One hit wonder songs......

[pool]

some of these don't really fit the definition of "one hit wonders" ... many had minor hits, but were known more for certain ones and some had many other good spongs ( some even better ) ...

House on the hill - Audience

I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night - The Electric Prunes

Summertime Blues - Blue Cheer

Fire - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Journey to the Centre of the Mind - Amboy Dukes

All Right Now - Free

Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum

In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry

Radar Love - Golden Earing

I'd Love to Change the World - Ten Years After

Seasons In the Sun - Terry Jacks

Hold your head up - Argent

Popcorn - Hot Butter

Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfeild

The Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly

Jesus built my hotrod - Ministry

Epic - Faith No More

Jump Around - House of Pain

Silver Machine - Hawkwind

Bastard Child - Monster Voodoo Machine

Killing Game - Skinny Puppy

 

[Top Jimmy]

OK... gonna work my way up to "Self Proclaimed Musical Elitist here...

First, thanks WIYD for debunking over 1/3rd of my list I had compiled, saves me a lot of typing! Here goes:

First - A-Ha - 2 other hits: "The Sun Always Shines on TV" and "Hunting High and Low" (which was a hit, not JUST because my Erica uses it as her 3rd stage song)
House of Pain - On Point
Tom Tom Club - since this is Talking Heads without David Byrne on vocals, I don't think they qualify.
Nick Lowe - I Knew The Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll
Spandau Ballet - Gold
Golden Earring - Twilight Zone (one of my fave tunes)
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells is a concept album, not a "hit", and TB2 and TB3 both charted. I don't know how well TB2003 is doing.

Some Corrections:
"Damn, I Wish I Was You Lover" is Sophie B Hawkins, not Sinead O'Connor
"Just Died In Your Arms Tonight" is Cutting Crew (another one-hit wonder) not A-Ha

Random Identifications:
"Pop Muzik" is M
"Mexican Radio" is Wall Of Voodoo
"Secret Agent Man" is Johnny Rivers (not really a One-Hit wonder, he did do the theme from the animated TV show Hercules...

 

[twobigo]

What was the name of the tune by Gerry Raffety in the 70,s . It had a great sax solo inthe middle of the song?

 

[Berlin]

Gerry Raffety

"Baker's Street"

 

[Back Burner]

TJ,

Man you're amazing. BTW could you explain "Levon" to me again.

I guess a "one hit wonder" can be a little subjective, if you're not a fan of the artist or that type of music.

A good example.......Crash test Dummies had many hits in Canada but "MMMMMM..." was the only hit in the US, so they would be considered a one hit wonder in the US. Just like my comment about "Boston". I wasn't a fan but I liked "more than a feeling" and it was a number 1 song.

Back Burner


BTW - what was the name of the song that Lisa Simpson was playing for her pony. "Wild Fire"?

 

[shack]

"Secret Agent Man" is Johnny Rivers (not really a One-Hit wonder, he did do the theme from the animated TV show Hercules...

Johnny Rivers had a number of hits including Memphis, Maybelline, The Poor Side of Town and Baby, I need Your Loving, although Secret Agent Man was my favourite.

Also Norman Greenbaum followed up Spirit In the Sky with (When Are You Gonna Buy Me A) Canned Ham and Barry Maguire also had a follow up to Eve of Destruction but the name escapes me right now. I think it was "Dawn of ....something or other".

 

[revolver]

I guess a hit should be defined somehow. A follow-up release doesn't necessarily mean a hit. Also just because there were other songs that you like doesn't mean they were hits.

Didn't Gerry Raffery have 'hits' with some group before he went solo (Bread?)

 

[Berlin]

One hit or not, like someone mentioned, is all very subjective. But this thread gives an excellent opportunity to take a trip down the memory lane.

" Bread "..... did they do the song ' If ' ?

 

[revolver]

Yes Bread did 'If'.

 

[twobigo]

Shack, Dawn of Correction. hdog, i remember that song Stuck in the Middle with you..it was playing during a scene in the movie Reservoir Dogs when Michael Madsden had a cop tied up in a warehous and was about to lop off his ears..chilling scene!!

 

[Shmoozer]

Rafferty wasn't in Bread, but rather Stealer's Wheels. Stuck In The Middle With You & Star are the two by them that I know.

 

[Lil'Miss]

"One night in Bangkok," by Murray Head

where can a band really go after that one?

Miss

 

[Hollywoodladies.ca]

"Walking on Sunshine" Katrina and the Waves ( is also the song more used in movies than any other ).

Steph

 

[Mudd Stuffin]

Girl Like You by Edwin Collins


Ministry a OHW, I don't think so. He's taken many hits I'm sure...lol.

 

[james t kirk]

Whoa,

Putting led zeplin, the chili peppers, and boston in here is absurd.

One hit wonder implies a huge song that got a lot of radio play for a group, then the group fades away, probably never does a second album, or if they do, no-one even notices.

Led Zeplin????

Sacrilege

Tainted love is an excellent example.

One huge song that they played constantly on the radio, then you never heard from them again.

 

[homonger]

There was a recent special on VH1 about One Hit Wonders, and I think the technical definition has to do with an artist that charts on the Billboard Top 40, and then is never heard from again. It might be the Top 100, I don't really know.

It is surprising to lot of people to describe such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, or Patty Smith as one hit wonders, but technically, they all charted on Billboard just once ("All Along the Watchtower", "Whole Lotta Love", "Because the Night", respectively), even though they have had many other songs which are popular and received significant airplay.

This thread has brought up pretty much all of the one hit wonders brought up in that show.

Top Jimmy, Cutting Crew did have another big hit. "I've Been In Love Before", and WIYD, DeeLite did not do "Hippychick", Soho did.

 

[Piker]

Great idea for a thread!

As a huge music fan I read this thread and was actually offended to see some of the bands mentioned as one hit wonders. IMO some just clearly didn't belong. Most were picked out by others so by the time I got to the end of this I could laugh about it.

Wasn't it "Johnny NASH" who sang the theme to Hercules?

There are some bands I wish had been one hit wonders

New Kids on The Block

..and some that I wish had given us more

Scary Thieves-
End Games-First Last for Everything

and some more one hit wonders..

Sly Foxx-Let's go all the way
Dead or Alive-spin me round(only one I can think of)

 

[Berlin]

Dead or Alive ...

From DEAD OR ALIVE, here are 2 more,

My Heart Goes Bang
Lover Come Back to Me

Remember how Pete Burns , the lead singer of DOA looked like in the 80's ? Here is what he looks like currently....whooAAAA !!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/outnabout/pete_burns.shtml

 

[TimeofYourLife]

Cars - Gary Newman
Making Plans for Nigel - XTC
Whip It - Devo
Drugs in my pocket - the Monks
Turning Japanese

 

[DenWa]

Led Zeppelin only released ten singles in the United States and didn't release any in the UK until 1997. Their most popular song "Stairway to Heaven" was never released as a single.

But, six of their albums hit #1, the other four hit the top 10. They are only second to the Beatles with the most albums ever sold.

--from www.1069thefox.com/artistoftheweek_ledzeppelin.asp


In no way shape or form can Led Zeppelin be considered a one hit wonder band - ever. I don't care how many singles they did or didn't have in the top 40...They had SIX #1 ALBUMS, and all of their albums were in the TOP TEN!

You may have only liked one Boston song, Backburner, but they had a lot of big songs, many are still in heavy rotation on EVERY rock station that plays classic stuff. Their first album sold over 16 million copies, and their second album sold over 7 million copies.