# Relatively Obscure Bands With One or Two Instantly Recognizable Hits **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021 **Category:** Cafe Society **Created:** [November 10, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021 "2008-11-10T11:10:44Z") **Posts on this page:** 20 **Page:** 3
### Author: ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/41 "2008-11-11T05:10:02Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Safety Dance by Men Without Hats. > > Did they even write any other songs? 😉 Yes. “Pop Goes the World” which I’ve been trying to find to buy for a reasonable price. ---
### Author: ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/42 "2008-11-11T05:28:15Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > I came in here just to mention the band “Toad the Wet Sprocket.” Most people, I believe, wouldn’t recognize the band name, bug just \*might \*recognize their few hits. These include “Walk on the Ocean” and “All I Want.” I totally freaked out my older brother by including a TTWS CD when he asked for some music to rip for his children who were just “discovering” music. They’re from Santa Barbara. Glen Phillips still plays around town. The name comes from some Monty Python reference that I don’t particularly remember. I wanted to mention Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen”. ---
### Author: ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/43 "2008-11-11T07:40:13Z")
When I go to find songs, I’m often amazed by the other songs by the guy I was looking for one song from. I think anyone over 30 would recognize all of these songs, but the bands have been all but forgotten. Alan Parsons Project - Don’t Answer Me, Time, Eye In The Sky, Where Do We Go From Here Ambrosia - Baby Come Back, How Long Has This Been Going On, That’s How Much I Feel, You’re The Only Woman, You’re The Biggest Part of Me Billy Squier - My Kinda Lover, You Know What I Like, Everybody Wants You, Rock Me Tonight, In The Dark, Emotions in Motion, The Stroke Jerry Reed - East Bound and Down (from Smokey and the Bandit), Guitar Man, She Got the Gold Mine (I Got the Shaft) Robbie Dupree - Hot Rod Hearts, Steal Away Poco - Crazy Love, Heart of the Night, Call It Love XTC - Making Plans for Nigel, Generals and Majors, Dear God, Senses Working Overtime ---
### Author: ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/44 "2008-11-11T09:01:58Z")
Warren Zevon. He had a fantastic career with a whole catalog of great songs, but to most people, his career begins and ends with “Werewolves of London”, and most people could name that song in the first two notes. ---
### Author: ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/45 "2008-11-11T13:54:13Z")
bearflag70 has the wrong songs for some of the bands 😉 Aztec Camera - **Somewhere In My Heart** The Stranglers - **Golden Brown** Godley & Creme - **Under Your Thumb** ---
### Author: ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/46 "2008-11-11T14:00:54Z")
A few other ones that I don’t think have been mentioned yet: Wallflowers - ‘One Headlight’ Dishwalla - ‘Counting Blue Cars’ Meredith Brooks - ‘Bitch’ Kim Carnes - ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ Europe - ‘The Final Countdown’ ---
### Author: ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/47 "2008-11-11T15:34:53Z")
Crash Test Dummies - “Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm” and “The Superman Song.” ---
### Author: ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/48 "2008-11-11T15:52:29Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > Okay, those two statements are causing me some cognitive dissonance. Really? You can’t name any other Bruce Cockburn songs? I’d better you’d know them if you heard them. Okay, well wait, maybe depending on how old you are. Certainly if you were the right age from the 80s, I’d think that you’d remember _If I Had a Rocket Launcher,_ and _Waiting for a Miracle_. Or ‘Musical Friends’, ‘Goin’ to the Country’, ‘Burn, Baby, Burn’ and especially ‘Wonderin’ Where the Lions Are’… from the '70s. ---
### 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: [November 11, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/49 "2008-11-11T15:57:13Z")
> [@bluecanary](#): > > A few other ones that I don’t think have been mentioned yet: > > Wallflowers - ‘One Headlight’ Believe it or not, The Wallflowers actually had a ton of charting singles that I still hear today. Besides “One Headlight” there’s “6th Avenue Heartache”, “The Difference”, “Three Marlenas” and a cover of “Heroes”. ---
### Author: ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/50 "2008-11-11T16:04:23Z")
I’ll add “Tokyo” and “Coldest Night of the Year” to Bruce Cockburn’s list. Cockburn was pretty prolific in the last 70s and early 80s. ---
### Author: ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/51 "2008-11-11T16:16:16Z")
Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town Escape Club - Wild Wild West Deee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart The Fixx - Saved by Zero / Red Skies / Secret Separation / Stand or Fall / One Thing Leads to Another / Are We Ourselves Jan Hammer - Miami Vice Theme Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F. Lipps, Inc. - Funkytown The Vapors - Turning Japanese Joey Scarbury - Believe It or Not Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy Tony Basil - Mickey Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever Peter Schilling - Major Tom Icicle Works - Whisper to a Scream Timbuk 3 - The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades When in Rome - The Promise ---
### Author: ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign) #### Post date: [November 11, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/52 "2008-11-11T22:04:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I doubt whether anybody my age (47) could name a single member of Focus, or a single Focus song besides “Hocus Pocus.” > > But that one song was a classic, even if the guys in the band were serious prog-rockers who regarded that track as a goof. Thjis Van Leer; Jan Akkerman; Bert Ruiter; Pierre Van der Linden (from memory) \ no, misspelled Thijs. But I’m 51, not 47. I wonder if the same age group would remember the song [Sylvia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OznS7X9BOxs&feature=related)? I remember hearing it a lot around the same time as “Hocus Pocus” although it obviously didn’t last as long in people’s memory. If you want to hear something really special, try and find a copy of Jan Akkerman’s “Streetwalker”. Oh here! I found it. [Streetwalker](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjPlnWCGMIw) Oh yeah, the OP. How 'bout Jon Butcher - [Wishes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcqX-e9cOSs) Head East - [Never Been Any Reason](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zFrfHI-cN8) Ozark Mountain Daredevils - [Jackie Blue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELKOXwG51ac) Outlaws - [Green Grass And High Tides](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R82OM5tzcrk) Sugarloaf - [Green Eyed Lady](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc1PHk9FhIk&feature=related) (unrelated dancing girl video SFW) Pure Prairie League - [Amie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4xp2lgiAjY&feature=related) Michael Shrieve - [Spellbinder](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzuGQLTcK1A) (okay, this one doesn’t really fit. I just like it.) ---
### 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: [November 12, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/53 "2008-11-12T00:03:03Z")
How 'bout Steelers Wheel? I’m sure they’re big in Europe-- or were, I don’t know-- but here in the US their known for Stuck in the Middle With You. Some will probably know the Absolutely Fabulous theme song too. But not many. ---
### Author: ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/54 "2008-11-12T00:21:53Z")
“Smokin’ in the Boys Room” by Brownsville Station “Locomotion” by Little Eva “Na Na, Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodboy” by Steam “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by the Tokens “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry ---
### Author: ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/55 "2008-11-12T00:43:35Z")
> [@DfrntBreign](#): > > Oh yeah, the OP. How 'bout > > Head East - [Never Been Any Reason](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zFrfHI-cN8) > Ozark Mountain Daredevils - [Jackie Blue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELKOXwG51ac) > Sugarloaf - [Green Eyed Lady](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc1PHk9FhIk&feature=related) (unrelated dancing girl video SFW) > Pure Prairie League - [Amie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4xp2lgiAjY&feature=related) I’m old, I’d’ve known all of those. Name this band: [King of Wishful Thinking](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=50:3jfrxqwrldse~T) (best recognized from the soundtrack of Pretty Woman. Go West Name this band: [Perfect Way](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=50:wxfuxx9sldje~T). Scritti Politi Name this band, whose most well-known song, [Baby Come Back](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=50:w9fpxq85ldte~P), is featured in a bunch of new commercials these days Player ---
### Author: ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/56 "2008-11-12T03:17:29Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > He’s also Anthony Stewart Head’s brother. Congratulations on blowing my mind. ---
### Author: ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/57 "2008-11-12T08:27:17Z")
This one is more for people familiar with memes, but… Dragostea Din Tea or “Numa Numa” (or, if you’re really picky your Romanian, “nu ma nu ma”) is done by O-Zone,\* who were actually quite a hit in Europe from what I understand, but most people here know them as… well, they’ve never heard of them but they CERTAINLY know “that song in a weird language that fat kid danced to.” \*Or Haiducii in Italian, but 99% of people heard the O-Zone version. ---
### Author: ![Shecky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shecky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shecky) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/58 "2008-11-12T12:50:12Z")
Ray Parker Jr. - “Ghostbusters” Live - Despite having a lot of great songs, people only know them for “Lightning Crashes” ---
### Author: ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/59 "2008-11-12T14:00:27Z")
Joan Osborne - “One of Us” Eagle Eye Cherry - “Save Tonight” Blind Melon - “No Rain” Norman Greenbaum - “Spirit in the Sky” Mungo Jerry - “Summertime” ---
### Author: ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor) #### Post date: [November 12, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021/60 "2008-11-12T14:03:11Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > When in Rome - The Promise Hell yeah. This song plays at the very end of _Napoleon Dynamite_. That’s the first time I ever heard it, and now I love it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relatively-obscure-bands-with-one-or-two-instantly-recognizable-hits/472021.md?page=4)