U2's 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' Debuted as a Single 39 Years Ago Today

U2 in the 1980s was unstoppable. They were on top of the world; a fixture in the musical zeitgeist. The four-piece Irish rock outfit's 1987 record, The Joshua Tree, was their greatest commercial success and most critically acclaimed. Released on March 9, 1987, the 11-song album climbed to the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart.

It also gave way to two hit singles: the band's only songs to peak at No. 1 in the US. Yes, you guessed correctly, they're "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The latter was released as a single over two months after The Joshua Tree hit music stores-39 years ago today. The song was a last-minute choice for the album's second single. Initially, it was supposed to be "Red Hill Mining Town," the sixth track from The Joshua Tree.

Written by U2 frontman and lead vocalist Bono, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is all about spiritual yearning. The band also incorporated gospel music into their more anthemic rock sound with choir-like backing vocals. The tune originated from a demo bearing the titles "The Weather Girls" and "Under the Weather" that the group recorded during a jam session.

Lead guitarist and vocalist The Edge jotted down a possible song title in his notebook, inspired by a lyric from Bob Dylan's "Idiot Wind," which ultimately became the final title.

After its release on May 25, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" catapulted to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on Aug. 8, 1987, where it spent two weeks in the top spot. Critically, the track was well-received-even more so in reappraisals in the decades that followed. Some critics and outlets even lauded it as one of the greatest songs of all time. Rolling Stone included the tune on multiple editions of its "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. Recently, the 2021 version has the U2 song at No. 321.

Vulture.com ranked it at No. 4 on its list of "All 234 U2 Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best." The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also included "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" on its list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll."

Would you rank this U2 track among the greatest songs in music history?

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 11:17 AM.