One-Hit Wonders

“Can you name some of yours? See if you can pick out 5, perhaps.


Here's my short list, as the long one is rather large!


Focus - Hocus Pocus
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands To Yourself
Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky
Los Bravos - Black Is Black
Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
? and the Mysterians - 96 Tears
Sniff and The Tears - Driver's Seat
Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men
Amboy Dukes - Journey To The Center Of Your Mind
Blue Cheer - Sumertime Blues
Brownsville Station - Smokin' In The Boys' Room
Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Fire


To name a few...”

“Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime

That song's so bad it's camp.”

“can't rememeber the songs but do remember the group's names

Atomic Rooster
Flash
Trapeze
Cottonwood
Gypsy”

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly
Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners
Tainted Love by Soft Cell
In A Big Country by Big Country
Tubthumping by Chumbawumba
Cars by Gary Numan
Whip It by Devo
867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone
Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Cum On Feel The Noize by Quiet Riot”

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly


it might be a one hit wonder but it is a classic one”

“Hey Mickey by Toni Basil
Funkytown by Lipps, Inc.
We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister
Macarena by Los Del Rio
MMMBop by Hanson”

“You left off the two greatest one hit wonders of all time.

Proud to be an American: Lee Greenwood
American Pie: Don Mclean (Best song ever!)”

“Electric Avenue - Eddi Grant
99 Red Baloons - Nina
Achey Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus
She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby”

“Rock Me Amadeus - Falco”

“Forgot to mention on of the most annoying songs ever made.

Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin”

““You left off the two greatest one hit wonders of all time.

Proud to be an American: Lee Greenwood
American Pie: Don Mclean (Best song ever!)”
DeoreDX

Both of those artists had other hits.”

“The Vapors.....Turning Japanese

BTW....a little trivia....anyone know the meaning of this song?”

“Is it the same as "Shock the Monkey?" lol...”

“Sorry bit....I haven't a clue what "shock the monkey" is all about....never liked that tune aways....”

“You guys are LIVING THE EARLY 80s... early MTV days. sheesh, and I agree on most of them. LOL”

“Gotta dispute two:

Eddy Grant also had 'Romancing the Stone'

Don McLean also had 'Vincent'

Sorry to be technical! :)”

“Turning Japanese is a great one, though...”

“OH Yeah - Yello (the Ferrari song in Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Take On Me - Ah Ha”

“Bobby McFerrin has had other hits too.”

“Standells - Dirty Water was a good old classic

also, Thunderclap Newman - Something in The Air”

“Devo also got plenty of air time with 'Freedom of Choice' and 'Satisfaction'.

I remember tossing a 45 of 'Turning Japanese' like a frisbee out of my dorm window. What does it mean stratusloop?”

“terrence trent derby (wishing well)
afroman (I got high)
vanilla ice (...hmm,I forgot the name of that song)
soul asylum

can't think more right now.

Falco and Nena had other hits, maybe not in the US, but in Europe.
last edited: 3/18/05 1:13:07 PM”

“Ok Ok...here's a hint to the Vapors trivia question about the meaning of Turning Japanese...

Facial expression when Males are pleasuring themselves.....

I think I may have given too much of a hint....ha ha ha”

“Falco had hits in Eurpoe? Du scheißt' mich an.”

“Pet Shop Boys- East End Girls.”

“And Vicent? What the heck is Vincent? Don Mclean only had one hit durnit! :P

The guy who wrote Turning Japanese lives in Atlanta. I know his daughter through a mututal friend.”

“Vincent, about Van Gogh. Starry Starry Night...

Never heard that one? It was a pretty big song!”

“Rock Me Amodaus!”

“Oh I forgot the biggest one...anything by Jimmi Hendrix.






















Hi Marko!! :)”

“Nigal....sorry dude....[insert buzzer sound]......Pet Shop Boys had many other hits....”

“A-ha......Take on Me....”

“Opportunities was a pretty big one by the Pet Shop Boys”

“...you took your life as lovers often do
I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant to be
For one as beautiful as you”

“OK, well just let the Hendrix stand as my only one hit wonder then. LOL!”

“Macarana (sp)?

"How Bizarre"?”

“Does everyone understand that "one hit wonder" means the artist had one hit and one hit only before fading into richly deserved oblivion?”

“Are you saying I'm being premature? Fine. They are predictions.”

“Does the Knack count with My Sharona?


Give me a ruling Geo......
last edited: 3/18/05 1:36:11 PM”

“How about that chicky with the chain from her nose to her ear - Jane Childs?”

“How about Flock of Seagulls? Or did they have more than one hit?

This might be a fun show theme, Tree.”

“Modern English-Melt With You”

“A Flock Of Seagulls had 'I Ran' and one called 'Space Age Love Song'
The Knack had 'Good Girls Don't', too!


I'm thinking about doing something with this tomorrow, possibly, Ruby...
last edited: 3/18/05 1:52:01 PM”

“Twisted Sister had "I wanna Rock" and a few others as well.”

“When I think of you I spank myself.”

“Divinyls!!!”

“It's interesting. Mungo Jerry had only "In the Summertime" in the US, but released quite a few songs in Europe. It was a shock to learn he had a Greatest Hits album.

So if you count just the US, he's in. If it's worldwide, he's out.

Ch-ch-ch
Ch-ch-ch
Ch-ch-ch
Ch-ch-ch
Ch-ch-ch”

“Bm you should be comming to WV this weekend!”

“Bobby McFerrin is an interesting guy. His "one hit" was probably as much a surprise to him as anyone. His specialty was always doing weird things with his voice, and imitating instruments. I think I recall that he did that recording with only his voice, no instruments or other vocalists.

I went to a performance of his once and he got a few dozen people from the audience up on the stage (yes, including me) for some impromptu vocalizing - it was fun!

Because of his success with that one song, he was able to continue experimenting with various things, and taking up conducting. One of his recent (maybe the most recent?) CDs is him with Yo Yo Ma (famous cellist), where he uses his voice as an instrument along with Ma and the cello - pretty cool stuff.

Trivia note: he lived across the street from us when we lived in SF....”

“I look at the U.S. as the criteria here.”

“Interesting, Bowderman! His work was more jazz oriented than anything. Yo Yo Ma is a pretty cool dude. i bet that was a pretty good experinece, seeing that...”