Submitted by Necessary_Comfort812 t3_yilsaq in Music
I feel like the one hit wonders almost has died out in a way. Feels like there were many more in the 80's and the 90's for example. Maybe it's just that I grew up in that time and therefore remember them more.
Yeah and the music video is also groundbreaking and really iconic.
They had another hit -think it was called the sun only shines on TV.
I know and like both but when I think a-ha, I most readily think "Forever Not Yours" instead.
They did a James Bond song en had other hits. One hit wonder? Hmmm...
One hit really in America. I'm a big fan of a-ha so I realize that they are really an international band with quite the following still. But in America, definitely one hit wonder.
Somebody that I Used to Know by Gotye is the most recent one I can think of
Yeah I know I really liked that song from the start but my girlfriend had to hear it a couple of times and then she got hooked.
"Groove is in the Heart," by Deee-Lite. Astronomical!
Yeah it's in my playlist :) I actually didn't remember it being so old.
Come on Eileen by the Dexy Midnight Runners
Maybe a one hit wonder in some places but here in the UK there were 8 top 40 singles (including 2 number 1 hits), four critically acclaimed studio albums and a string of highly successful tours from Kevin Rowland and Dexys. Fantastic band.
How Bizarre by OMC; probably not the greatest of all time but for the period I grew up in, this song was on the radio constantly. Plus it’s a pretty catchy tune
Yeah it was on ALL the time!
867-5309/Jenny Tommy Tutone
It Takes Two Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock
I recently heard 867-5309 and I had completely forgotten about it. Funny too see you answering it!
White Town - Your Woman https://youtu.be/lVL-zZnD3VU
Great song! Got hooked on it from the very first time I heard it...so many years ago.
Wow this is a gem. I missed it!
“There She Goes” - The La’s
"That Thing You Do" by the Oneders
I heard those guys were really influenced by Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters
I hear the Del Paxton influence in the drums.
Driver's Seat by Sniff 'n the Tears pretty much defines the "great song - love to hear more of that but not gonna get it" effect for me.
That’s a good one. I’m a sucker for that late 70’s guitar sound: not nearly hard rock but too fuzzy for pop. Donnie Iris-Ah Leah also scratches that itch for me.
Or The Pursuit of Happiness. Guitar-driven goodness.
I’d say the best one is the One that was intended to be designed to be the ultimate one-hit wonder: “That Thing You Do.” by the appropriately named Oneders. It’s more of an earworm than a number of the songs it was a soundalike for.
I need to look that up! Thanks for a answering.
No problem! :) The movie “That Thing You Do” is fantastic and worth a watch. If I were you, I’d check the movie out so you can first appreciate the song in that context!
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Falco Rock Me Amadeus
It's funny to see Falco as a one hit wonder but this is surely true for the international market. He had many well known songs in the german speaking parts of the world.
In Germany he's definitely not a one Hit Wonder , so as a German it feels odd calling Falco something other than a music legend with multiple hits . Be it Jeanny , der Kommisar, out of the dark , wiener Blut, junge Römer or the aforementioned rock me Amadeus.
My girlfriend and I celebrate Falco every 19 February. We adore him.
I remember driving through Germany this summer and they played these song and I was like. Ok he did something else too!
I only know that English cover of Kommisar, but it’s the shit either way.
Molotov did a much better version IMO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pke3A2XuBLg
There's a bit of Beastie Boys in there as well.
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Classics! 👍
I think a more recent example would be Sail by Awolnation. I'm sure they had more songs but I only know them for this one.
Yeah and it was really big. In some way it was really different but at the same time hit the genre that was really big in that time period.
Streaming has changed the long play format, and the idea of being a 'one hit wonder' has changed with it. It depends on the frame you're using... but I'd bet on Mark Ronson being the biggest one hit wonder of all time with Uptown Funk (until you see he's produced dozens of #1 hits and has tons of nominations and awards).
Yeah. The same with being fatigued with songs. It was different when you didn't have a choice and what was played was what you got. It's almost like you don't get another Beatles these days. Of course artists can get bigg but in a different way.
Good point. The grip on the industry has shifted, although it’s still there but in different ways. At least artists have a small chance to get a dedicated loyal following now with sites like band camp and direct sales.
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Taco gets credit from me for taking a song from the Great Depression into the American top 5 in the early 80s
Big Country and Wang Chung get credit from me for featuring their band names prominently in their hit (although Wang Chung might be a two hit wonder - what do we think of Dance Hall Days?)
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
You almost can't here it without signing along or at least move your lips to it 😂
Black Betty by Ram Jam.
Ohh that's a good one.
The iconic scene in “Blow” where Johnny Depp’s character is strutting through the Miami airport in his white suit and shades - my favorite use of a song in a film, with “Stuck in the Middle With You” in Reservoir Dogs a close second.
To give you an actual answer to your question, I think "Return of the Mack" is among my favorites. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is also high on my list in terms of song quality, though I know The Proclaimers hace more than one hit in other regions.
The main reason I wanted to reply wasn't actually to give my answer, but to let you know that there's a whole YouTube series about one-hit wonders called One Hit Wonderland by the creator Todd in the Shadows. I'm not affiliated with the channel or anything; I've just found his breakdown of the pre-hit and post-hit careers, plus commentary on the song itself, to be an interesting lens through which to learn more about pop music history.
Thank you for your comment! Good tip.
Mack slaps
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She's so high - Tal Bachman.
Love missile F1-11 - Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Spacehogs - In The Meantime
Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)
Two of my favourite OHW.
EDIT: Not sure if they are OHW individually but the song 7 seconds by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry is a great song as well.
Golden Earring is the best one-hit wonder band because they did it twice, first with “Radar Love” in 1973 and again with “Twilight Zone” in 1982.
Cool there was so many years apart.
Rock On by David Essex
Timbuk 3 - I Gotta Wear Shades
Which song? Maybe it's obvious but the name doesn't strike me.
The Futures So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)
Gotye - somebody i used to know
Soul Asylum - Runaway Train
They also had “Misery”, which was a hit.
See also “Somebody to shove” & “Black gold” They definitely had a moment in the 90s
There are new one hit wonders everyday. Listen to the radio.
Brimful of Asha by Cornershop
Yep!
Beach Baby by The First Class
Since Yesterday by Strawberry Switchblade
Sunshine On A Rainy Day by Zoë is one of my favourites.
I had to look it up. But yeah I forgot about it.
Granted, they did release other singles, but none reached the same success, nor does anyone else remember them. Heck, their second album didn't even make the Top 50 and they haven't made another one since.
This is brilliant. Love these discussions. I think I've never heard this song before.
Pain - Shut your mouth.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?
I agree, the 80s and 90s seemed to have more one hit wonders. Not sure why and I don't really know enough about mainstream American music from the past 20 years or so to make a valid analysis of why that is. Anyway, my favorite one hit wonder would probably be Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc
Someone else in this post explained it having with streaming options and that this has changed the hole landscape. It can very well have something to do with it. But at the same time, I would imagine that like with tik tok and all that it would be easier to make a hit and then just fade away.
Female of the species - Space or Light up the Night - The Protomen
That was new to me. Or at least I didn't remember it.
I don’t think either was too popular, but I’d say out of both their catalogs, they those songs would be the most recognizable
Yeah Whatever by Splender
Kim Carnes - Bette Davis eyes
Just go on YouTube or Spotify they're constantly wheeling out one hit wonders, music is a multi billion dollar industry designed for this very purpose now.
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony.
This is the problem with one-hit wonder conversations. In some countries The Verve might only have had one hit, in the UK they had loads.
Yeah. Like I was gonna say Blind Melon, but their second album (and the singles from it), did very well in Canada (even though they are not Canadian), and if they didn't, I probably wouldn't be as big of a fan, and be mentioning them in this thread. Also, No Rain, isn't even a top 10 Blind Melon song imo.
But this is the nice thing about conversations about this topic too. Who cares if they have made more songs. Probably people are going to say bands now that I've never heard about before.
Yeah that's true. But if we're thinking more globally. For me a wonder need to get out more than UK. I understand what you mean but I would still count that the band had one one hit wonder. I don't know if I can articulate what I mean.
And that's where the 2. Issue comes in , if there's not a certain hype about a country specific genre( k pop) or the artist basically builds a Genre, that gets extremely popular (Rammstein) most non English & Spanish speaking artists become one hit wonders.
Yeah that's true.
They had a few hit songs even in North America. Richard Ashcroft is still doing his thing currently.
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Yeah that's a good one. But do you feel one hit wonders have died out? If not give me an example of a more recent one.
If it's recent who's to say there won't be a second hit coming soon?
I mean like 2000-2010 or something.
Lumidee - Never Leave you (uh oh)?
Grateful Dead only had one top ten hit but did pretty good for themselves.
Yeah and they were really big on the live era too right? Grateful dead was the band that had a whole big controversial thing with drugs and conspiracy thing around that?
Well, one of their most important sound engineers (Owsley Stanley, a.k.a. “Bear”) manufactured about 5 million doses of LSD as his side gig. (Or perhaps sound engineering was his side gig…).
Lol yeah I think I've heard about that before. They were a little bit before my time but I remember the name mainly for this.
Ice Ice Baby
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Old town road. Pretty much nails it.
Lil Nas X doesn't count as a one hot wonder right?
rrdoinel t1_iujawjl wrote
a-ha - Take On Me
This is a song that pretty much everyone knows. It's still played on radio, in films, etc. a-ha is still together making music and touring but here in America they are considered a one hit wonder. I feel that 100 years from now, this will be one of the few songs that will still be recognizable.