# One Hit Wonders who deserved better **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456 "2011-04-23T14:57:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/81 "2011-04-27T00:27:46Z")
Joe Budden, a rapper best known for his vacuous club hit [Pump it Up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySfwW_xSRU4) is one of my [favorite rappers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuZQxyeAbFM). He’s an extremely talented lyricist with a real depth of emotion, but his name is forever associated with that one song. He never released another major studio album, but he still has a decent-sized following mostly through the release of his 4-part Mood Muzik mixtape series. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/82 "2011-04-27T00:51:03Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Jimmy Eat World deserves more than just “The Middle.” Do they really count if _Chase This Light_ peaked at 5th in album sales at the time? ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/83 "2011-04-27T01:15:09Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > Chumbawamba is my pick. Everyone only knows Tubthumping, but they have a huge catalog and have changed styles several times. Their recent stuff is British folk rock. Listen to the Tubthumper album, then listen to “The Boy Bands Have Won” and you wouldn’t think they’re the same band. The latter album is brilliant, by the way. Came in to say this. Chumabwamba is an excellent band with great range and sharp minds. Tragic that they’ll probably only ever really be known for an intentionally-vapid pop track. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/84 "2011-04-27T02:00:48Z")
Hearing “Send Me on My Way” in an Enterprise car rental ad reminds me that Rusted Root was an awesome (local to me) band for a very long time, and that weirdo fluke hit that they had doesn’t encapsulate who they are and what they can do _at all_. But I don’t think that _they_ care. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/85 "2011-04-27T02:46:26Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Lee Michaels. Do you know what I mean? I do know what you mean. Especially when what you mean is that his self-titled album is one of the best examples of “white guys doing the blues” – tastiest Hammond B3 with a leslie ever. And that was only one of many examples of his talent. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/86 "2011-04-27T02:53:14Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Hearing “Send Me on My Way” in an Enterprise car rental ad reminds me that Rusted Root was an awesome (local to me) band for a very long time, and that weirdo fluke hit that they had doesn’t encapsulate who they are and what they can do _at all_. But I don’t think that _they_ care. Which reminds me of Days of the New: They were a local band that became well-known for a bit, then the lead singer, Travis Meeks, got heavy into drugs and was on A&E’s _Intervention_. ETA: Flaw was another local “band made good.” ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/87 "2011-04-27T12:26:15Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Came in to say this. Chumabwamba is an excellent band with great range and sharp minds. Tragic that they’ll probably only ever really be known for an intentionally-vapid pop track. Indeed. They apparently even feel this way. For those not familiar, on the song **Torturing James Hetfield** from the album _ABCDEFG_, they poke fun at **Tubthumping** being their only hit. The song is a little jazz track about capturing James Hetfield of Metallica, who apparently condoned using loud music to torture Iraqi prisoners, and tortured him by playing certain songs. A snip of the lyrics: \ _well we tried every tune in the songbook to loosen his tongue … then we had an idea a new plan of attack thought that even a deaf man would bend and crack … now look what we’ve brought for you james your favorite disc **it’s Chumbawamba- their greatest hits (there’s only one)** … he cried like a baby and told us everything (it was Lars!)_ ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/88 "2011-05-05T00:27:10Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I’m kicking myself for not thinking of Dada. The album Dizz Knee Land is off of, Puzzle, is my single favorite album that I own. So wonderful that it inspired to go out and buy three more of their albums without having heard a single track off of them. I wholeheartedly agree. That album was a masterpiece. Not just that album, I love almost all their work. I always thought that they should have had so much more success than they did. Even now, almost 20 years after Puzzle was released, I still listen to them. Outside of U2, they’re likely my favorite band of the last 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/89 "2011-05-06T16:15:58Z")
One more vote for Da Da. I often wish that dizz knee land song never made the album. Puzzle was a wonderful album tarnished by it’s most popular song. I would like to add Toad the Wet Sprocket. So much more to them besides that jibberish song about going to the beach. ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/90 "2011-05-06T16:17:30Z")
Oh and I forgot to mention Travis. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/91 "2011-05-06T16:50:07Z")
I think Dream Theater fits this category perfectly. More than 20 years as one of the best prog metal bands ever, but the only song ever to make it on American radio was\* Pull Me Under\*. In fact, when they finally came out with a Best Of album, they named it… [Greatest Hit (…and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hit_%28...and_21_Other_Pretty_Cool_Songs%29) ---
**Author:** ![Koldanar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@Koldanar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koldanar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/92 "2011-05-06T17:20:22Z")
First to mention Fastball? I bought their first album, featuring “The Way” and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Due to their status of OHW, though, I had forgotten about them by the time they released other albums. I rediscovered them when I digitized all my and my Fiance’s collection of CDs, and we both like the album a ton; enough that I may pursue their other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/93 "2011-05-06T19:00:24Z")
> [@Musky\_Moon](#): > > One more vote for Da Da. I often wish that dizz knee land song never made the album. Puzzle was a wonderful album tarnished by it’s most popular song. > > I would like to add Toad the Wet Sprocket. So much more to them besides that jibberish song about going to the beach. There’s three songs from Toad the Wet Sprocket that I still hear on the radio: Walk on the Ocean, All I Want, and Something’s Always Wrong. Those are the only three I know from them though. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/94 "2011-05-06T20:08:31Z")
Also, “Good Intentions” makes it on local radio from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/95 "2011-05-06T23:01:55Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > My vote goes to Deep Blue Something. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was ubiquitous for a while. But that album was full of well-crafted pop songs. Yes! I agree with this one, and I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself when I saw the thread. I really enjoy their album “Home” and I think it’s a shame they didn’t have more hits. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/96 "2011-05-07T14:39:12Z")
Back in the 1980s I would mention liking Sandy Dennyof Fairport Convention to a number of co workers, the AOR (classic rock) crowd. They inevitably said “who?” so I identified her as the woman who duetted with Robert Plant on “Battle of Evermore”. Their eyes would light and they would say “so that’s who that woman is. That is a great song”. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/97 "2011-05-07T15:20:53Z")
There was a lot more to like about **Devo** than _Whip It_. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/98 "2011-05-07T17:32:15Z")
Years ago I watched Austin City Limits on PBS. Los Lobos were playing. Wow! Their typical music is way different than La Bamba. They’re really a blues-rock band. I thought they were great (I can’t remember much, but do remember enjoying it). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/99 "2011-05-07T19:44:35Z")
> [@Musky\_Moon](#): > > Oh and I forgot to mention Travis. I love them, but which of Travis’ singles is considered their one hit? “Driftwood”? “Why Does It Always Rain on Me”? “Sing”? “Side”? “Turn”? I didn’t think any of them were that popular to even count as a hit. > [@Koldanar](#): > > First to mention Fastball? I bought their first album, featuring “The Way” and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Due to their status of OHW, though, I had forgotten about them by the time they released other albums. I rediscovered them when I digitized all my and my Fiance’s collection of CDs, and we both like the album a ton; enough that I may pursue their other stuff. IANAL, but I play one in this thread… Fastball had two hits: “The Way” and the just as popular “Out of My Head.” They’ve had a few other minor hits over the years, but one hit wonders they are not. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456/100 "2011-05-07T23:15:51Z")
I second Chumbawumba and Big Country, and _strongly_ second Devo and Yello, and would like to add Wall of Voodoo and Gary Numan (who at least in the US I think counts as a OHW) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonders-who-deserved-better/579456.md?page=6)