Are They A One-Hit Wonder?

sadchild said:
Teena Marie
#4 "Lovergirl"
#37 "I Need Your Lovin'"

Subjectively a zero hit wonder in my book. I recognize "Lovergirl" but aside from 80s on 8, I haven't heard it since the 80s. And I don't recognize the other song.
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I'm sure I heard "I Need Your Lovin" on The Strobe many moons ago. I like the song, but it's not a stand out for her. Some of her R&B hits are more memorable than this track.
 
Young MC

#7 "Bust a Move"
#33 "Principal's Office"

I didn't remember "Principal's Office" until looked up the video. It didn't think it was too memorable, but I appreciate the song told a story. I would consider him to be a subjective one hit wonder.
 
sadchild said:
Young MC - YES
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Me too!

Here's a complete updated list of all two-hit wonders for reference because it's getting tough to keep track now that we've unearthed so many!

10,000 Maniacs
#12 "Because The Night"
#25 "More Than This"

2 Live Crew
#20 "Banned In The USA"
#26 "Me So Horny"

a-ha
#1 "Take On Me"
#20 "The Sun Always Shines On TV"

Alannah Myles
#1 "Black Velvet"
#36 "Lover Of Mine"

Basia
#26 "Time And Tide"
#29 "Cruising For Bruising"

Berlin
#1 "Take My Breath Away"
#23 "No More Words"

Blue Oyster Cult
#12 "Don't Fear The Reaper"
#40 "Burnin' For You"

Bobby Lewis
#1 "Tossin' & Turnin'"
#9 "One Track Mind"

Chris deBurgh
#3 "Lady In Red"
#34 "Don't Pay The Ferryman"

Club Nouveau
#1 "Lean On Me"
#39 "Why You Treat Me So Bad"

Dead Or Alive
#11 "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"
#15 "Brand New Lover"

Donnie Brooks
#7 "Mission Bell"
#31 "Doll House"

Eddy Grant
#2 "Electric Avenue"
#26 "Romancing The Stone"

Eddie Murphy
#2 "Party All The Time"
#27 "Put Your Mouth On Me"

EMF
#1 "Unbelievable"
#10 "Lies"

Escape Club
#1 "Wild Wild West"
#8 "I'll Be There"

Eve 6
#28 "Inside Out"
#30 "Here's To The Night"

Falco
#1 "Rock Me Amadeus"
#18 "Vienna Calling"

General Public
#22 "I'll Take You There"
#27 "Tenderness"

Gerardo
#7 "Rico Suave"
#16 "We Want The Funk"

Golden Earring
#10 "Twilight Zone"
#13 "Radar Love"

Great White
#5 "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"
#30 "The Angel Song"

Hues Corporation
#1 "Rock The Boat"
#12 "Rockin' Soul"

Jermaine Stewart
#5 "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off"
#27 "Say It Again"

Jesus Jones
#2 "Right Here Right Now"
#4 "Real Real Real"

Jive Five
#3 "My True Story"
#36 "I'm A Happy Man"

Johnny Hates Jazz
#2 "Shattered Dreams"
#31 "I Don't Want to Be a Hero"

Johnny Kemp
#10 "Just Got Paid"
#36 "Birthday Suit"

Jude Cole
#16 "Baby It's Tonight"
#32 "Time For Letting Go"

Kings Of Leon
#4 "Use Somebody"
#37 "Radioactive"

Love Unlimited Orchestra
#1 Love's Theme
#22 Satin Soul

Madness
#7 "Our House"
#33 "It Must Be Love"

Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch
#1 "Good Vibrations"
#10 "Wildside"

Matthew Wilder
#5 "Break My Stride"
#33 "The Kid's American"

Men Without Hats
#3 "The Safety Dance"
#20 "Pop Goes The World"

Michael Morales
#15 "Who Do You Give Your Love To?"
#28 "What I Like About You"

Michael Sembello
#1 "Maniac"
#34 "Automatic Man"

Murray Head
#3 "One Night In Bangkok"
#14 "Superstar"

Neneh Cherry
#3 "Buffalo Stance"
#8 "Kisses On The Wind"

Nirvana
#6 "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
#32 "Come As You Are"

Nu Shooz
#3 "I Can't Wait"
#28 "Point Of No Return"

Owl City
#1 "Fireflies"
#8 "Good Time"

Ratt
#12 "Round And Round"
#40 "Lay It Down"

Rembrandts
#14 "Just The Way It Is Baby"
#17 "I'll Be There For You"

Ricki Lee Jones
#4 "Chuck E's In Love"
#40 "Young Blood"

Robbie Dupree
#6 "Steal Away"
#15 "Hot Rod Hearts"

Rockwell
#2 "Somebody's Watching Me"
#35 "Obscene Phone Caller"

Skid Row
#4 "18 & Life"
#6 "I Remember You"

Snow
#1 "Informer"
#19 "Girl I've Been Hurt"

Spin Doctors
#7 "Two Princes"
#17 "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"

Squeeze
#15 "Hourglass"
#32 "853-5937"

Stacey Q
#3 "Two Of Hearts"
#35 "We Connect"

Strawberry Alarm Clock
#1 "Incense and Peppermints"
#23 "Tomorrow"

Swing Out Sister
#6 "Breakout"
#31 "Twilight World"

Teena Marie
#4 "Lovergirl"
#37 "I Need Your Lovin'"

Til Tuesday
#8 "Voices Carry"
#26 "What About Love"

Tommy Tutone
#4 "867-5309"
#38 "Angel Say No"

Tone Loc
#2 "Wild Thing"
#4 "Funky Cold Medina"

Tracy Chapman
#3 "Give Me One Reason"
#6 "Fast Car"

Vanilla Ice
#1 "Ice Ice Baby"
#4 "Play That Funky Music"

Vertical Horizon
#1 "Everything You Want"
#23 "You're A God"

Vixen
#22 "Cryin'"
#26 "Edge Of A Broken Heart"

White Lion
#3 "When The Children Cry"
#8 "Wait"

Will To Power
#1 "Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird"
#7 "I'm Not In Love"

Young MC
#7 "Bust A Move"
#33 "Principal's Office"
 
I also appreciate that you've made such a big list, but in many cases, it highlights the absurdity of using modern pop charts as a metric.

Here's 2 examples:

Nirvana
#6 "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
#32 "Come As You Are"

Squeeze
#15 "Hourglass"
#32 "853-5937"

As I've said before, you can do the same with The Who and many other rock/alternative bands.
 
"You can do the same with The Who." "Who?" "Yes." You can do the same with Yes?" "No, you can do the same with The Who." "What are ya askin' me for?" Oh, sorry, I lapsed into an Abbott and Costello routine.

Based solely on chart performance, is Judy Collins a one-hit wonder? Both Sides Now reached #8 in December 1968. Her recording of Amazing Grace reached #15 in February 1971 but I don't think any radio station has played it in the past 50 years. Her only other top-40 hit was Cook With Honey, which got to #32 in March 1973.

Someday Soon, one of Collins' best-known songs, was written by Ian Tyson. Ian & Sylvia Tyson's original recording was released in January 1964 as the B-side of You Were On My Mind. (The latter song, written by Sylvia, became a hit for We Five in 1965.) Collins' version of Someday Soon stalled at #55 in March 1969. It got to #19 on the March 19 Boss 30 of KHJ in Los Angeles. It didn't make the country chart – but it should have. The song was a country hit for Moe Bandy in 1982 and Suzy Bogguss in 1991.


 
scotchandcigar said:
in many cases, it highlights the absurdity
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Yeah that's one of the things I'm enjoying about the thread. I didn't know where it would lead and it's interesting to see often how poorly it portrays the success of artists. It just started as "I see so many people with two top 40s being called one-hit wonders, and some of them do feel like OHWs but some definitely don't!"
 
Quarterflash
#3 "Harden My Heart"
#16 "Find Another Fool"
#14 "Take Me to Heart"

I remember all three songs, but "Harden My Heart" is the standout (in my opinion). I don't consider them a one hit wonder, but the general public may think so.
 
Same. I recognize all 3, but aside from SXM, I haven't heard "Fool" or "Heart" since the 80s and had forgotten they existed for a couple decades.
 
How about the Esquires? Get On Up reached #11 in October 1967 and has been played on oldies stations for decades. Their follow-up, And Get Away, got to #22 in December 1967 even though – or maybe because – it sounded very similar to Get On Up. I haven't heard it since that time. Has anyone?


 
Animotion
#6 "Obsession"
#39 "Let Him Go"
#9 "Room to Move"

I listened to "Let Him Go" and didn't remember it. "Room to Move" was popular, but it was released several years after "Obsession" and the lead singers changed. I'm going with subjective one-hit wonder this time.
 
Mister sadchild, Chicago record producer Bill "Bunky" Sheppard was president of the Constellation record label, founded in 1963 by Ewart Abner, who would later manage Stevie Wonder and spend two years as president of Motown Records. Gene Chandler, Lee Dorsey, Dee Clark, Nolan Chance and Frankie Ford recorded for the label but it was shuttered in 1966. Sheppard then founded the Bunky label, It was a division of Scepter Records – and it was shuttered in 1969.

My nomination for one-hit wonder is The Brothers Four, a folk quartet formed in 1957 in Seattle. The group is still performing in 2021 but Bob Flick is the only original member. Since May 2008, he's been married to Loni Anderson. The Brothers Four had a #2 hit in 1960 with their first single, Greenfields. (It couldn't unseat Elvis Presley's Stuck On You.) Their only other top-40 hit was this one, which peaked at #32 in April 1961. It is pretty much forgotten today – and deservedly so.


 
seasalt43 said:
Animotion
#6 "Obsession"
#39 "Let Him Go"
#9 "Room to Move"

I listened to "Let Him Go" and didn't remember it. "Room to Move" was popular, but it was released several years after "Obsession" and the lead singers changed. I'm going with subjective one-hit wonder this time.
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Agreed.
 
I remember "Room To Move" but I may be one of the few on the planet who do. I even have it in my MP3 collection. But I agree yeah subjectively a OHW to the masses for sure.
 
Listening to the I Want My '80s podcast "One-Hit Wonders" show and the cringe is flowing. Information Society?? Seriously?!?
 
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