Not every song on this blog climbed to glory. Some debuted, peaked modestly, and shuffled off quietly. Limp Bizkit’s cover of “Behind Blue Eyes” is one of those songs — and somehow, it’s one of the more fascinating chart stories of the early 2000s anyway.
The Setup: A Band in Freefall
By 2003, Limp Bizkit was not in a great place. Wes Borland, the band’s distinctive guitarist, had departed, and after a nationwide audition to replace him, the band recorded Results May Vary with Mike Smith of Snot. ClassicRockHistory.com The album’s title, in retrospect, feels prophetic.
Results May Vary differed significantly from Limp Bizkit’s established sound — while it still featured hip hop and nu metal elements, it branched into alternative rock, acoustic, funk, and jazz, with less rapping and more introspective lyrics about heartbreak, bullying, and self-pity. ClassicRockHistory.com Fred Durst was going through it, and everyone could tell.
The Cover Nobody Asked For
Taking on The Who’s 1971 classic “Behind Blue Eyes” was a bold choice. Limp Bizkit’s version incorporated electronic elements including a Speak & Spell device during the bridge, and replaced the original’s explosive rock climax with additional vocal passages and structural changes. Wikipedia Critics were not impressed. AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine later called it the worst in the band’s “never-ending series of embarrassing covers.” ClassicRockHistory.com
The Halle Berry Factor
Whatever the critics thought, the music video had a secret weapon. Fred Durst filmed a video for “Behind Blue Eyes” featuring Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, tying it to her 2003 film Gothika — the video depicted Berry and Durst in a relationship mirroring the film’s storyline, and the song also appeared during the film’s credits. ClassicRockHistory.com Upon release, the video received positive reviews, with many complimenting its interpolation of the film’s theme. The Real American Top 40 Wiki
Celebrity tie-ins move units. Always have.
The Chart Story: Modest, But Real
“Behind Blue Eyes” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 6, 2004, peaking at #71 the following week and spending 12 weeks on the chart. Billboard On the Pop Airplay chart — a better reflection of actual radio play — it performed considerably better, peaking at #27 and spending five weeks near that position, with a chart run of 40 → 32 → 28 → 27 → 34. Wikipedia
It peaked at #25 on the Mainstream Top 40 and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA in January 2005. ClassicRockHistory.com For a band that critics had essentially written off, and for a cover that reviews had savaged, gold certification and 12 weeks on the Hot 100 is not nothing.
The Verdict
“Behind Blue Eyes” never came close to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #71, spent three months on the chart, and quietly disappeared. But it moved enough copies to go gold, got a movie star in its video, and gave a fading band one last moment of mainstream visibility before the curtain came down.
Some bangers. Some blunders. This one lands somewhere in between.