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Another trip down memory lane... one-hit wonders!!!

Aragorn

Aragorn

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One-hit wonder is exactly what it says, but it has also been used to describe musicians who are only known for one song (and you probably wouldn't know their other minor singles unless you were a fan). So with that being said...


Los Del Rio -- "Macarena"

Gerardo -- "Rico Suave"

Right Said Fred -- "I'm Too Sexy"

Chesney Hawkes -- "The One and Only"

Billy Ray Cyrus -- "Achy Breaky Heart"

a-ha -- "Take on Me"

Rick Dees -- "Disco Duck"

Vanilla Ice -- "Ice Ice Baby"

Chris De Burgh -- "Lady in Red"

Baha Men -- "Who Let the Dogs Out"

Falco -- "Rock Me Amadeus"

Baltimora -- "Tarzan Boy"

The Vapors -- "Turning Japanese"

Afroman -- "Because I Got High"

Lou Bega -- "Mambo No. 5"

Deee-Lite -- "Grove is in the Heart"

The Divinyls -- "I Touch Myself"

EMF -- "Unbelievable"

The Proclaimers -- "(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles"

Rockwell -- "Somebody's Watching Me"

Carl Douglas -- "Kung Fu Fighting"

Snow -- "Informer"

Men Without Hats -- "Safety Dance"

Jermaine Stewart -- "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off"

Timbuk 3 -- "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"

Tommy Tutone -- "867-5309/Jenny"

Meredith Brooks -- "Bitch"

Devo -- "Whip It"

Chumbawumba -- "Tubthumping"

Sugarhill Gang -- "Rapper's Delight"

Tag Team -- "Whoomp There It Is"

Toni Basil -- "Mickey"

Sophie B. Hawkins -- "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"
 
The definition of "one-hit wonder" is a bit nebulous. What was one band's sole big hit in one country may well have been one of several hits elsewhere and worldwide. For instance:
Aragorn said:
Right Said Fred -- "I'm Too Sexy"

a-ha -- "Take on Me"

The Proclaimers -- "(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles"

Sophie B. Hawkins -- "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"
Click to expand...
I wouldn't call them one-hit wonders per se - Right Said Fred and The Proclaimers had several hits here in the UK, and Norway's finest a-ha had a number of hits too (incuding my personal favourite, "The Sun Always Shines On TV" [which also reached #1 here] and their Bond theme to "The Living Daylights"). Sophie B Hawkins, well, I recall she had another huge smash hit that reached top 5 some time in the 90s... maybe she's a 2 hit wonder. :)

The above are certainly their best-known works. One-hit wonders? Maybe not.




That said... these guys:

"I'm Free" - Soup Dragons

"Can You Dig It?" - The Mock Turtles (same key too!)

"The Final Countdown" - Europe

"The Hustle" - Van McCoy

"Spaceman" - Babylon Zoo :guffaw:



(maybe they aren't one-hit wonders where you come from, but these were their best known works. :))
 
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The 1980s had tons of them... That's part of why I love that decade. :D
Off the top of my head:

Asia - "Heat of the Moment"
The Outfield - "Your Love"
Gary Numan - "Cars"
Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me With Science"
Big Country - "In a Big Country"
T'Pau - "Heart and Soul" (couldn't forget that one on this board ;))
When in Rome - "The Promise"
Modern English - "I Melt With You"
Midnight Oil - "Beds Are Burning"
Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians - "What I Am"
Boomtown Rats - "I Don't Like Mondays"
Nena - "99 Luftballons"
After the Fire - "Der Kommissar"
Soft Cell - "Tainted Love"
A Flock of Seagulls - "I Ran" (Although I also like "Wishing")

Probably so many more. Man, I can't count how many of those I've karaoked. Karaoke and the 80s... two of my favourite guilty pleasures. When I put them together -- watch out.

I agree, though, that some of these groups/artists probably are considered more than "one-hit wonders" in some countries, so I guess it's all a matter of personal perspective.
 
Aragorn said:
Chris De Burgh -- "Lady in Red"
Sophie B. Hawkins -- "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"
Click to expand...

More than one for those folks:

Chris de Burgh -- Don't Pay the Ferryman
Sophie B. Hawkins -- As I Lay Me Down (never heard of the other one, frankly)

To add a real one-hit wonder:

The Buoys -- Timothy (a song about cannibalism - no idea why they had only ONE hit ... ;))

And Asia - one hit? What about ...

Only Time Will Tell
Wildest Dreams
Here Comes the Feeling
Sole Survivor
Don't Cry
The Heat Goes On
True Colors
Open Your Eyes

?

They may not all be top 10, but all of them were in the top 50 on the Billboard charts. I'd call those 'hits' :bolian:.
 
Ptrope said:
And Asia - one hit? What about ...

Only Time Will Tell
Wildest Dreams
Here Comes the Feeling
Sole Survivor
Don't Cry
The Heat Goes On
True Colors
Open Your Eyes

?

They may not all be top 10, but all of them were in the top 50 on the Billboard charts. I'd call those 'hits' :bolian:.
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Okay, fair enough. But I have to admit, I've never heard of any of those. :o
Of course, "Heat of the Moment" was so popular, it couldn't help but overshadow all their other songs.

I'll have to look those songs up. I heard Asia was actually still together and performing -- I wonder if that's true? Another thing to look up...
 
Daneel said:
Okay, fair enough. But I have to admit, I've never heard of any of those. :o
Of course, "Heat of the Moment" was so popular, it couldn't help but overshadow all their other songs.
Click to expand...
Wow! Must be a regional thing ... Asia was a staple of rock stations in the U.S. in the '80s, and all of those songs still get regular, frequent airplay on the classic rock stations. I never thought "Heat of the Moment" got any more airplay than the rest, honestly.

Asia just released a new album, as well, Phoenix, with the 4 original members of the band, and they're touring Europe and the U.K. in March and April. It's a good album - their sound hasn't really changed at all.
 
Ptrope said:
Aragorn said:
Sophie B. Hawkins -- "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"
Click to expand...

Sophie B. Hawkins -- As I Lay Me Down (never heard of the other one, frankly)
Click to expand...
In that case, she's a 3-hit wonder (not really a wonder at all, really ;)):

"Right Beside You" - Sophie B Hawkins

It seems the "what is a one-hit wonder?" debate is only going to continue as this thread develops... ;)



Some more:

"The Facts Of Life" - Black Box Recorder :cool:
(a little-known Luke Haines side project featuring the lovely Sarah Nixey :drool:, this song only just scraped the top 20 here, but was on airplay everywhere at the time. They had another single, "The Art Of Driving" [for me, their better song] which didn't reach the top 40 at all.)

"Jilted John" - Jilted John :guffaw:
(a.k.a. "Gordon Is A Moron", this was Graham Fellows's first pop incarnation before he became John Shuttleworth. :bolian:)
 
Ptrope said:
Daneel said:
Okay, fair enough. But I have to admit, I've never heard of any of those. :o
Of course, "Heat of the Moment" was so popular, it couldn't help but overshadow all their other songs.
Click to expand...
Wow! Must be a regional thing ... Asia was a staple of rock stations in the U.S. in the '80s, and all of those songs still get regular, frequent airplay on the classic rock stations. I never thought "Heat of the Moment" got any more airplay than the rest, honestly.
Click to expand...

I did some checking, and it seems that their first album, released in 1982, contains the most amount of their hits. At this point, I feel I should confess I hadn't actually been born yet in 1982. I'm looking at them from a post-80s perspective, and, honestly, "Heat of the Moment" is the only song of theirs that I ever hear on the radio (and it's also their only song that gets any pop-culture references). And "Heat of the Moment" was by far their biggest hit, being their only single to crack the Top 5. Nevertheless, I'll concede your point: they did have other hits. I learn something new each day here. :)

Asia just released a new album, as well, Phoenix, with the 4 original members of the band, and they're touring Europe and the U.K. in March and April. It's a good album - their sound hasn't really changed at all.
Click to expand...
Very cool. I'll try to keep my ears open. :bolian:
 
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