Back On The Chain Gang

A year and a half ago, while writing about Chrissie Hynde’s 60th birthday, I noted that the Pretenders’ biggest hit was “Back on the Chain Gang.”  Today marks exactly 30 years since it hit its peak position of number 5 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.  The song was one of two top 10 hits for the band, followed by “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” which hit number 10 in late 1986/early 1987.  The band has also had three additional top 20 hits in their career, most recently with “I’ll Stand by You,” which peaked at number 16 in 1994.