Artist · chart history
W.A.S.P.
Band Los Angeles United States Formed 1982 US heavy metal band
W.A.S.P. formed in 1982 in Los Angeles, United States. W.A.S.P. has 8 chart appearances on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 1990–2002. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Blind in Texas”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #229. The station that charted W.A.S.P. most often is Z-Rock (United States (syndicated network)), with 7 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2002.
W.A.S.P. came crawling off the Sunset Strip in 1982, and Blackie Lawless made sure nobody could look away: a shock rock image, lyrics and stage shows built to make parents choke on their coffee. They grew up alongside the Strip's first wave of glam metal and hard rock, but came with a nastier, heavier bite than most of the hairspray brigade. The self-titled debut in 1984 brought "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "L.O.V.E. Machine", and The Last Command in 1985 added "Blind in Texas"; both went gold in America.
In the mid-'80s the Parents Music Resource Center singled them out in its push for warning labels, and the band answered by putting the fight into "Harder, Faster" on the live album Live... in the Raw. The Headless Children in 1989 went darker and heavier, with "Forever Free", "Mean Man" and a scorching take on the Who's "The Real Me".
The lineup has churned around Lawless, with Chris Holmes, Randy Piper, Tony Richards, Steve Riley, Johnny Rod and Frankie Banali among those who passed through. Dying for the World in 2002 brought "Shadow Man", Golgotha followed in 2015, and the band has moved more than 12 million records along the way.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by W.A.S.P. on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blind in Texas | 1 | #229 | – | – | |
| 2 | Forever Free | 1 | #274 | – | – | |
| 3 | Mean Man | 1 | #352 | – | – | |
| 4 | The Real Me | 1 | #392 | – | – | |
| 5 | Mississippi Queen | 1 | #526 | – | – | |
| 6 | I Wanna Be Somebody | 1 | #671 | – | – | |
| 7 | Shadow Man | 1 | #82 | – | 2002 | |
| 8 | L.O.V.E. Machine | 1 | #877 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 82 | Shadow Man | KNAC Top 105 Songs of 2002 |
| 1990 | 229 | Blind in Texas | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 274 | Forever Free | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 352 | Mean Man | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 392 | The Real Me | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 526 | Mississippi Queen | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 671 | I Wanna Be Somebody | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 877 | L.O.V.E. Machine | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
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