# One-Hit Wonders, the Best of the Best - Pick your favorite **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983 "2018-09-26T23:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [September 26, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/1 "2018-09-26T23:01:37Z")
These are the top 10 vote getters in the one-hit wonder poll found [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=862665#post21230997). Let’s settle this once and for all. You get just one vote. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/2 "2018-09-26T23:07:35Z")
I was veering toward **Spirit in the Sky** , an old favorite, but my heart made me go with the perfect **City of New Orleans**. mmm ---
**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:** [September 26, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/3 "2018-09-26T23:08:27Z")
I voted “I Melt With You,” but it was a tough decision between that, “Take On Me” and “My Sharona.” I love “City of New Orleans,” but only listen to (and really know) the Steve Goodman version. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/4 "2018-09-26T23:33:27Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I was veering toward **Spirit in the Sky** , an old favorite, but my heart made me go with the perfect **City of New Orleans**. > mmm Both are great choices and real OHW. The Kingsmen and Aha are not One Hit Wonders. What’s next? Let’s all vote in\* She Loves You\*- Beatles- best One Hit Wonder! ---
**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:** [September 27, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/5 "2018-09-27T00:57:44Z")
So it turns out that Norman Greenbaum is still performing at the age of 75. And he looks [pretty much like you’d expect him to look](http://spiritinthesky.com/index.html). mmm ---
**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:** [September 27, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/6 "2018-09-27T16:47:06Z")
Had to go with “I Melt With You” - that one always triggers memories of the high school French Club Ski trip. Eyes locking while she and I were both mouthing the words along with the radio… (sigh) “My Sharona” and “Wipe Out” are more favorite songs, but I can’t bring myself to consider either from a one-hit wonder. I still remember “Good Girls Don’t” and “Surfer Joe” getting a lot of airplay, in “Surfer Joe”'s case on oldies stations a good 15 years after its release. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/7 "2018-09-28T13:21:18Z")
Well, I own 2 of them on vinyl from when they came out, which makes them favourites by definition! So it was between Soft Cell and Norman Greenbaum. In the UK, though, Soft Cell had several other hits so I’ve never considered them as OHws, so\* Spirit in the Sky\* it is. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/8 "2018-09-28T13:47:56Z")
It was a choice between Norman and the Surfaris, for me. The fuzz pedal won out this week. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/9 "2018-09-28T13:52:11Z")
I just can’t consider Arlo Guthrie a one hit wonder, so I will got with Norman Greenbaum. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/10 "2018-09-28T13:52:21Z")
I could happily listen to almost all the pop songs on the list but only **City of New Orleans** has a truly lasting quality in my eyes (or ears) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/11 "2018-09-28T17:55:36Z")
That was very hard. I feel bad for the three I didn’t pick. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/12 "2018-09-28T18:01:35Z")
“Take On Me” was the highest-rated choice in the world-famous **Ponch8 Music Rating System**. I also considered “City of New Orleans.” A couple of the other early-'80s songs are fine songs (“Tainted Love,” “Come On Eileen”), but I’ve just heard them too often to really love them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/13 "2018-09-28T18:07:21Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > “Take On Me” was the highest-rated choice in the world-famous **Ponch8 Music Rating System**. Yes, it’s a fine song, but not a One Hit Wonder. It doesn’t belong here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/14 "2018-09-28T18:17:57Z")
This was a no-brainer for me, since “Come On Eileen” was the only song I voted for in the first poll that made it over into this one. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/15 "2018-09-28T18:29:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, it’s a fine song, but not a One Hit Wonder. > > It doesn’t belong here. By your definition. By popular definition, it does seem to fit, given that every major list of one-hit numbers out there has it on their list. One can nitpick a list like this to death. Is a-ha a “one-hit” wonder because they had another song that charted that almost nobody remembers (and it only got as high as #20–though listening to it, it does sound vaguely familiar.) Is “Melt With You” even a “hit” to qualify on a one-hit wonder list, as it barely broke the top 80, and didn’t even make the Top 40, much less top ten? Is “City of New Orleans” a one-hit wonder, even though “Alice’s Restaurant,” I’d bet, is almost as well-known and connected to Arlo Guthrie? At least he wrote that song. And so on. Wikipedia’s definition is pretty reasonable, and works to fit a lot of these: > [@](#): > > A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity and success for a very short period of time, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. Clearly “one-hit wonder” doesn’t have as exact a meaning as “band who only had one song chart in the top 5/10/20/40, etc.” ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/16 "2018-09-28T19:04:09Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I just can’t consider Arlo Guthrie a one hit wonder, so I will got with Norman Greenbaum. I definitely agree with the Arlo part of your post. I guess I just have a fundamental problem with the poll’s definition of a One Hit Wonder. To me, a One Hit Wonder refers to a song and an artist who appeared out of nowhere, became a hit, and more or less disappeared. And as far as I recall this description fits most of the acts in the poll. But not Arlo Guthrie. Hell, in the original suggestion thread for the poll, people were nominating not only him, but acts like the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills, & Nash. That’s pushing it way too far for me. Although, in the end I still voted for _City of New Orleans_. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/17 "2018-10-13T19:17:50Z")
Rather than getting caught up in the technicalities of what constitutes a one-hit wonder, I simply went with my favorite song on the list, “City of New Orleans”. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/18 "2018-10-14T12:20:26Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Rather than getting caught up in the technicalities of what constitutes a one-hit wonder, I simply went with my favorite song on the list, “City of New Orleans”. I’ve heard this song hundreds of times. It randomly popped up on my playlist yesterday and it sounded fresh and perfect still. I’ll never tire of it. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/19 "2018-10-14T12:43:14Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I was veering toward **Spirit in the Sky** , an old favorite, but my heart made me go with the perfect **City of New Orleans**. > mmm I intended to vote for _Take on me_ but remembered that **A-ha** had had other hits, something I pointed out in your first thread. Since at least [one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz1S4C1ykpA) of these was an even better song, I decided to pick another entry. _Tainted Love_ was a tempting choice as it reminded me of my first nights out, dancing “ironically” to it in the early '90s. But I don’t really like it much anymore, even ironically. _Video Killed the Radio Star_ was another serious contender. I still like that song quite a bit, but I’m not sure it’s that well-known anymore to be named “best one-hit wonder of all time”. The crown ultimately went to _Come on Eileen_. A tune that’s still fun and still catchy from a very forgettable band : the Queen of one-hit wonders. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983/20 "2018-10-14T12:58:00Z")
Hunting High and Low didn’t even show up on the US charts, so far as I can tell. If we’re including international charts, then Dexy’s definitely cannot be a one-hit band, as they’ve had a couple number ones in the UK, a couple more top tens, and a number of other charters. I personally would not characterize them as “forgettable” except from a US context, perhaps. They were a solid band. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-the-best-of-the-best-pick-your-favorite/821983.md?page=2)