# Do one hit wonders generally know they're one hit wonders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 6, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655 "2023-05-06T04:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/161 "2023-05-13T16:52:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Contrast that with drovann’s example of Weird Al This is an example with the hopeless sloppiness of the term “one-hit wonder” and even the term “hit” itself. There are a lot of different music charts in a lot of different countries. There are a lot of numbers that you could say are the lowest point to which a song song must rise to be a hit. They are all arbitrary. I understand the incredibly vague point that someone is trying to make which they use either of the terms, but trying to make the term more defined is pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/162 "2023-05-13T17:22:30Z")
I’ll offer an admittedly arbitrary standard. A hit is something that produces at least ten times the amount of income you normally receive. So if you’re a musician who has a steady career making $50,000 a year and then one of your songs becomes very successful and you make $500,000 from it, that’s your hit. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/163 "2023-05-13T20:09:58Z")
> [@Masterkiller](#): > > I realize its debatable whether or not Quiet Riot should be on this list and a lot of purists will say, “Oh what about the song Metal Health??” and I get that and understand where they are coming from but if you look at the QR from only memory perspective only and remove what song charted where then its clear that QR was a one hit wonder. Well, “Cum on Feel the Noize” and “Metal Health” are pretty much the only two Quiet Riot songs I remember at all. And they’re still regularly played on the local rock station and oldies station here in Little Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/164 "2023-05-13T20:20:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Precisely what “one hit wonder” means is open to some interpretation. As I’ve noted, my friend is not technically a one hit wonder, but is still so overwhelmingly remembered for the one huge hit that they are, in that sense, a one hit wonder. I’d argue that subjective legacy is probably more meaningful than the “well, sure, but they had another song that got to number eight.” Yeah, which is why I won’t ever fight too hard against what others think of as a OHW. I was listening to a podcast the other day about Sarah Bernhardt who was an incredibly famous acress from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The host asked something like, “How is it nobody really knows who she is today?” And the truth is that that most entertainers have a limited shelf life in the public conscience once they’ve died. The fact that any of these people are getting airtime 20, 30, 40+ years after they’ve released their song is actually quite astonishing. But like Bernhardt and entertainers like Fatty Arbuckle and Josephine Baker, they’re going to pretty much fade form memory almost entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/165 "2023-05-13T20:33:21Z")
One of my favorite songs, " Before the Last Teadrop Falls", as popularized by Freddie Fender- I heard, performed by the Songwriter with rights at a retirement park in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/166 "2023-05-13T20:47:43Z")
That’s too bad, his album didn’t sound like just one hit, the whole thing IMO was rather listenable. Right Said Fred, too…The album wasn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/167 "2023-05-13T20:51:06Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Right Said Fred, too…The album wasn’t bad. Having what’s essentially a novelty song as your first big hit is tough. It didn’t help that a lot of listeners didn’t realize Right Said Fred was in on the joke. RSF wasn’t singing about how awesome they were, they were making fun of those kinds of people. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/168 "2023-05-14T03:18:36Z")
And how doea that work? Freddy translated verses to Spanish as part of the song. Spanish or English, does that white guy from Bumfuck, New Jersey who wrote the song still see a piece? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VRdWEpCF5L4/maxresdefault.jpg "Before The Next Teardrop Falls") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRdWEpCF5L4) ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/169 "2023-05-14T04:04:54Z")
My favorite example of the US-centric nature of the OHW appelation. IIRC, a-ha actually had two US top 20 singles - yes, that one, and “The Sun Always Shines on TV” in 1985. I think this is best defined having one song that penetrates the monoculture - and never achieves that milestone again. a-ha have recorded 20 albums, or thereabouts since 1985, played to one of the largest audiences ever at the Rock in Rio festival many years after “Take On Me.” But a-ha have had commercial success around the world, particularly in Europe and South America. Their latest album came out last year. A lot of British bands have one song that penetrates the US monoculture and have tons of UK hits. Rick Astley has been mentioned. Once he dropped the S-A-W production he released an album “Free” that was amazing. I think for many of the bands, they were either barely making a living and the OHW was a nice surprise, and the OHW allowed them a little more leverage and ability to call the shots. Fastball has been mentioned, as has Timbuk 3, and Shawn Colvin, Austin bands/artists that still are around, and I think can make ends meet. A lot of these folks have fanatic fanbases and they’ll always be able to make a living gigging and putting out albums occasionally. Another example is The (English) Beat, who had “Rotating Head” on the Ferris Bueller soundtrack and Save it for Later” around ‘85 - but of course, were consistent hitmakers in the UK. The band then split into two successful bands - Fine Young Cannibals and General Public (the former doing well for at least two albums, the latter for one). Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger created two different Beats - one in the UK with a rotating cast of former members, and one in the US with Wakeling being the only original member. The Beat has a cult following and Wakeling is constantly touring, so I think he’s doing ok financially. There’s always a level of snarkiness about OHWs and I suspect they are the envy of most musicians because they reached the highest level of commercial success. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/170 "2023-05-14T04:31:44Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > Spanish or English, does that white guy from Bumfuck, New Jersey who wrote the song still see a piece? Nashville, actually. And it was a white guy AND a white girl (Ben Peters and Vivian Keith) and yes, they got credit and [royalties](https://soundcharts.com/blog/mechanical-royalties). Very successful songs can eventually be worth decent bank to the songwriters even if they never recorded or performed it themselves. That’s why some folks can get rich just on composing for others. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/171 "2023-05-14T05:03:40Z")
I am going to bactrack, and say that the guy I heard play “Before the next teardrop falls” in Florida was not the songwriter. His claim to fame was that they were the first band to record and release it. Do they have anything? probably not, because under the, the song hand no traction, they faded into obscurity. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/172 "2023-05-14T05:34:31Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > His claim to fame was that they were the first band to record and release it. Wikipedia indicates (though it may or may not be accurate) that the first performer to record the song was a country singer named [Duane Dee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duane_Dee) (who might be the guy you saw; it also says that he now lives in Florida). Dee recorded the in 1968 (seven years before Fender’s recording), and had a minor hit with it (#44 on the country chart). He had a handful of other songs that made the top 100, but yeah, he never really broke through, and it looks like several of his “hits” were songs that are better known for being done by other artists. > **[Before the Next Teardrop Falls (song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_the_Next_Teardrop_Falls_(song))** > > "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" is an American country and pop song written by Vivian Keith and Ben Peters, and most famously recorded by Freddy Fender. His version was a major crossover success in 1975, reaching number one on the Billboard pop and country charts. > The song was written in 1967 and had been recorded more than two dozen times. It had achieved modest success in versions by various performers; the original version by Duane Dee reached number 44 on the Billboard country chart in earl... ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/173 "2023-05-14T06:37:55Z")
Yes! That is him, Duane Dee! He was running the Bluehair Gator Circuit. He was advertising this song in all his promotions. Had a nice little trailer setup. I was drooling over his classic and vintage Fender Guitar ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/174 "2023-05-14T07:23:29Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Well, “Cum on Feel the Noize” and “Metal Health” are pretty much the only two Quiet Riot songs I remember at all. I had to look up _Metal Health_ because it didn’t sound familiar. Pretty sure I’ve never heard it before and I know I’ve never seen the video. And I used to watch Headbangers on MTV all the time. > [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > My favorite example of the US-centric nature of the OHW appelation. IIRC, a-ha actually had two US top 20 singles - yes, that one, and “The Sun Always Shines on TV” in 1985. We had a poster here in the early days that went by the username @aha. While he wasn’t in that band, he was in the band _Five Americans_. They had a No. 5 hit with _Western Union_. Although they had a couple of other songs in the Top 100, I’m guessing anyone that remembers them, remembers them for _Western Union_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/175 "2023-05-14T09:45:38Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Contrast that with drovann’s example of Weird Al, who only had one top ten hit (but Eat It hit number twelve, so he may not qualify.) Smells Like Nirvana was also in the Top 40, as was Word Crimes, which means he did it in the 1980s and in the 1990s and in the 2000s and in the 2010s. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/176 "2023-05-14T15:50:54Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I had to look up _Metal Health_ because it didn’t sound familiar. Pretty sure I’ve never heard it before and I know I’ve never seen the video. And I used to watch Headbangers on MTV all the time. I’m hard pressed to think how anyone who was into metal at all in the 80s would have missed “Bang Your Head,” especially since it had mainstream success making it to #1 on the Billboard charts here in the US. But it’s been a little more than 40 years since it was originally released. While listening to satellite radio shows where they go over the top 20 songs for a given week and year, it isn’t uncommon for me to hear a song I simply don’t remember at all. Either it’s because it’s in a genre I don’t listen to regularly or it’s a song that enjoyed a brief bout of popularity and was promptly forgotten over the years. Of course there’s another problem with billboard charts, they don’t always measure what people are actually listening to. When rap was gaining popularity, MTV didn’t want to play it because it wasn’t the popular music on the charts they were using. And then there’s the songs that radio stations continue to play for whatever reason. The first time I heard “Walk This Way” was when Run DMC released it in 1986 and that’s the one I want to hear, but the stations I listen to only play the original Aerosmith version. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/177 "2023-05-14T16:21:48Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > We had a poster here in the early days that went by the username @aha. While he wasn’t in that band, he was in the band _Five Americans_. Does anybody remember what his name was? I was wondering if he is still alive. Four of the five members of the band are dead: > **[Five Americans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Americans)** > > The Five Americans was a 1960s American rock band, best known for their song "Western Union", which reached number five in the U.S. Billboard chart and was their only single to chart in the Top 20. In Canada, they had three in the Top 20. > The Mutineers formed in Durant, Oklahoma (Southeastern State College) in 1962. The band members crossed paths at the university, and began performing a repertoire of Bo Diddley and Duane Eddy standards within the campus. In 1963, the band recorded their debut s... ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/178 "2023-05-14T16:25:19Z")
> [@Masterkiller](#): > > I believe bands like Quiet Riot with **Cum On Feel the Noise** Never heard of Quiet Riot, but in the UK the writers (Slade) were massive. They had 6 number ones, including a Christmas song which must still pay their bills. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/179 "2023-05-14T17:32:47Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Does anybody remember what his name was? I was wondering if he is still alive. Four of the five members of the band are dead: Based on his last seen date of 2003, his posting history doesn’t rule any of the members out. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655/180 "2023-05-14T17:47:30Z")
Well, I can report that he does identify himself in his AMA, although not directly by name. Sad to say that as of 2022, he’s no longer with us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-one-hit-wonders-generally-know-theyre-one-hit-wonders/983655.md?page=10)