Sometimes an artist who is considered really bad or mediocre will come up with a really decent song. Sometimes it gets recognized as such, but sometimes it goes unknown because people couldn’t get past their image of the artist.
Can you think of any of these? Did bands like Air Supply, or Abba, or MOR artists like Kenny G ever do anything you’d consider really good?
I wouldn’t consider singers like Van Morrison or Don McLean to count, because both of them have gotten a lot of critical respect even if couldn’t translate it into lasting popularity.
An obvious one for me would be John Denver. Most people thought his music was vapid because he wrote so many sugary ballads, but he had a couple of great songs like “Rocky Mountain High” and “Calypso” that are just first rate songs.
Another for me would be Jim Stafford. He was mostly a joke comedian, doing clever little songs like “My Girl Bill” and “Cow Patti”, but he had a couple of early hits that were quite decent - especially “The Swamp Witch”. And of course, cows with guns.
Given the number of albums they’ve sold, their following, and even the retro bands, ABBA is a far stronger presence in musical history than you give them credit for. Don’t sell Kenny G short, either. He’s a talented musician who has no problem packing a coliseum for a show.
We all know that the musical graveyard is filled with one-hit-wonders, but those two aren’t. Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (Captain Hook was a pirate, arrr!) also got some mileage out of Sylvia’s Mother, so they’re a half step above one-hit.
For some reason, I always think of Mungo Jerry-In the Summertime when it comes to bands that were 1 and done.
There are a few artists for whom this is true for me, personally.
The most striking one (which, obviously, not many people share) is Smashing Pumpkins. I think “Rhinocerous” is one of the best rock and roll songs ever recorded; the rest of their ouvre ranges from mediocre to unlistenable (to me).
There were a couple of songs from Mariah Carey’s “MTV Unplugged” album that I thought were not bad, in an old-school soul kind of way. I have never heard anything else from her that was anything short of insipid.
Abba are pop gems. I can’t believe they’re mentioned in the same sentence as Kenny G! :eek: I tend to be a music snob with tastes towards the obscure, but Abba have done so many great tunes, it amazes me that anyone would dismiss them out-of-hand. They are an exceptional band, and one of the best pop bands of the 70s.
There are very few artists that only have one good song that I have also heard enough from that I can tell if they are a misunderstood one hit wonder or truly a “lame artist who made one good song.”
Why is this? I try to only buy albums when I like the majority of the songs on them. I steer clear of obvious one hit wonders for that reason.
But there are a couple groups who I’ve heard enough to qualify:
SR-71: Right Now
the Refreshments: Banditoes (their theme to KotH notwithstanding.)
Chumbawamba: Amnesia
Fun Lovin’ Criminals: Scooby Snack Song.
Quite a BIT better than that, actually. While “Sylvia’s Mother” and “Cover of Rolling Stone” were both big hits, Dr. Hook scored again in the late 70s with two songs you canNOT get out of your head: “When You’re In Love With a Beautiful Woman” and “Sharing The Night Together.” In addition, their country-tinged pop sound was a staple for country music lovers, covering Waylon Jennings song “Clyde” Waylon & Jessi Colter’s song “Storms” and a couple of songs written by Shel Silverstein.
Sorry, Sam…you know I’m usually in agreement with you on most things, but I gotta take up for Van Morrison here. That guy is a great musician with tons of albums on his resume that are filled with good songs. He’s not a prolific hit-maker, a la Elton John, but he’s done a lot of good music and he’s been selling albums since the mid-sixties.
Those sound like run of the mill one-hit wonders. Most of those songs wouldn’t be considered great - just popular.
Starving Artist said:
That’s what I meant. Van Morrison doesn’t quality because even though he had only one big hit, he’s still a great songwriter.
What I meant were the bands who clearly didn’t have either talent or much to say, but for one or two songs rose above themselves and knocked something out of the park. I don’t care if it was a hit, just something of really high quality where usually there is none. Don McLean and Van Morrison don’t count because they both did LOTS of stuff of very high quality.