One-hit wonder

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For other uses, see One Hit Wonder (disambiguation).
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In the music industry, a one-hit wonder is an artist generally known for only one hit single. There are hundreds of one-hit wonders. As described below, the one-hit wonders are ranked into lists of songs in pop music, but also some lists in classical music, as well. There are also "two-hit wonders" having only two hit singles, as explained with two-hit examples below. The definition of "one-hit wonder" varies depending on context, such as sometimes viewing only hits in the U.S. despite having other, international, hits. The term one-hit wonder has also been applied to other fields, such as with authors, actors, or athletes, who have only one major success.

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[edit] Characteristics

The hits of many one-hit wonders are novelty songs that are, to an extent, deliberately short-lived, recorded for humor or to cash in on a fad. Examples include Rick Dees’s "Disco Duck" (related to the disco craze of the 1970s); C.W. McCall's "Convoy" (related to the CB radio craze of the 1970s); and Buckner & Garcia’s "Pac Man Fever" (related to the 1980s-era arcade game Pac Man). Some artists, such as Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, for example, and Minnie Riperton, had their careers cut short by their untimely death, while others, such as New Radicals and The La's, broke up immediately after their one-hit's chart success. More commonly, however, one-hit wonders are serious-minded musicians who struggled to continue their success after their popularity waned.

Because one-hit wonders are popular for only a brief time, their hits often have nostalgic value and are featured on era-centric compilations and soundtracks to period films. One-hit wonders are normal in any era of pop music, but are most common during reigns of entire genres that do not last for more than a few years, such as disco, new wave and grunge.

Though the term is sometimes used in a derogatory manner, some fans often have a great passion for these songs and the artists that created them. Some one-hit wonder artists have embraced this following openly, while others distance themselves from their hit in an attempt to craft successful songs with different sounds, or embark on new careers as songwriters (such as Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes and Gregg Alexander of New Radicals), or recording industry executives (such as Gerardo).

[edit] Questions of definition

Most American music industry insiders consider a song in the top forty positions of the Billboard Hot 100 to be a hit. Thus, any performer who recorded only one song that reached the Top 40 is, technically, a one-hit wonder. However, the term is more generally applied to musicians best known for only one song, meaning that some artists who fit the above criteria are not considered one-hit wonders, while others who do not are considered such.

Wayne Jancik's book The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders (Billboard Books, 1998) defines a one-hit wonder rather conservatively, as "an act that has won a position on Billboard's national, pop, Top 40 just once." He therefore includes such performers as Janis Joplin (for "Me and Bobby McGee") or Jimi Hendrix (for "All Along the Watchtower"), solely on the basis of their Top 40 performance. In his definition of an "act", Jancik distinguishes between a solo performer and any group he or she may have performed in; thus Roger Daltrey is distinguished from The Who. He restricts his reporting time to the period from the start of the "rock-and-roll era" (defined by the author as 1 January 1955 to 31 December 1992). The latter date was picked to allow a five-year "lag time" before publication for a listed one-hit wonder to produce a second hit; this unfortunately does not allow for a longer hiatus between hits for a particular performer. For example, Lenny Kravitz is listed for "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" (No. 2, August 1991);[1] the book therefore misses subsequent hits, such as "Fly Away", which reached #12 on the Billboard chart in 1999.

In the United Kingdom, the term one-hit wonder is used to describe a singer or band who had only one hit reach the Top 75 on the UK Singles Chart. The term was first used by the "Guinness Book of Hit Singles" from the 1970s, and originally referred strictly to those artists whose first chart action was: "a number one hit, and then nothing else, ever." This is now commonly known as a "true" one hit wonder.

Here are some other criteria that also affect a performer’s status as a one-hit wonder:

[edit] Other uses

The term "one-hit wonder" is occasionally used to refer to an artist, other than a musical performer, who is best known for a single work. Examples in literature include Harper Lee's only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which sold 30 million copies; and author Joseph Heller, who wrote several novels, but is still best known for Catch-22. Margaret Mitchell never wrote another book after her first novel, Gone With the Wind, was a smash best-seller. The term is also applied to in the film industry: one such case lies in the career of actress Natasha Henstridge, who has yet to match the success of the 1995 film, Species. Classical composers such as Johann Pachelbel, despite being very popular in his time, known today almost solely for Pachelbel's Canon, are also sometimes described thus. [2]

In the sports world, there are several athletes known to casual sports fans for one event in their careers. Examples include Bill Mazeroski, who is the only player in Major League Baseball history to end a seventh game of the World Series with a walk-off home run;[2] Paul Henderson, a Canadian ice hockey player who scored the deciding goal in the 1972 Summit Series; and Jimmy Glass, an English football goalkeeper, who is remembered for scoring a goal in the last seconds of the final day of 1998-99 English Third Division that kept his club in The Football League.

In drug culture, the term 'one-hit wonder' is often applied to highly potent specific varieties of substances, such as certain strains of cannabis that require only one "hit" (a single inhalation of smoke), or a "hit" of LSD (a single dose), to achieve the desired psychoactive effects.

[edit] Lists of greatest one-hit wonders

[edit] VH1's list of "100 greatest one-hit wonders"

In 2002, the American cable network VH1 aired a countdown of the VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders[3]. It listed musicians with only one American hit, regardless of international success, which has been substantial and long-lived for musicians like a-ha and Nena (see below). In fact, if the "only one American hit" criterion had been strictly applied, a-ha and Falco would not be eligible for the list, as they each actually had two top-20 US hits—although as noted above their second hits were greatly overshadowed in the US by the prior hit. The same goes for Vanilla Ice - his follow up to his #1 hit was a #4 hit titled, "Play Tha Funky Music". Gerardo also had another Top 15 hit. Needless to say this list is not accurate in terms of the criteria it claims to apply.

The countdown also omitted acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Grateful Dead who, while technically charting with only one single, became too well-known for their entire bodies of work to merit inclusion on the list. The top ten consisted of:

  1. Los Del Rio - "Macarena" (1996)
  2. Soft Cell - "Tainted Love" (1982)
  3. Dexys Midnight Runners - "Come On Eileen" (1982)
  4. Right Said Fred - "I'm Too Sexy" (1992)
  5. Toni Basil - "Mickey" (1982)
  6. Baha Men - "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (2000)
  7. Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby" (1990)
  8. a-ha - "Take On Me" (1985)
  9. Gerardo - "Rico Suave" (1991)
  10. Nena - "99 Luftballons" (1984)


Six of the above acts, namely Soft Cell, Dexys Midnight Runners, Right Said Fred, Baha Men, Vanilla Ice, and a-ha, have had multiple hits in the UK and would therefore not qualify as one-hit wonders there, while a seventh, has never had any hits in the UK at all, leaving only Toni Basil, Nena and Los Del Rio from this list as one-hit wonders on both English-speaking sides of the Atlantic.

[edit] Channel 4's "50 Greatest One Hit Wonders"

A 2006 television poll, conducted by Channel 4 in the UK, asked viewers to select their favourite one hit wonder from a shortlist of 60 [4]. Respondents could also vote by e-mail to select a song that was not on the original list, if they so wished. The top 50 were:

  1. "Kung Fu Fighting" – Carl Douglas
  2. "99 Red Balloons" – Nena
  3. "Because I Got High" – Afroman
  4. "Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies
  5. "Can You Dig It?" – The Mock Turtles
  6. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" – Monty Python
  7. "Spirit in the Sky" – Doctor and the Medics (also Norman Greenbaum)
  8. "Who Let the Dogs Out" – Baha Men
  9. "The Safety Dance" – Men Without Hats
  10. "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please" – Splodgenessabounds
  11. "Groove is in the Heart" – Deee-Lite
  12. "Trouble" – Shampoo
  13. "It's Raining Men" – The Weather Girls
  14. "All By Myself" – Eric Carmen
  15. "Jilted John" – Jilted John
  16. "I’ll Be There For You" – The Rembrandts
  17. "Doctorin’ the Tardis" – The Timelords
  18. "Rock Me Amadeus" – Falco
  19. "Flat Beat" – Mr. Oizo
  20. "Video Killed the Radio Star" – Buggles
  21. "Je t'aime... moi non plus" – Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg
  22. "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)" – Lou Bega
  23. "Turning Japanese" – The Vapors
  24. "Mickey" – Toni Basil
  25. "Mouldy Old Dough" – Lieutenant Pigeon
  26. "Pump Up The Volume" – M/A/R/R/S
  27. "Lovin' You" – Minnie Riperton
  28. "Axel F" – Harold Faltermeyer (also well known for the Grammy Award winning Top Gun Anthem)
  29. "Fuck It (I Don’t Want You Back)" – Eamon
  30. "I'm the Urban Spaceman" – The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
  31. "Spaceman" – Babylon Zoo
  32. "My Sharona" – The Knack
  33. "Shaddap You Face" – Joe Dolce Music Theatre
  34. "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" – Baz Luhrmann
  35. "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs (Lowry’s Song)" – Brian & Michael
  36. "MacArthur Park" – Richard Harris
  37. "Monster Mash" – Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers
  38. "Rapper’s Delight" – Sugarhill Gang
  39. "Fire" – Crazy World of Arthur Brown
  40. "The One and Only" – Chesney Hawkes
  41. "Louie, Louie" – The Kingsmen
  42. "Since Yesterday" – Strawberry Switchblade
  43. "My Boy Lollipop" – Millie Small
  44. "Money" – Flying Lizards
  45. "Stutter Rap (No Sleep ‘til Bedtime)" – Morris Minor and the Majors
  46. "Just Say No" – Grange Hill Cast
  47. "Woo Hoo" – The 5.6.7.8's
  48. "Japanese Boy" – Aneka
  49. "Save Your Love" – Renee and Renato
  50. "Brimful of Asha" – Cornershop

Even this list is riddled with inaccuracies, since at least fifteen of the fifty acts ranked in the Top 50 by the poll had multiple Top 40 hits in the UK singles chart, thus disqualifying them from the appelation 'one-hit wonder'. Millie reached No. 30 with 'Sweet William' in 1964; Lieutenant Pigeon reached No. 17 with 'Desperate Dan' in 1972; Carl Douglas reached No. 35 with 'Dance the Kung Fu' in 1974 and No. 25 with 'Run Back' in 1977; the Buggles reached No. 16 with 'Living in the Plastic Age' and No. 38 with 'Clean Clean' in 1980; Splodgenessabounds reached No. 26 with the double A-side 'Two Little Boys' / 'Horse' in 1980; Doctor and the Medics reached No. 29 with 'Burn' in 1986; Falco reached No. 10 with 'Vienna Calling' in 1986; Deee-Lite reached No. 25 with the double A-side 'Power of Love'/'Deee-Lite Theme' in 1990; Chesney Hawkes reached No. 27 with 'I'm a Man Not a Boy' in 1991; Shampoo reached No. 27 with 'Viva La Megababes' in 1994, No. 21 with 'Delicious' in 1995, No. 36 with 'Trouble (1995)' in 1995, and No. 25 with 'Girl Power' in 1996, thus notching up no fewer than five hits including two different versions of 'Trouble'; Babylon Zoo reached No. 17 with 'Animal Army' and No. 32 with 'The Boy with the X-ray Eyes' in 1996; Cornershop reached No. 23 with 'Sleep on the Left Side' in 1998 and No. 37 with 'Lessons Learnt From Rocky I To Rocky III' in 2002; Baha Men reached No. 14 with 'You All Dat' in 2001 and No. 16 with 'Move It Like This' in 2002; Afroman reached No. 10 with 'Crazy Rap' in 2002; and Eamon (featuring Ghostface) reached No. 27 with 'Love Them' in 2004. Most notably, The Timelords reached the UK Singles Chart eight times—once under that name; once as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu; once as 2K; and five times, including one #1, under their best-known name, The KLF.

[edit] "20 to 1: One Hit Wonders"

In 2005, the Australian series 20 to 1 aired their episode 20 to 1: One Hit Wonders, a list of songs that had been the only one by that artist to have success in Australia. Number one was The Knack's "My Sharona".[citation needed]

[edit] C4's UChoose40: One Hit Wonders

In September 2006, New Zealand's terrestrial music channel, C4, aired an episode dedicated to "One Hit Wonders" on the weekly theme-based chart show, UChoose40, where the chart was ranked entirely by viewer's votes from the website. There were some surprising candidates who made it to the chart, such as former boy-band Hanson, who were clearly not one-hit wonders, even in NZ. Moreover, Meredith Brooks's hit single "Bitch" was mentioned on the candidates list but failed to make the Top 40.

The top ten ranking are as follows:

  1. "The Final Countdown" – Europe (1986)
  2. "Teenage Dirtbag" – Wheatus (2000)
  3. "How Bizarre" – OMC (1996)
  4. "Because I Got High" – Afroman (2001)
  5. "Ice Ice Baby" – Vanilla Ice (1990)
  6. "Eye of the Tiger" – Survivor (1982)
  7. "Tubthumping" – Chumbawamba (1997)
  8. "My Sharona" – The Knack (1979)
  9. "Video Killed the Radio Star" – Buggles (1979)
  10. "Who Let The Dogs Out?" – Baha Men (2000)
  11. "I Touch Myself" - Divinyls (1991)

[edit] Classical music one-hit wonders

Deutsche Grammophon and Vox Records have both released albums of classical one-hit wonders. Many of the works on the CDs are from composers who have two or more works that are popular in classical music circles but have a single work that has become popular outside these circles. The works will be familiar to most people because they have been used in commercials or in movies and television shows. The two CDs differ but the works common to both are:

  1. Johann Pachelbel – Canon in D
  2. Samuel Barber – Adagio for Strings
  3. Tomaso Albinoni – Adagio in G minor
  4. Jean-Joseph Mouret – Rondeau (Masterpiece Theatre theme)
  5. Luigi Boccherini – minuet from String Quintet in E
  6. Jeremiah Clarke – "Trumpet Voluntary"
  7. Jules Massenet – Meditation for his opera "Thais"
  8. Pietro Mascagni – "Cavalleria rusticana"
  9. Léo Delibes – "The Flower Duet"
  10. Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov – "Caucasian Sketches"
  11. Amilcare Ponchielli – "Dance of the Hours" from the opera "La Gioconda" ("Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh")
  12. Charles-Marie Widor – Toccata from Symphony for Organ No. 5
  13. Aram Khachaturian – "Sabre Dance" from the ballet "Gayane"
  14. Marc-Antoine Charpentier – Te Deum

[edit] Two-hit wonder

Some artists have managed to gain recognition for just two songs based on one or more of the above descriptions, and are often referred to as two-hit wonders. Though this term is not as official in the music industry, the term is used by many fans. Notable examples in the US include:

NB: The peak positions shown are in the US chart only and do not hold true in other countries, where some of these artists have had more than two hits - for example, Neneh Cherry has had nine distinct solo Top 40 hits in the UK and Sophie B. Hawkins four; others have had only one - for example, A Taste of Honey charted in the UK with 'Boogie Oogie Oogie' only; and still others have had two but not both the same songs - for example, Billy Ray Cyrus has charted in the UK with 'Achy Breaky Heart' and 'Could've Been Me' in 1992 but has not charted in 2008 at all.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Jancik 1998, p487
  2. ^ Mazeroski, however, is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, due heavily to his status as one of the greatest defensive infielders of all time.

[edit] References

[edit] External links