One Hit Wonder Central

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http://www.onehitwondercentral.com
Pretty inaccurate; how many "one hit wonders" can you find that don't quite meet the description?

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Saturday, 28 May 2005 00:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, a 20-year career with one hit single . . . uh uh.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 28 May 2005 00:46 (twenty-one years ago)

A 20-year career with one hit single? It can happen. I don't remember ever hearing Black Sabbath on Top 40 radio, do you?

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Saturday, 28 May 2005 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Guess it's hard to tell. I assume it's the US charts it's referring to. First page I look at and Free, White Plains and Marmalade, I think have had a number of hits, at least in the UK.

― KeefW (kmw), Saturday, 28 May 2005 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

And then you gotta take into account all the artists who had one hit after another on the soul and country charts, but only turned up once in the pop Top 40.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Saturday, 28 May 2005 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

No, Rev, I know it can happen. That's my point. Randy Newman is *not* a one-hit wonder just 'cause he only hit the Top 40 once.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 28 May 2005 23:11 (twenty-one years ago)

wait, yes he is.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 29 May 2005 02:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I've l!m3\^/!r3d the fuck out of that site.

― Jimmy Mod Is Great At Getting Us Into Trouble (ModJ), Sunday, 29 May 2005 02:41 (twenty-one years ago)

chumbawumba tubthumoing - thye wer epunk for 10-15 years before 1 novelty song

tese are called one hit wonders but weren't :
five star,nik kershaw,howard jones.

and men without hats also had"pop goes the world".
in australia these weren't one hit wonders
roxus,indecent obsesson,uncany xmen,kids in the kitchen and psuedo echo.

― rebel old yeller, Sunday, 29 May 2005 06:43 (twenty-one years ago)

"Randy Newman is *not* a one-hit wonder just 'cause he only hit the Top 40 once."

Well, what were his other hits then? And did they ever get played on a Top 40 format? That's my definition of a hit.

I think I see what you're getting at - Newman, Nina Simone, Nick Lowe, Cannonball Adderley, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Jimi Hendrix had full careers that were not defined by the one song that went Top 40 pop. Most people know Lou Reed for being Lou Reed, not That Guy Who Did "Walk On The Wild Side."

But hey, facts is facts - all them icons I mentioned in the last paragraph have careers and devoted followings. But those same fans bought ALBUMS. As far as the singles went, they may as well be one-hitters - ON A TECHNICALITY.

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Sunday, 29 May 2005 06:54 (twenty-one years ago)

did lou reed hit australia top 40 in 1988/89 with "dirty boulevard" ?

― louise read, Sunday, 29 May 2005 10:59 (twenty-one years ago)

It's Americentric, so...

― Ian Riese-Moraine's Plateau Rouge! (Eastern Mantra), Sunday, 29 May 2005 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

some of these artists had some minor followup/preliminary singles and/or long respectable careers with loads of talent, but as far as "hits" go i found this site pretty accurate. biz markie for example had some singles and other jams that won lots of praise within the hip hop community (and in my mind) but if you ask a top-forty oriented listener to describe biz makie, they would say three words: 'just a friend'. rev. hoodoo's example listed above (lou reed) illustrates my point perfectly. i am a big fan of some of the names on that website, but i can't get too offended at their one-hit-wonder status.

― Robin Samples, Monday, 30 May 2005 03:45 (twenty-one years ago)

i watch a one-hit-wonder show on much a few weeks ago -- they included "common people"!

― a banana (alanbanana), Monday, 30 May 2005 03:49 (twenty-one years ago)

did lou reed hit australia top 40 in 1988/89 with "dirty boulevard"

he did. i gather a small handful of his singles did equally as well?

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Monday, 30 May 2005 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I have such a giant problem with MuchMusic's One Hit Wonders show, where Rick the Temp or Jenn Hollett or someone acts all smug about some poor sack of meat who busted his ass to write and sing a fairly lame song and then after its novelty wore off, he got dumped on the side of the road to make room for more Jamie Walters posters. Then they play thirty seconds of this poor saps one claim to fame beyond his IHOP name tag, and then Rick the Temp throws to the new Eminem video and they call it the "Who Knew?" (as in "Who Knew They Would Have More Than One Hit?") category.
I hate to say it, because it was pretty shitty before, but Much has really hit the skids since Denise Donlon left.

― Huk-L, Monday, 30 May 2005 04:26 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

What are some one-hit wonders in the UK that had long-lasting success in the U.S.?

I was thinking about how the only time anyone mentions Dexy's Midnight Runners in the U.S., it's about "Come On Eileen" and that was their only shot. Whereas, they were more than just that one song in the UK, etc.

I asked Sunny this last night about Australia, how VH-1 will air some special where they say "Midnight Oil released 'Beds Are Burning' and no one ever heard from them again until Peter Garrett became an MP." I threw out John Cougar as a possible candidate, and she surprised me by saying, oh he's a big hit in Australia.

I didn't even think people west of the Mississippi River gave a shit about John Cougar Mellancamp, much less Australia.

― Pleasant Plains, Saturday, 28 May 2011 13:51 (fifteen years ago)

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