One of the most unlikely acts to ever top the pop chart, venerable space-rock outfit Pink Floyd had never been a singles band, rarely releasing them or even having songs of a suitable length to garner pop airplay. In fact, prior to "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2," their only other chart appearance had been in 1973 when they narrowly missed the Top Ten with "Money."

Instead, Pink Floyd was better known for ambitious albums such as Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals, which showcased the band's unique brand of psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. All of the elements that had made the group such a popular act were in place on their magnum opus, 1979's The Wall, a grandiose, sprawling double-album with alienation as its central theme.

While its parent LP was entrenched at the top of the album charts for a staggering 15 weeks, the single "Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2" caught the imagination of mainstream music fans and became one of the biggest songs of 1980, spending a month at #1. With lyrics that railed against conformity and heavy-handed educators, and blistering guitar work from David Gilmour, the song lodged into the psyche of a generation of angst-filled teenagers.

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