Journey Still Inspiring People To Plunk Down Change In Their Honor

Yahoo! Music chart watcher Paul Grein has run down SoundScan’s list of the most-downloaded tracks and found out which pre-Napster-era songs are still inspiring people to pay 99 cents for a copy. Anyone who’s ever seen the number of Google hits the words “Steve Perry” and/or “Arnel Pineda” and/or “song at the end of The Sopranos” can accrue will be completely unsurprised that Journey’s unkillable “Don’t Stop Believin'” is No. 1 on the list, with 1.8 million downloads. However, I was a bit amazed to find that Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole’s sweet, ukulele-tinged version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” beat out Survivor’s Rocky-inspired “Eye Of The Tiger,” if only because that and the Journey track are forever twinned in my mind. Top 10 after the jump.

1. Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” 1,821,000. 2. Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” 1,348,000. 3. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama,” 1,346,000. 4. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World,” 1,339,000. 5. Guns N’ Roses, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” 1,267,000. 6. Survivor, “Eye Of The Tiger,” 1,206,000. 7. Green Day, “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life),” 1,168,000. 8. Queen, “We Will Rock You,” 1,168,000. 9. Guns N’ Roses, “Welcome To The Jungle,” 1,154,000. 10. Goo Goo Dolls, “Iris,” 1,091,000.

Speaking of “unkillable,” how about that Goo Goo Dolls song? Other million-plus-sold oldies include Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” (1,029,000 downloads) and freaking “Hotel California” (1,008,000 downloads), both of which I think serve to show the purchasing power of the late-night, drunken iTunes foray. Not that I haven’t been guilty of that myself, mind you.

ChartWatch Extra: The 10 Most Downloaded Golden Oldies [Chart Watch via Velvet Rope] [Photo via the International Arcade Museum]