More Than One Hit Wonders

[AndrewRemington]

Sometimes I get in an argument with people when they say that a singer or band was a “one hit wonder.” A lot of times people forget about other hits they had. To me, they are NOT a one-hit wonder if they had more than one Billboard Top 40 hit on the pop chart/“Hot 100.” Some people could argue the stipulations, of course, there are rock, dance, R&B, hip hop, and country charts… and then with the internet, you have people from all across the world, and the artist may have faired better or worse in their country. For instance, Soft Cell only had one top 40 hit in the US, but 12 (count’ em, 12!) hits in the UK.

Okay, so I’ll start here with some artists that are NOT one hit wonders in the US:

The Knack had 3 top 40 hits (“My Sharona,” Good Girls Don’t,” and “Baby Talks Dirty”).

A-ha had 2 top 40 hits (“Take on Me” and “The Sun Always Shines on TV”).

Squeeze had 2 top 40 hits but “Tempted” wasn’t one of them! (“Hourglass” and “853-5937”).

Modern English are a no hit wonder even if I love “I Melt With You.” That song only made it to #76 on Hot 100, and they had no other singles make it higher.

Any other fun “more than one hit wonders” you all care to share?

 

[Dadrian]

These are both definitely wonders, but as a side note, can you believe Bruce Springsteen never had a #1 song, and Genesis only had one (Invisible Touch)??

[AndrewRemington]

19 hours ago, Dadrian said:

These are both definitely wonders, but as a side note, can you believe Bruce Springsteen never had a #1 song, and Genesis only had one (Invisible Touch)??

Wow! I didn’t realize that. I could’ve sworn Springsteen had a few #1’s, I had to look him up and he has had 12 Top 10 singles, but no #1’s. Genesis is also a shock, I hear them all the time on classic rock/classic hits stations.

[Dadrian]

6 minutes ago, AndrewRemington said:

Wow! I didn’t realize that. I could’ve sworn Springsteen had a few #1’s, I had to look him up and he has had 12 Top 10 singles, but no #1’s. Genesis is also a shock, I hear them all the time on classic rock/classic hits stations.

I guess given the choice, I’d rather have a catalog of hits vs. one #1 

[Augusta]

It's a No-Wonder to me.  I think the next time someone argues with you about One-Hit Wonders, tell them that whether or not they made a "Hit" really depends more on what the culture was paying attention to that month,... not really any reflection on the quality of the single or worthiness of the artist.  
A made-up example:  If the rock group Figby did a superb single in the summer of 1987, but it was summer and people were hitting the dance clubs so much that a flood of dance-able songs by other artists were the craze that season, and Fibgy's song is just NOT a dance-able song,.. then Figby's song literally gets drowned out of any "#1 Chart" opportunity... even though it's one of the finest songs written from nearly that whole decade.  

  
I like Peter Gabriel's song Don't Give Up, and always will.  I thought it will always have a strong place in American mindset, since it aligns with migrant working here below the US, just as much as the tough times in the UK.  Yet I don't think it even made a murmur on the charts.  I think Willie Nelson's version of Living In the Promised Land is second to Gabriel's song,... yet it hit the country music charts easily.

I never paid attention to Hits, for that reason.  LOL, the LAST folks to notice what a great song that person wrote, are often the public he wrote it for.  That's a bummer.

[Dadrian]

What about our very own Jan Hammer with the Miami Vice Theme? Nearly anyone alive in the 80s knows that #1 hit, but probably wouldn’t know of any of his other released songs if they’re not fans.

Crockett’s Theme charted well in countries besides the US, but you could say he (inadvertently) became a one-hit wonder. 

[Augusta]

32 minutes ago, Dadrian said:

What about our very own Jan Hammer with the Miami Vice Theme? Nearly anyone alive in the 80s knows that #1 hit, but probably wouldn’t know of any of his other released songs if they’re not fans.

Crockett’s Theme charted well in countries besides the US, but you could say he (inadvertently) became a one-hit wonder. 

Agreed!  That's a Great example!  And between Crockett's Theme and Tubbs' Theme, I actually like Tubb's better---I think it's more bitter in its sweetness, more challenging because it creates that stereoptypical "sad haunting memory" feeling (Pan  flute?) right on top of a kind of ugly unsympathetic street beat sound that starts pulsing 1/3 of the way through the song.  The two don't belong together in the same song,... but Hammer makes them link-fit to each other like puzzle pieces, and it works!
I would have thought Tubb's Theme would get better ratings than Crockett's Theme, or even the "Chase" piece from the pilot episode, which is dynamite to listen to the way we used to listen to Harold Faltermeyer's instrumental singles.

But all that shows that I don't know JACK about making it on the pop-charts.

[Ferrariman]

One hit wonders or not, Vice introduced me to songs and artists that I would never have heard on the radio or discovered on my own.

[AndrewRemington]

21 hours ago, Ferrariman said:

One hit wonders or not, Vice introduced me to songs and artists that I would never have heard on the radio or discovered on my own.

True that, same here. There were a lot of great songs that weren’t hits and the artists never made it big, but having a song on an episode of MV would be an amazing accomplishment.

My two favorite bands, The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen never made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, but both had songs featured on MV.