# One hit wonder groups that had some other decent songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 19, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633 "2021-06-19T15:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/41 "2021-06-20T12:40:24Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > I would even add (Nick Lowe’s) buddy, **Dave Edmunds** , who had one #1 (I Hear You Knocking), but I dig pretty much all of his output. > > Absolutely agreed! Agree as well. If we’re counting the U K. top 40, both Lowe and Edmunds had multiple hits including “Queen of Hearts” for Edmunds, which deserved hit status in the U.S. ( it reached #11 in the U.K.). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/42 "2021-06-20T13:18:45Z")
He’s still at it. And great. That’s his daughter singing backup. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lHomCiPFknY/maxresdefault.jpg "Gary Numan - My Name Is Ruin (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHomCiPFknY) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/43 "2021-06-20T14:09:55Z")
Nick Lowe in top form: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Kn1CXbf2xF8/hqdefault.jpg "Nick Lowe - "I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock And Roll" (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn1CXbf2xF8) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/44 "2021-06-20T15:29:38Z")
I recently discovered this version of Lowe singing Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. I think it’s gorgeous. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XYVShm1MCvQ/hqdefault.jpg "Nick Lowe - What's So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYVShm1MCvQ) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/45 "2021-06-20T15:31:26Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Lowe singing Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding” It’s actually Lowe’s song. Elvis’s (more famous) version is a cover. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/46 "2021-06-20T15:32:38Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I recently discovered this version of Lowe singing Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. Nitpick: It’s the other way around: Nick Lowe wrote the song and recorded it with Brinsley Schwarz in 1974 I think. Elvis Costello and the Attractions covered it in 1978, with Nick Lowe producing. ETA: ninja’d! ---
**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:** [June 20, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/47 "2021-06-20T15:53:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If we’re counting the U K. top 40, both Lowe and Edmunds had multiple hits including “Queen of Hearts” for Edmunds, which deserved hit status in the U.S. ( it reached #11 in the U.K.). I didn’t hear Edmunds’ version of the song until years after Juice Newton had a #2 hit with it in the U.S., and it was even more years later when I learned that Edmunds was the first to record it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/48 "2021-06-20T16:29:32Z")
Glenn Yarbrough basically had one hit, which was _Baby, The Rain Must Fall_. But I love most everything that he’s done and used to have all of his albums. He put a lot of Rod McKuen’s schlocky poems to music and made them great. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/49 "2021-06-20T18:44:59Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > If you weren’t into alt rock you might think Faith No More were a one hit wonder with their cover of _Easy_ . In the US here–this first I have heard of Faith No More recording a song called “Easy”. I mostly remember them for “Epic” and " Falling to Pieces". Most Americans probably think they are one hit wonder for “Epic” because it was their highest charting single in the US. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/50 "2021-06-20T19:09:59Z")
The band **Madness** have been mentioned upthread but further to that I would add this topic illustrates the difference between the US and the UK. Three bands took turns ruling the UK singles charts from the early 70s to the late 80s and all are basically little known if not unknown in the US. From the early 70s were **Slade** with 17 consecutive top 20 hits including **Merry Xmas Everybody** which has been a hit multiple times to this day. In the US, if they are known, it’s because **Quiet Riot** successfully covered a couple of their songs. From the late 70s to the early 80s there was **The Jam** with 18 consecutive top 40 singles including a few that entered the chart at Number 1 in an era when that was rare. When they split 15 reissued singles were all in the top 100 in the same week. In the US the nearest to a hit was **A Town Called Malice**. The main man from **The Jam** , **Paul Weller** , then had further success with the **Style Council** (7 top ten hits) and to this day charts as a Solo Artist. Together with **Lennon** and **McCartney** he’s had a Number 1 Album in each of five decades. **Madness** took over from **The Jam** and ruled the 80s with 15 top 10 hits. In the US usually only **Our House** is known about. TCMF-2L ---
**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:** [June 20, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/51 "2021-06-20T19:21:34Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > From the early 70s were **Slade** with 17 consecutive top 20 hits including **Merry Xmas Everybody** which has been a hit multiple times to this day. In the US, if they are known, it’s because **Quiet Riot** successfully covered a couple of their songs. I’d note that, in the U.S., they were probably best known for “Run Runaway,” their 1983 song which hit #20 on the Billboard chart here. While I agree that they probably got a little exposure here from the Quiet Riot covers, I’d wager that most Americans had no idea that Quiet Riot’s versions were covers. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/52 "2021-06-20T19:36:28Z")
**Run Runaway** is from the second burst of success for **Slade** when they had repositioned themselves as something of a Heavy Rock band. I seem to recall a thread a few years ago about **Run Runaway**. A poster couldn’t recall the band or the song but was haunted by memories of a weird video with bagpipes and gurning (is that term understood in the US?) faces. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/23FjDtbVIkY/hqdefault.jpg "Slade - Run Runaway 1984") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23FjDtbVIkY) TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/53 "2021-06-20T19:37:03Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Danny Elfman released his first solo album ever just the other day. Second. He released _So-Lo_ back in 1984, the single was the minor hit _Gratitude_. Given that the backing musicians were some Oingo Boingo members + Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, this sometimes gets retroactively credited as a Boingo album. But at the time it was definitely released and promoted as an Elfman solo project. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/54 "2021-06-20T19:39:57Z")
Thanks for the correction. I was going from a review I’ve read that stated it was his first solo album. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/55 "2021-06-20T19:43:40Z")
I love all of side one of the **Georgia Satellites** first album. _Keep Your Hands To Yourself_ hit #2 in the US, and was their only Top 40 hit. They got a little more airplay on Album-Oriented Rock stations about a year or two before that radio format was wiped off the face of the earth by Classic Rock aka Boomers Are In Their 40s Now And Refuse To Listen To Any New Shit. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/56 "2021-06-20T19:53:18Z")
You just reminded me of an NPR series I heard on Morning Edition briefly in the pre-pandemic era when I was driving my son to school every morning. > **[One-Hit Wonders / Second-Best Songs](https://www.npr.org/series/796230112/one-hit-wonders-second-best-songs)** > > This series argues that artists who are best-known in the U.S. for one monster hit have much more to offer. They gave their Georgia Satellites shout-out to “Battleship Chains”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/57 "2021-06-20T20:28:12Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > I seem to recall a thread a few years ago about **Run Runaway**. A poster couldn’t recall the band or the song Yep. > [@What video am I not remembering from the early days of MTV?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-video-am-i-not-remembering-from-the-early-days-of-mtv/843595): > > I’m trying to remember a video from the early days of MTV. All I can recall is that it had an Irish or Scottish feel to it and they kept showing a closeup of the lead singer’s face and he kept moving his jaw back and forth. It was kind of creepy. They were probably a one hit wonder but I don’t know that for certain. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/58 "2021-06-20T21:17:38Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Lowe singing Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding” > > It’s actually Lowe’s song. Elvis’s (more famous) version is a cover. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > I recently discovered this version of Lowe singing Elvis Costello’s “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. > > Nitpick: It’s the other way around: Nick Lowe wrote the song and recorded it with Brinsley Schwarz in 1974 I think. Elvis Costello and the Attractions covered it in 1978, with Nick Lowe producing. > > ETA: ninja’d! Of course I knew that. My brain let me down, Again. mmm ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/59 "2021-06-20T22:08:05Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > **Madness** took over from **The Jam** and ruled the 80s with 15 top 10 hits. In the US usually only **Our House** is known about. And I would have thought _It Must Be Love_ is their actual biggest hit. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/60 "2021-06-20T23:01:25Z")
Venturing back to the singer-songwriter era of the early 1970s, **Danny O’Keefe** had a Top 10 million-seller with the single **Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues** , a wistful country-ish folk-ish ballad. It should’ve been good enough to jump-start his career, but for some reason, he never could follow it up with another hit single. Not because he had only one good song in him. Quite the contrary, he was a damn good singer-songwriter whose songs have been covered by dozens of people. His follow-up album, **Breezy Stories** , was IMHO one of the best albums of the 1970s, and was a mixture of folk and rock but leaning more heavily to rock, and featured some of the best side men of the era. (The progression of songs on Side One, and how they fit together, is awesome.) I have several of his LPs and he was a great performer. He was on Atlantic and later Warner Bros., both good labels, but never developed beyond a cult following. He deserved a lot better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633.md?page=4)