Has someone already said "When in Rome" and their hit "The Promise?" Other than that, over the past 30 years, I actually have to go with the OP-- I grew up in its era but I can't name another Cyrus song other than "Achey Breakey Heart." The fact that I remember it at all means it's the winner, maybe.
What 1 Hit Wonder Has Gotten the Most Mileage Off One Song?
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Stunning to me that "Beautiful World" by Devo wasn't a top 40 tune. To me it is better than "Whip It" and should have been a crossover hit.
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Lorenzo the Magnificent wrote:
Lee Greenwood, if not precisely a OHW, gets a ton of play from Proud to be an American.
Agree! And what a painfully miserable song at that...
There are other better examples of OHWs out there where the song made a huge splash on the charts and then we never heard of them again... but LG is a perfect example of getting and continuing to get the most mileage off his one song... -
You guy's are all idiots. Easily, The Partridge Family had the biggest one hit wonder, ever. Never did a thing after their smash hit 'I Think I Love You' in the 70's
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mongo jerry & arthur brown wrote:
My fav one hitter charted in '58 the elegants Little Star
some other oldies songs
I was fortunate enough to grow up with a member of the Picone family and Vito and the Elegants seemed to perform at every function anyone within the circle of family and friends put together. I guess it was better than someone's "uncle Mike" who thinks he can sing grabbing the mic to "perform". -
David Cassidy made a lot of money signing. No one hit wonder.
Susan Dey acted (L.A. Law). No one hit wonder. -
Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch - Good Vibrations
He rode that song to Calvin Klein modeling fame, acting, and directing. I would say he has prospered more than anyone else due to one song.
Buffet doesn't count. I am not a fan but he still tours and sells out stadiums decades after Margaritaville came out. Although his songs suck and sound the same, he isn't a OHW. -
I'll Stop the World and Melt with You by Modern English (was on the Valley Girl soundtrack for those old enough to remember).
I saw them at a free outdoor concert around 2000 and they were terrible. The lead singer started whining that if the audience didn't get more excited then "we won't sing it!" No one cared, and they sang it anyway. It was very sad.
They have actually covered this song at least once in order to sell a later album.
To the person who mentioned the band Hot Chocolate, they also had a hit with You Sexy Thing -
Louie, Louie - Kingsmen
Wild Thiong - Trogs (written by Chip Taylor, Jon Voight's brother, Angelina Jolie's uncle) -
Troggs had several other hits, "Love Is All Around" most prominent among them.
I can't read the whole thread, did anyone mention "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba yet?
And for real old timers, "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock.
And for people with no taste at all, "Sometime When We Touch" by Dan Hill and "Feelings" by Morris Alpert. -
It's ridiculous to use the "top 40" as a barometer for hits.
How high did "Stairway to Heaven" get?
Some of the best rock songs never made it very high on the top 40. The top 40 was dominated by songs that 11-13 year old girls and their moms liked to listen to.
Manfred Mann had a #1 hit when they much improved "Blinded by the Light" from the average Springsteen version. Their next biggest "hit" coming in at #22 is "Runner" which most of you have never heard of and gets absolutely NO airplay while "The Mighty Quinn" which never charted is played frequently on classic stations. -
I don't think there is an explanation that makes sense when you're dealing with crazed 11-13 year olds: Terry Jacks "Seasons in the Sun," Justin Bieber, any Boy Band.
Seasons In The Sun amazes me. The song, in my opinion, is ugly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_Fdly3rX8
It is still one of less than 30 single records to ever sell more than 10 million copies. It is like number 20 all time; non-digital and digital. Why?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_singles_worldwide
Knack My Sco Ro Tum wrote:
It's ridiculous to use the "top 40" as a barometer for hits. The top 40 was dominated by songs that 11-13 year old girls and their moms liked to listen to. -
Francis Scott Key.
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Giant Johnson wrote:
Eiffle 65- I'm Blue
Bloodhound Gang- The bad touch
Mystikal- Shake your ass
yeah, yeah, yeah, they all had "other songs" but no one knows what they are.
I think it is important to quantify what is meant by a One Hit Wonder then. If someone or a group has a reasonably long and varied career, puts out several albums, and therefore several singles that at least chart, they CANNOT be called a one-hit-wonder.
I won't get overly analytical, but the Bloodhound Gang have sold 6 million albums and have been successfully performing for 20 years now.
A One Hit Wonder (in my estimation) is someone who has a huge hit (has to be somewhat of a popular phenomena -- charting really high for a long while or #1 for a short while at least) and has no other sustained pattern of achievement or body of work to back the hit up with. -
"96 Tears" - Question Mark & the Mysterians
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Well, since we're doing songs with 90s in the title, how about "98.6" by Keith?
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Came across the Flaming Lips one hit wonder being sung by some good looking asian chick with a hat...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oShyp18TRQ -
Predict that in 10 years we'll be able to say the "Call Me Maybe" girl.
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Wow, just read this whole thread and some really clueless people. Well over half of the people or bands mentioned were not even close to being one hit wonders. Some of them are absurd to say that such as Meatloaf, Jimmy Buffet, etc.
One song I didn't see mentioned is "You light up my life" by Debbie Boone. If you were around in the late 1970's it was played constantly and was #1 on the charts for a then record 10 straight weeks and was the most popular song of the 1970's. She had country hits and Christian Music hits after that, but no pop hits that I recall. If someone can find one, then you can add me to the clueless people. -
Funk It wrote:
Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky
That song has been used all over the place.
I agree. The song was released in 1969. I heard him interviewed last year and he said he makes approximately $100,000 a year from that song being used.
