't the largest music festival ever, but it's the most legendary. Numerous iconic acts of the hippie and boomer generation played to the masses on a farm in Upstate New York over a weekend in August 1969. One such group played its second-ever live show at Woodstock: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The group brought together David Crosby of the folk-rock band the Byrds; Graham Nash of the British Invasion rockers the Hollies; Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield, a one-hit wonder who deserved more than 15 minutes of fame; and Neil Young. The first LP by the band, "Déjà Vu," hit stores in 1970 and showed off a unique blend of ethereal and harmonious folk-rock with country, harder rock elements, and provocative and political lyrics.

"Marrakesh Express" predated both Woodstock and Young's arrival. Written by Nash, the song appeared on Crosby, Stills & Nash's self-titled 1969 debut album and became the trio's first single. Its soothing, tightly meshed harmonies and nimble acoustic instrumentation sounded unlike anything the members had created with their previous bands. "Marrakesh Express" reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, helping establish Crosby, Stills & Nash as one of their generation's defining supergroups. The quartet later performed the song at Woodstock, but Young did not appear on the studio recording.

One might assume that when representatives of some of the wildest, weirdest, and most experimental progressive rock ever attempted got together, the results would be an unlistenable and totally off-putting mess. But Asia defied those expectations entirely, as the supergroup consistently generated some of the catchiest and most radio-friendly mainstream rock of the early 1980s.

The first lineup of Asia included guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, bassist John Wetton of King Crimson, drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and keyboard player Geoff Downes of the Buggles. The singles from Asia's first LP, a self-titled affair from 1982, hewed closer to the work of Downes — whose previous project was best known for the synth-pop banger "Video Killed the Radio Star" — than anything overtly progressive rock. Case in point: The first Asia single, "Heat of the Moment." Laden with persistent keyboard blips, harmonizing vocals, and a guitar solo that totally shreds, non-progressive rock fans embraced the song so much that it became a No. 4 pop hit, the first and biggest of four Top 40 singles that Asia would chart by 1985.

The phrase "classic rock" likely causes one's thoughts to drift to some song from the 1970s, one that could fill a cavernous arena with free-wheeling guitar licks, thunderous drums, and powerful and anthemic vocals, all pulling from the blues tradition while also creating the blueprint for what rock would look like in the years to come. That's also how we'd describe the sound of Bad Company. Perhaps the most definitive '70s classic rock band, they remained relevant well into the 1980s, years after releasing their first self-titled album in 1974. The group was the result of musicians leaving three very different bands in search of a new sound, gathering Boz Burrell of progressive rock's King Crimson, Mick Ralphs of the glam and hard-rocking Mott the Hoople, and Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke of the bluesy and poppy Free.

"Can't Get Enough" became Bad Company's first single, succinctly introducing the supergroup's sound. The song boogies but also stomps; it follows a hard rock muse as much as it adheres to elements of the blues. Successfully launching Bad Company's career, "Can't Get Enough" was a Top 5 hit.

The Traveling Wilburys humorously downplayed their own massive celebrity. Populated by some of the most influential rock stars ever, each member took on a silly persona. These weren't all household names, they suggested — as this was just a project from Otis, Lucky, Lefty, Nelson, and Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.

First single "Handle With Care" achieves the almost never-reached supergroup ideal: It sounds like the work of a real band with a style honed after many years while also allowing each constituent's talents to shine. It's the sum of its parts and something more. "Handle with Care" at first plays like a jangly Tom Petty song with a percussive churn, courtesy of Petty collaborator Jeff Lynne applying tricks from his Electric Light Orchestra tenure. George Harrison's singing guitar and Bob Dylan's oddball vocal rasp both rise above the mix before everyone backs away to let the unmistakable Roy Orbison take the spotlight with his soulful and plaintive "I'm so tired of being lonely" solos.

The song did what it needed to do creatively, and it was commercially a success, too. A minor, No. 45 on the Hot 100 in 1988, "Handle With Care" was a monster on the rock radio chart, where it spent two weeks at No. 2.