# Bands with the most material, known only for one song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324 "2017-07-28T14:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/241 "2017-08-09T17:25:03Z")
Re: Offspring. Did everyone just black out their execrable Ob-La-Di ripoff “Get a Job”? I think it may have been more popular than any of the songs mentioned. (“Self-Esteem” is the one I associate most with them.") And as for Beck, there’s just so many. The one I hear all the time on the radio these days is “Girl.,” though " Where It’s At" is pretty close, too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/242 "2017-08-09T17:28:50Z")
Sorry, I meant " Pretty Fly for a White Guy" as being perhaps the most well known of the Offspring bunch. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/243 "2017-08-09T17:30:30Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Ventures. > > They are known today for one song – the _Hawaii 5-0_ theme. > > According to Wikipedia, they’ve released over 200 albums and over 60 singles in their career and claim to be the best selling instrumental group of all time. They pretty much invented surf music, but they only had the two hits, and only one is known to most people today. Versions of the group are still touring, though only one original member seems to be involved. They’re still massively influential among musicians. Have you ever heard of “Walk Don’t Run”? The ventures are almost synonymous with every instrumental from the era: Telstar, Apache, on and on. They covered it all and for most of them the ventures is the only name I associate with them even when they weren’t the original artist. And when I think of Hawaii 5-0 I just think TV. I’m not even sure the ventures did the theme from the show. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/244 "2017-08-09T17:39:18Z")
I actually did not realize the Ventures did the Hawaii 5-0 theme. When I think Ventures, I think “Walk Don’t Run,” “Pipeline,” perhaps “Wipeout” (although the Surfaris version is the one that usually got played round here.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/245 "2017-08-09T18:51:22Z")
My point about the Ventures is that the songs are never played on the air today (other than "Hawaii 5-0). If you ask any music fan under 50, they would only know the one song. As for associations, “Telstar” is the Tornadoes, “Pipeline” is the Chantays, and “Wipeout” is the Surfaris. The most popular version of “Apache” was by the Shadows, and didn’t even chart for the Ventures. Hell, more people probably associate Herb Alpert with “Walk Don’t Run” than the Ventures. Yes, they did them, but only Ventures fans recognize it. For the average music fan, “Hawaii 5-0” is all they know. According to Wikipedia, only “Walk Don’t Run” and “Hawaii 5-0” made the top ten (none of the other ones mentioned made the top 40). Only two other songs made the top 40. No one under 50 has ever heard of them. They are great musicians, but no one under 50 has ever heard of them, and the only song that they’d be familiar with is “Hawaii 5-0.” Given the fact they have put out hundreds of albums, most people know nothing about their work. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/246 "2017-08-09T18:58:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > My point about the Ventures is that the songs are never played on the air today (other than "Hawaii 5-0). If you ask any music fan under 50, they would only know the one song. I’m definitely under 50 and I know all those songs. I bet my music fan friends do, as well. They are a legendary band. Like I said, I had no idea they even did the Hawaii Five-0 theme song. (Heck, just searching my Facebook feed, I see one post from the last two months specifically about the Ventures version of Tel-Star from one of my friends, also 42.) ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/247 "2017-08-09T19:29:02Z")
I see they were briefly brought up on the first page, but Phish is worth another mention. They just finished a run of 13 nights at Madison Square Garden to nearly sold out crowds and never repeated a song. I would argue that they aren’t known for only one song - they aren’t known for _any_ songs. A minority of people could probably come up with a Phish song if they really thought about it, but most people wouldn’t be able to. They’ve never really had a radio hit in the 35 years they’ve been around. Here’s a [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ_-8mMbUu0FWIC4wABzxwx6VXNPZgJMD_gz-B-warTfN078J3Y1WlYStwnt-R-KrpU-saX0W2DWnkH/pubhtml?gid=1718107594&single=true) with every song Phish has ever performed along with what was played at the recent MSG shows. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/248 "2017-08-10T12:21:53Z")
Phish – excellent choice. I think of their 1994 album _Hoist_ as sort of the equivalent of Radiohead’s _OK Computer_ or Pink Floyd’s _Dark Side of the Moon_, or maybe Frank Sappa’s _Apostrophe_ – that one album that even many non-fans might like, and that came closest to having a few songs enter the general consciousness, but other than that, the band is appreciated more for what they represent musically and artistically rather than for any song (Pink Floyd does have some actual songs in the general consciousness, that’s true.) ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/249 "2017-08-10T12:43:08Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > I see they were briefly brought up on the first page, but Phish is worth another mention. They just finished a run of 13 nights at Madison Square Garden to nearly sold out crowds and never repeated a song. I would argue that they aren’t known for only one song - they aren’t known for _any_ songs. I’ve heard of Phish and know they have a traveling, rabid fan base similar to what Grateful Dead had years ago. But I don’t know a single song of theirs. I just did a web search and listened to snippets of their “best known” songs. I don’t know any of them, and don’t understand the appeal. But, whatever floats your boat. Selling out 13 shows in one city, even NYC, is insane. Particularly for a band with no hits or singles. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/250 "2017-08-10T13:14:01Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I’ve heard of Phish and know they have a traveling, rabid fan base similar to what Grateful Dead had years ago. But I don’t know a single song of theirs. > > I just did a web search and listened to snippets of their “best known” songs. I don’t know any of them, and don’t understand the appeal. But, whatever floats your boat. > > Selling out 13 shows in one city, even NYC, is insane. Particularly for a band with no hits or singles. The songs are vehicles for exploration and transitions between songs. I am not a jam band guy, and I can’t handle the poor vocal work that goes along with the music, but there is nothing like the musicianship at a Phish concert. Interesting and impressive. I totally get why they don’t have songs out there in the public consciousness. They are very different from the Dead, but both are more about the experience than the music. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/251 "2017-08-10T13:32:17Z")
Albert Hammond is best known for a song that didn’t chart: It Never Rains in Southern California. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/252 "2017-08-10T14:52:23Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Phish – excellent choice. I think of their 1994 album _Hoist_ as sort of the equivalent of Radiohead’s _OK Computer_ or Pink Floyd’s _Dark Side of the Moon_, or maybe Frank Sappa’s _Apostrophe_ – that one album that even many non-fans might like, and that came closest to having a few songs enter the general consciousness, but other than that, the band is appreciated more for what they represent musically and artistically rather than for any song (Pink Floyd does have some actual songs in the general consciousness, that’s true.) _Hoist_ is actually when I first learned of Phish. Freshman year college, 1993. I’m struggling to think what song the average radio listener might know. The local modern rock station (WXRT) would play “Backwards Down the Number Line” fairly regularly a few years back. Also, “Heavy Things.” ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/253 "2017-08-10T16:46:28Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Albert Hammond is best known for a song that didn’t chart: It Never Rains in Southern California. It made #5 in the US. It just didn’t hit in britain. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/254 "2017-08-10T16:50:43Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > It made #5 in the US. > > It just didn’t hit in britain. Thanks for that. I wasn’t worried enough to actually look it up, but I was pretty sure that song had to have charted pretty high. It was everywhere for a year or two. And I hated it… then and now. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/255 "2017-08-10T17:18:36Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Thanks for that. I wasn’t worried enough to actually look it up, but I was pretty sure that song had to have charted pretty high. It was everywhere for a year or two. And I hated it… then and now. I just remember it never stopped playing. There was no way that wasn’t on some chart. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/256 "2017-08-11T17:19:41Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Do you think you’re mainstream in this or an outlier? I’m not sure if you were referring to my comment on _Chicago_’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” or what I said about _The Eagles_. In terms of the first, it appears I’m an outlier in this thread (which is why I originally mentioned it), no idea about the world in general. For the second, I personally like The Eagles and can name several of their hits, I was suggesting that in the UK, the average ‘man in the street’ would struggle to come up with anything other than “Hotel California”. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > This didn’t sound right to me, so I looked it up. Eagles have had seven top 40 hits in the UK, their songs have spent 37 weeks in the top 40, and they have NINE albums that hit the top 10 in the UK. In fact, only three of their original albums DIDN’T make the top 10 in the UK (On the Border, Desperado, and Hell Freezes Over). > > The first album to hit the UK top 10 was “One of These Nights” in 1975. The last album they made, “Long Road out of Eden” in 2007, went to #1 in the UK. > > That’s about as far from a one-hit wonder as you can get. That’s fair comment, I was interpreting the OP as bands that are now only known for one song, rather than how many hits they had in their prime. Among music fans (i.e. people that actually buy singles/albums), I agree The Eagles are not the best answer to the OP in any location. I just thought they fit the criteria as I saw them. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/257 "2017-08-12T04:44:35Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > **Warren Zevon**. Most people only know him for Werewolves of London. But he was putting out great records from the 1970’s until the day he died. Most Zevon fans would not say Werewolves was his best work, or even in their personal top 5 favorite Zevon songs. > > Btw, we just passed the 10th anniversary of his death. I agree. I would think people may gave heard “Lawyers, Guns and Money” at some point but probably didn’t know who the artist was. “Werewolves” isn’t anywhere near Zevon’s best work. Personally, my favorite is “Desperadoes Under the Eaves.” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”,“The French Inhaler”, “Mohammed’s Radio”, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, “Carmelita”, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”, “Excitable Boy”, “Accidentally Like a Martyr”, “Play It All Night Long”…the list goes on. Actually, the 14th anniversary of his death will be September 7th of this year. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/258 "2017-08-12T07:36:52Z")
That would be very close to my list as well. But the quality of his music never diminished. “Life’ll Kill Ya” is a great album. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/259 "2017-08-12T18:20:23Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > I agree. I would think people may gave heard “Lawyers, Guns and Money” at some point but probably didn’t know who the artist was. > “Werewolves” isn’t anywhere near Zevon’s best work. Personally, my favorite is “Desperadoes Under the Eaves.” > “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”,“The French Inhaler”, “Mohammed’s Radio”, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, “Carmelita”, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”, “Excitable Boy”, “Accidentally Like a Martyr”, “Play It All Night Long”…the list goes on. > > Actually, the 14th anniversary of his death will be September 7th of this year. Accidental Martyr: Here is a shot of one of my motos. Pay attention to the sticker on the top box. 😃 [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/PFhM7Gr.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/zyIDH) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324/260 "2017-08-13T03:30:55Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Accidental Martyr: Here is a shot of one of my motos. Pay attention to the sticker on the top box. 😃 > > [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://imgur.com/a/zyIDH) Cool! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-the-most-material-known-only-for-one-song/792324.md?page=14)