# Favorite one-hit wonders from the '90s. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137 "2009-11-27T15:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/21 "2009-11-27T19:22:33Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Did Jamiroquai ever do anything else besides that song with the head-trip video? In the UK at least Jamiroquai have had a string of successful albums and singles. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/22 "2009-11-27T19:28:57Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > In the UK at least Jamiroquai have had a string of successful albums and singles. Interesting to know, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/23 "2009-11-27T21:34:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Agreed. Sublime had at least four other hits in addition to “Santeria”. There was “What I Got”, “Wrong Way”, “Summertime” and “40oz. to Freedom”. Guess I dropped the ball on that one. I’ve never heard of the last two, but indeed the first two were hits. I just forgot about them. I’m not the first though. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/24 "2009-11-27T21:46:42Z")
One of my favorite bands, and they’ve been around for 20 years+ now, but as far as American radio is concerned, they’re definitely a 1 Hit Wonder Dream Theater - Pull Me Under They even had a little fun with their status by naming their greatest hits album [Greatest Hit (…and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hit_(...and_21_Other_Pretty_Cool_Songs)) ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/25 "2009-11-27T21:49:58Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > Guess I dropped the ball on that one. I’ve never heard of the last two, but indeed the first two were hits. I just forgot about them. I’m not the first though. also Date Rape ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/26 "2009-11-27T21:54:23Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > In the UK at least Jamiroquai have had a string of successful albums and singles. And the infamous dance scene in Napoleon Dynamite was [Canned Heat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGjC0wbUXzk) by them. Not a hit, but they put out 6 albums all together which is more than most one hit wonders can say. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/27 "2009-11-27T22:12:17Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > In the UK at least Jamiroquai have had a string of successful albums and singles. Lead singer Jay Kay is still famous enough to be asked onto Top Gear, and he’s a total gearhead (petrolhead, they say). He’s rich enough to have a stable of fast cars. Look at that list of charting albums: [Jamiroquai - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamiriqui#Discography), or these singles: [Jamiroquai discography - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamiroquai_discography#Singles) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/28 "2009-11-27T22:50:43Z")
[Female of the Species – Space](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-wIvsZBFhQ) [Flagpole Sitta – Harvey Danger](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBgmC_USeoM). Actually, another song off of this album, [Carlotta Valdez](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UrdY6AwSUQ), is one of my favorite songs of that decade. But it never got radio airplay. [And this song is a total guilty pleasure.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx64_N4AA04) Seriously, try watching that video without at least smiling. I dare you. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/29 "2009-11-27T23:13:10Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > [And this song is a total guilty pleasure.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx64_N4AA04) Seriously, try watching that video without at least smiling. I dare you. He has actually [been in several movies](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0577226/). I knew about “Can’t buy me love”, but was surprised to see the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/30 "2009-11-27T23:24:34Z")
(Searching through a list on Wikipedia) “No Myth”–Michael Penn “Kiss Them for Me”–Siouxsie and the Banshees “Baby Got Back”–Sir Mix-a-Lot “Whoomp! There It Is”–Tag Team “Naked Eye”–Luscious Jackson ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/31 "2009-11-27T23:26:20Z")
The Men [Church of logic, sin, and love.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_hC_433Hs4) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/32 "2009-11-28T00:40:55Z")
I’m surprised at the number of artists listed here who aren’t one-hit wonders. Neither of the two bands the OP mentioned are—the Crash Test Dummies had top-ten hits before and after “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”, and as someone already pointed out, the Presidents had “Lump” in addition to “Peaches”. Veruca Salt had “Volcano Girls” in addition to “Seether”, plus a few more minor charting singles. Elastica had a string of hits in the UK, and two top-ten hits in the US. Blind Melon’s “Tones of Home” hit the top ten before “No Rain” reached number one. I’m sure there are more examples but I’m not familiar with most of the artists mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/33 "2009-11-28T00:57:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8;11824543"] Baby Got Back"–Sir Mix-a-Lot [/QUOTE] “Baby Got Back” may have been his only crossover hit, but for those of us who grew up as fans of rap music, that song came rather late in his career. “My Posse’s On Broadway” and the even more popular “My Hooptie” were big hits for him long before. I also vaguely recall him doing a song called “Put 'Em On The Glass” that came out around the same time as “Baby Got Back” which also received airplay. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/34 "2009-11-28T01:32:56Z")
[This is a great listing of one-hit-wonders from the 90’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1990s_one-hit_wonders_in_the_United_States), but it does include a lot of non-one-hit-wonders (Chris Isaak? kd lang? Tom Cochrane? Vince Gill? Seriously?). Wow, blast from the past - [Primitive Radio Gods - “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LKVZ4NTfUc) ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/35 "2009-11-28T01:49:00Z")
One word: **Macarena**. I can’t believe no one has said that yet (or did I miss it?). How about: The Spin Doctors-Two Princes Nada Surf- Popular Soul Asylum- Runaway Train Skee-Lo- I wish Lisa Loeb-Stay Also, that song from that FOX show _The Heights_ “How Do You Talk to an Angel?” Joan Osborne- One of Us Deep Blue Something- Breakfast at Tiffany’s Cake- The Distance Lou Bega- Mambo (ugh) No. 5 Poe- Angry Johnny Divinyls- I Touch Myself And The Rembrandts, of course. Ah, the 90’s. I remember coming home from school in the afternoons and watching that hour of MTV2 they’d show on MTV back then. They showed some good shit on there…and then they’d follow it up with two hours of crap like House of Style or Singled Out. That Wiki list was pretty good but, seriously, how could anyone call Oasis a “one-hit-wonder?” They certainly didn’t become as popular in the US as they were in Britain or Asia, but “Champage Supernova” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” were both hits in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/36 "2009-11-28T02:03:42Z")
Spin Doctors had Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong, Soul Asylum had Somebody to Shove and Black Gold, and Cake had about a billion other singles (No Phone, Short Skirt Long Jacket, Sheep Go To Heaven, a fantastic cover of I Will Survive, and several others I’m forgetting). ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/37 "2009-11-28T02:05:17Z")
Also, I forgot [Lovefool](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuQ0AQ7YWS8). ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/38 "2009-11-28T02:37:39Z")
If defining what a one hit wonder is is throwing people off, the wikipedia article cited here explains it thusly: The list contains recording artists who reached the Top 40 of the U.S. pop chart (the Billboard Hot 100) with just one single. Those in italics are artists with only one Top 40 hit, but either ``` * had other songs chart on genre-specific charts * have had success and influence within their genre or the annals of popular music and/or o a long-lasting and devoted cult following and/or o wider success in other fields of the music industry * if non-American have had wider success in their homeland * are a supergroup made up of artists who were successful and influential in other bands or as solo artists. ``` I saw numerous acts throughout the decades that I would _never_ label as a one hit wonder, but you have to draw the line somewhere, and groups have their whole lives to come up with that second hit too. I thought it was funny to see 5 time Grammy winner Norah Jones on one of those lists. Speaking of those lists (sorry to hijack), I was looking at the 1979 one hit wonder list and saw 2 songs which are almost icons in 80’s music history. Pop Muzik, and Video Killed the Radio Star, commonly known as the first video ever on MTV. Technically they are late 70’s songs, so much for labels. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/39 "2009-11-28T03:06:55Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Also, I forgot [Lovefool](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuQ0AQ7YWS8). Certainly not a one-hit wonder in Europe. They also had “Carnival,” which was vastly superior to “Lovefool,” and a cover of “Iron Man.” Ah, yep, I forgot about “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” one of the most annoying songs I’ve ever heard. I never cared much for The Spin Doctors. Yeah, now I remember that Cake Gloria Gaynor cover, it wasn’t bad at all and was practically a staple of that hour of MTV2 that I mentioned. That and “Mmmmbop” got played every day. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137/40 "2009-11-28T03:20:36Z")
OK, assuming the [Wikipedia list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1990s_one-hit_wonders_in_the_United_States) is authoritative, here are my (arbitrary number) 20 favorite one-hit wonders (US charts) from the 90s: Jump Around - House of Pain (The opening strains are guaranteed to pack any dance floor) Insane in the Brain - Cypress Hill I’m Too Sexy - Right Said Fred (Shut up. I find this song and video hilarious.) Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O’Connor Just a Friend - Biz Markie Joey - Concrete Blonde Wicked Game - Chris Isaak Rush - Big Audio Dynamite Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot Stay - Shakespeare’s Sister I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers No Rain - Blind Melon What Is Love - Haddaway Wonderwall - Oasis Possum Kingdom - Toadies Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla Novocaine for the Soul - Eels The Impression That I Get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground Lullaby - Shawn Mullins [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-one-hit-wonders-from-the-90s/519137.md?page=3)