# One-album wonders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542 "2010-01-11T19:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/21 "2010-01-11T21:33:53Z")
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/22 "2010-01-11T21:38:15Z")
**Thomas Dolby** - his debut album “The Golden Age of Wireless” had a couple of hits: “She Blinded Me With Science”, “One Of Our Submarines”, and I remember “Europa and the Pirate Twins” getting some airplay at the time. He released at least two more albums in the 80s (maybe more, I lost track of him after that) but that first album is what people remember him for. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/23 "2010-01-11T21:46:54Z")
**Edgar Winter** “They Only Come out at Night” with THAT song. The album is way under-rated, and the only Edgar Winter rock n roll album that I am familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/24 "2010-01-11T22:01:22Z")
Jill Sobule- she had a hit with “I Kissed a Girl” (and arguable a sub-hit with the cover “Supermodel” from the Clueless soundtrack) but her following albums were much better. I still have “Happy Town” on rotation. Indigo Girls-Scored big on their self-titled album with “Closer to Fine” and again went on to a much longer and for the most part ignored career except for their niche of fans. Imani Coppola- Her infectious hit which used a loop from Donovan called "Legend of a Cowgirl " brought her some acclaim. She recorded 7 albums since, was a member of Mike Patton’s band Peeping Tom, and started a new band called Little Jackie. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/25 "2010-01-11T22:04:43Z")
Dave Brubeck, **Time Out**. He made lots of other albums, but this one _broke ground._ Shannon Curfman, **Loud Guitars and Big Suspicions**. This album made a lot of people expect great things from young Miss Curfman, which **Fast Lane Addiction** never quite delivered. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/26 "2010-01-11T22:49:51Z")
\*\*Prince \*\*- Purple Rain? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/27 "2010-01-11T22:52:09Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > \*\*Prince \*\*- Purple Rain? I’d say no. 1999 is not on it. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/28 "2010-01-11T23:04:32Z")
Big Country-- The Crossing Men at Work–Business as Usual ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/29 "2010-01-12T02:20:39Z")
**Electric Warrior** , [Electric Warrior](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Warrior) counts, at least in the US. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/30 "2010-01-12T02:22:24Z")
**Love** - Forever Changes. Number 40 on [Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time](http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time) (and that is _way_ too low in my opinion). Love’s first two albums were nowhere near this good, and they essentially broke up afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/31 "2010-01-12T02:27:58Z")
Natalie Imbruglia had (IIRC) three singles from Left of the Middle and then dropped off the face of the Earth. Ace of Base maybe? ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/32 "2010-01-12T02:40:59Z")
I’d also say that Oasis fits into this category in the US ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/33 "2010-01-12T02:42:36Z")
I thought Christopher Cross was the classic example of this. [Christopher Cross(album)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Cross_%28album%29) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/34 "2010-01-12T02:52:07Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Agents OF Fortune - Blue Oyster Cult - with THAT single > Boston - Debut album - with THAT single > > - Don’t Look Back and Third Stage both did very well for Boston. The two that came after I guess did not. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/35 "2010-01-12T03:52:58Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Do one-and-done projects like \*\*\*Blind Faith \*\*\*count? > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Sure, why not? Then I would like to mention Super Session. Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills and Al Kooper. (No, not Alice!) Very good album. > **[Super Session](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Session)** > > Super Session is an album by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper, with the guitarists Mike Bloomfield on the first half and Stephen Stills on the second half. Released by Columbia Records in 1968, it peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 during a 37-week chart stay and was certified gold by RIAA. > Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield had worked together on the sessions for Bob Dylan's ground-breaking classic Highway 61 Revisited, and played in the backing band for his controversial performa... ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/36 "2010-01-12T04:24:16Z")
The Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack ---
**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:** [January 12, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/37 "2010-01-12T04:36:42Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > The Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack To younger fans, maybe. They had an entire career’s worth of hits before that album, but it did define them in many people’s eyes. **Volume 1** , The Traveling Wilburys. They did release a second album ( **Volume 3** ), but it was without Roy Orbison (who had died shortly after they produced the first album), and it largely vanished without a trace. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/38 "2010-01-12T04:38:45Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > \*\*Prince \*\*- Purple Rain? Wait. What? > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I’d say no. 1999 is not on it. Dirty Mind, Controversy, Around the World in a Day, Sign o’ the Times. This was a joke suggestion, right? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/39 "2010-01-12T04:40:32Z")
**Layla** by Derek and the Dominoes, then. **Aquashow** by Elliot Murphy. At the time, he was hailed as the next Bob Dylan, but he never produced anything of note afterwards. **Tubular Bells** by Mike Oldfield. He did other albums, and has his fans, but never reached the same level. **Climbing** by Mountain. Big hit when it first came out, but their later albums were all disappointing. **Elephant Mountain** by the Youngbloods. That’s a bit of a stretch – their hit single, “Get Together” was on an earlier record – but the group never really lived up to the critical acclaim of **Elephant Mountain.** **Alone Together** by Dave Mason and **John B. Sebastian** by John Sebastian. They both had hits from other albums (“We Just Disagree” and “Welcome Back”), but no album they did ever lived up to the standard. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542/40 "2010-01-12T04:57:57Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I’d also say that Oasis fits into this category in the US Surprisingly, they had 5 Top 25 albums in the US, including three top 5s. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Definitely Maybe is not one of the albums (that peaked at #58). That said, while Morning Glory is their big one, I think many people would recognize songs off Definitely Maybe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-album-wonders/524542.md?page=3)