Song · Extreme
“More than Words” by Extreme
From the album Extreme II: Pornograffitti (A Funked Up Fairy Tale) (1990)
“More than Words” by Extreme appears on 11 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1991 and 2025. It was first released in 1990 on the album Extreme II: Pornograffitti (A Funked Up Fairy Tale). Its best result is #4 on the Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1991. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #77 alternative song of 1991 and #2,621 alternative song of all time.
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"More Than Words" came off Extreme's second album, Pornograffitti, and went out as its third single in 1991, and nobody who had heard the band's funk metal strut saw it coming. It's just two guys and an acoustic guitar: Nuno Bettencourt picking out a gentle, finger-busy pattern and harmonizing, Gary Cherone singing lead, the pair of them having written it together.
Michael Wagener produced and mixed it, and he had the sense to leave it bare. Its hush cut through the noise of the day like a whisper in a stadium. It went all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and turned gold, and the video, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, helped carry it.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 88 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | CFNY Top 91 Songs of 1991 | 91 |
| 1991 | 4 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1991 | 30 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 436 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1991 | 455 | WNEW-FM | WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 2001 | 145 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 500 |
| 2004 | 39 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 500 |
| 2005 | 327 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 500 |
| 2006 | 281 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) | 500 |
| 2021 | 436 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) | 500 |
| 2023 | 949 | 101.5 WPDH | WPDH Top 1015 (2023) | 1015 |
| 2025 | 315 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) | 400 |
Also listed as: More Than Words; More than words.
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