A novelty song is one that’s got some sort of gimmick and though not required is often comedic in nature. “Disco Duck” and “The Streak” would qualify, as would Julie Brown’s “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” or “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett. Weird Al has made a career out of novelty songs. But most one hit wonders aren’t novelty songs. “No Rain” by Blind Melon, “My Sharona,” by The Knack, and “Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne aren’t really novelty songs. (“No Rain” might be an exception given everyone was all a buzz about the little girl in the bee costume who appeared in the video on MTV.)
We still have novelty hits though. I’d argue that Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It” are novelty songs. But it’s a little more difficult to find recent examples of one hit wonders because it takes some time to see if an artist might have another hit. Even “over the hill” acts might suddenly find themselves with a hit. If you had told people in 1987 that the Beach Boys were going to have a big hit soon you probably would have been laughed at.
If only. They might not show up on Billboard charts, but millions of views on YouTube or TikTok are the modern equivalent, and then some (i.e., even more popularly consumed). Just one example:
I remember reading an interview with Goyte when his “Somebody That I Used To Know” song was getting a lot of airplay (best selling song of 2012). He said he was surprised at the popularity and he realized that he likely would never have another song which was as big as it. He seemed to realize that that specific song resonated with pop culture at that moment, but wasn’t necessarily an indication that his music was popular. So in his case, he seemed to realize that song was a one-hit-wonder and he wasn’t expecting to continue being on the top of the charts.
Yes — just one more example, this one not a recycled older song, but one composed and performed by the person who created the video (and so, closer to our traditional idea of a “novelty song”) — but again, despite millions of people enjoying and consuming it, it may not have appeared in Billboard’s charts (like the previous poster, I’d also thought of “Old Town Road” as truly a Billboard-smash recently novelty song):
And he was right, they didn’t. Most musical acts have a limited shelf life when it comes to creativity and relevance. If an act doesn’t change over the years they risk getting stale and having their fans abandon them. If an act does change they also risk fans abandoning them because they don’t like the new sound. Most artists aren’t like Madonna who has continued to evolve over the last forty years while remaining very popular. I like Billy Joel quite a bit, but during an interview he said something like, “Nobody wants to hear new music from me. They just want to hear the songs they love.”
That’s a good point. There are a lot of internet hits I’ve never heard of because I just don’t frequent those sites. I only just learned who MrBeast was within the last few months. He’s not a singer, but an incredibly popular Youtuber with more than 100,000,000 subscribers. Despite being on Youtube for years, I’ve never seen a single video and only have a vague idea of what he’s all about. I’m just old and out of touch so the algorithim never lead me to his content. And the same is likely true of a lot of viral videos, especially anything on TikTok.
In the 1960s there were a lot of one-hit-wonders. Sometimes they might have a second. I’m sure these people thought they were on the way to major stardom at the time. There’s nothing wrong with being remembered for one or two songs. That’s more than most of us could ever hope to achieve.
Worse than being a OHW are the people signed to a record deal and never crack the charts. What a crushing disappointment that must be. In my neck of the woods, there was a local band that signed with a major record label in the 1960s. These guys were great musically, had two strong songwriters and played as the opening act at some of the biggest venues on the east coast. Their debut single was as good or better than anything on the radio at that time, yet it went nowhere. Despite being a major label, their record company completely dropped the ball on them. Looking back, this label had a history of signing promising local bands, maybe scoring a hit or two (or more often than not, none) with them, and then dropping them.
I later had a passing acquaintance with one of the two leaders of the band. He loved telling stories about their time on the road and as far as I could tell, looked back on the whole experience fondly. But I wouldn’t blame him if in the back of his mind he had to think what might have been had the record company done a better job of promoting them.
I know I used the word success in my OP and that may have been a mistake. I understand there are plenty of musicians (or actors or writers) who have successful mid-level careers where they make a comfortable living with their craft.
My question is what happens to these people when their level of success suddenly takes a massive leap upwards. Do they generally assume that this change is a permanent one or do they assume they will return to their previous level?
Let’s say you’re a musician and you’ve been playing for ten years or so. You’re doing well and you make around fifty thousand dollars a year on average. Then one of your songs becomes a massive hit and suddenly you have a million dollars in your bank account. Do you treat this like a one-time windfall and do things like paying off your mortgage and putting money in your kid’s college fund? Or do you feel that you should now start living a millionaire lifestyle and go out a buy a mansion and a yacht?
This is Denny Zager’s response (of Zager and Evans) when asked if he predicted In the Year 2525 would become such a hit after its release:
No one expects something like that. Time Magazine actually featured us in their magazine, and wrote “The Beatles would be jealous.” Who would have believed two farm boys from Nebraska would have the No. 1 hit in the world and have Time magazine saying the Beatles would be jealous! I couldn’t have dreamed it.
Not only was In the Year 2525 a one-hit wonder, it was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. Has any other one-hit wonder beaten this record? (Pardon the pun.)
Norman Greenberg hit it big with Spirit in the Sky." When asked recently if it bothered him to be a one-hit wonder, he replied, “That song bought me a house. And a summer house. And a boat.”
One big hit is like an annuity: it can make you immortal. As long as you don’t blow it on drugs and other stuff, like Hammer, it can give you a very nice career as well.
As said, even a OHW can have a great career, and draw large crowds even years after the hit.
The Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen had a huge hit in 2011 with “Call Me Maybe”. Since then she’s not had much success on the US charts. However, she played a show last year in Berkeley which drew about 8000 people.
Burton Averre of The Knack says he makes north of $100,000 and south of $300,000 each year from “My Sharona.” He went on to say that because of that song, he’ll “probably never have the wolves at his door.” i.e. He’s pretty much set for life.
If you just go by charts then The Greatful Dead wouldn’t seem all that successful. But so far as I know, they really made bank by touring. The only Greatful Dead song I can even name is “Touch of Grey,” are they technically one hit wonders?
Or both at the same time. I can see for family, friends, and especially band members, staff, crew, etc. maintaining the “This is it, We’re goin’ all the way!” attitude outwardly may be necessary, while at the same time there can be that associated anxiety from knowing it could all end tomorrow. It’s not just in music either, people can become overnight superstars in sports and other forms of entertainment, and pretty much any aspect of life that can gain popular attention. Some folks have the sense to handle it and ride it through to great heights or back down to earth again. Others can let it take nest in their heads and set themselves up for what I call ironic karma. One day you and your 8 kids are television stars, or you’re called the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, or billionaires are throwing money at you because you say you invented some kind of blood test that only requires a finger prick instead of drawing blood, and then next thing you know you’re hearing the loud sound of shattering glass as your bubble implodes.
Timbuk 3 had their one hit wonder moment with The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades. They had five more albums after the first with their hit song, so certainly successful working musicians, even if they never broke out.
A few years after Future’s So Bright they released B-Side of Life which looks back at being a one hit wonder with the theme that they’re glad they didn’t stay famous, as it was too much trouble, and the simple things make them happy.
Once I got lucky: I had a band
We had a song it got to number three
Made lots of money. made lots of friends
Had lots of pretty people hanging round me
Now all I want is a place to hide
To feel safe from the chaos outside
Of course the lyrics in a song don’t necessarily reflect the true feelings of the writer and performer, but if nothing else it’s a nice bit of fan service that to me says “hey, we’re happy playing in this small club for you!”
Long time deadhead here so I have a bias. Truckin was a minor hit but ToG was the only big one. They’re not a pop band so they’re not in the same category where they could be a OHW or not.
The Universe has a really hard-ass sense of humor to grant those folks an OHW, but also decree that particular song to be the one. Talk about naming a prophecy to make it fail!
