Eargasm
Which Sandman Is More Popular? America vs. Metallica
The battle of the Sandmen
Contender #1: Sandman by America
I understand you've been running from the man that goes by the name of the Sandman.
America’s Sandman is a song from their debut album released in 1972. Written by Dewey Bunnell, the song saw some rotation on radio stations but was never released as a single.
Contender #2: Enter Sandman by Metallica
We're off to never-never land.
Enter Sandman is the first track of the album Metallica, released in 1991. It was also the lead single for the album.
The Battleground
Round 1: Billboard Top 100
Unlike A Horse With No Name and Sister Golden Hair, which reached the top of the chart, America’s Sandman never made it to the Billboard Top 100.
Metallica’s Enter Sandman spent 20 weeks in the charts, with the highest ranking at 16. Even though it didn’t make it to the top 10, this round still goes to Metallica.
Round 2: YouTube Stats
America’s official video for Sandman has more than 240K views and 4K likes. Metallica’s Enter Sandman has 548M views and 2.6M likes. The competition is not even close in this round, and Metallica is the evident winner.
Round 3: Last.fm plays
America’s Sandman has 88.3K listeners on Last.fm, totaling 331K scrobbles. On the other hand, Metallica’s Enter Sandman has 1.4M listeners on the platform, and they scrobbled the song 12.5M times. Another win for Metallica
The Verdict
With a 3-0 score, Metallica’s Enter Sandman is more popular than America’s Sandman. But it all comes down to personal preference. Which song do you prefer?
What about The Chordettes?
Sandman, I'm so alone; don't have nobody to call my own.
This one is my favorite Sandman song. It’s funny and wholesome, and the harmonies are simply magnificent.
Mr. Sandman made it to the top 1 on three different Billboard charts in 1955: Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys, and Most Played in Juke Boxes. In this arena, The Chordettes beat Metallica!
The YouTube video linked above is the most official one, which shows The Chordettes at Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show on February 22, 1958. The video has 24M views and 322K likes. Enough to beat America’s Sandman, but not enough to beat Metallica’s.
On Last.fm, Mr. Sandman has 197K listeners, and the song has been scrobbled over 902K times. Enough to beat America, not enough to beat Metallica.
The final verdict doesn’t change, but The Chordettes take a decent second place, on top of America!
The other battle of the Sandmen
Let’s not even get into Morpheus vs. Flint Marko vs. Wesley Dodds.
