Here’s to one-hit wonders
Just recently on Coast we celebrated ‘One Hit Wonder Day’ and played a selection of songs that made it into that category. Before I look at some of the best known one-hit wonders, let’s find out what constitutes a one-hit wonder.
A one-hit wonder is any song that achieves mainstream popularity, often for just one piece of work by the group or artist.
In the Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, music journalist Wayne Jancik defines a one-hit wonder as “an act that has won a position on [the] national, pop, Top 40 record chart just once”.
Recently Rolling Stone magazine readers were asked to pick the Top 10 One Hit Wonders of all time, and here is what their readers came up with.
10 The Vapors — Turning
Japanese. That 1980 hit written by David Fenton has been used in many TV commercials and movie soundtracks. The band only lasted a year and broke up.
9 The Mysterians — 96 Tears.
That catchy song by the US band hit No 1 in 1966.
8 Chumbawaamba — Tubthumping. Released in 1997, it went to No 1 all over the world . . . and then the band disappeared. Very catchy song though.
7 Blind Melon — No Rain. This was the only hit for this hippie grunge band from California, but sadly their lead singer Shannon Hood was addicted to drugs and died on tour in 1995.
6 The Knack — My Sharona.
What a band and what a great song out of 1979. Although the band released two albums, they only ever had the one hit.
5 Soft Cell — Tainted Love.
Oddly enough this was the cover of a 1964 song by American soul singer Gloria Jones. This was a one-hit wonder in the US for Soft Cell, but the band comprising Marc Almond on vocals and David Ball had several mediocre hits in the UK. 4 Big Country — Big Country.
This 1983 hit by the Scottish band became massive in the US and even gained a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance, but lost out to the Police.
3 Norman Greenbaum — Spirit
in The Sky. Without a doubt one of the best one-hit wonders, this 1969 song has popped up in many films and TV shows. It was used in the movie Apollo 13. In the UK the song reached No 1 three times sung by different artists.
2 Dexy’s Midnight Runners —
Come On Eileen. This song was an enormous hit around the world going to No 1 in many countries in 1982, even knocking Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean off the No 1 spot in the US. In the UK, the band had a couple more singles released, but they failed to fire.
1 A-ha — Take on Me. Although this Norwegian-based band were popular in their home country, this was their only No 1 hit. The song was recorded in 1984 and when it was released as a single, it reached No 3 in Europe but failed to chart anywhere else until the band recorded a video. When the video was released in the US it went to No 1 in October 1985. With that hit the band became the first Norwegian band to have a No 1. In the US, A-ha went on to have several minor hits.
There are many more songs that could be added to this list. My personal favourite is Spirit in the Sky.
What’s your favourite one-hit wonder?
A one-hit wonder is any song that achieves mainstream popularity, often for just one piece of work by the group or artist.