I’ve gotta agree that a LOT of the people mentioned here were not one-hit wonders. Jeff Healy had a number of hits, especially in Canada. A-Ha was BIG for a long time around the start of the video revolution. .38 Special has had a number of hits over a 20-year career. So did Stephen Bishop.
Here’s a couple more that should qualify:
The Starland Vocal Band - “Afternoon Delight”
Hamilton, Joe, Frank, and Reynolds - “Don’t Pull Your Love Out”
It’s possible that was their only pop hit (though I doubt it, I was too young then for it to register but I KNOW I knew LOTS of their songs long before I went country), but in the '80s they were big in country. Other songs by them that I knew, at least:
“I’ll Still Be Loving You”
“Why Does It Have To Be (Wrong or Right)”
“Tell Me What You Dream”
You mean we didn’t learn the first time? We had to take summer school four times?
Ok, ok, so I’ve been wrong an almost EVERYTHING I posted to this thread. Let’s start a new thread: Bands that should’ve been one-hit wonders, were there a god.
The title of that song is just Kyrie.
They also had hits with Is It Love, Broken Wings, Stand and Deliver, and Something Real(Inside of You/Inside of Me).
Al Stewart - “The Year of the Cat”
Those were by them? Oh my! I’ve heard those songs before but never knew who they were performed by. And I never considered they were all done by the same artist. Neat!
And she adds: a-ha had a second top-40 song in the US as well: “The Sun Always Shines on TV”.
Sam Stone, I’ve got to bust you TWICE:
Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds - Had another, bigger hit after Don’t Pull Your Love. That hit was a Billboard #1 in America–Fallin’ in Love.
Al Stewart - ALso went top 20 with Time Passages.
Xtnjohnson, sorry, but I like Wang Chung’s brand of pap. What can I say?
Also, for whoever mentioned Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz: both Fox on the Run and the AOR classic
Love is Like Oxygen were top-ten U.S. hits for Sweet.
…
Legit one-hitters (AFAIK):
1970s
Tighter by Alive & Kicking
Let Your Love Flow by the Bellamy Brothers
All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople
Rock On by David Essex
Fool, If You Think It’s Over by Chris Rea
1980s
Funky Town by Lipps, Inc.
Centipede by Rebbie Jackson
White Horse by Laid Back
Send Me an Angel by Real Life
I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are(title?) by Book of Love
Waiting for a Star to Fall by (I forgot! Girl/guy duo)
Falco (R.I.P.) was actually a two-hit wonder (sort of). As mentioned, he hit it big with Amadeus. He ALSO had a hit song with Der Kommisar. It was originally aired in Germany and the US in German. Not too long after, fellow one-hit wonder After the Fire did an American version which is what you really hear anymore.
I think most of the ones I was going to mention were mentioned, but a couple that I think were missed (so many threads):
The Tubes - She’s a Beauty
Animotion - Obsession
Biz Markee - She’s Just a Friend (how can you forget his soothing, haunting voice)
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
Boomtown Rats - Don’t Like Mondays (based on actual events)
Corey Hart - Sunglasses at Night
Dee Lite - Groove is in the Heart
Aqua - Barbie Girl (they had a bit of airplay with a couple of other songs, but nothing compared to this one)
EMF - Unbelievable
Gary Numan - Cars
Harold Faltemeyer - Axel F (from Beverly Hills Cop)
Herbie Hancock - Rockit
M - Pop Muzik
Michael Penn - No Myth
Nails - 88 Lines about 44 Women
Paul Hardcastle - 19
Slade - Run Runaway (see chameleon lying there in the sun)
Knack - My Sherona
Vapors - Turning Japanese
I have these on CD and compiled them, and many of the previously mentioned 80’s titles on a single CD in MP3 format (170 songs on one CD). Oh, and my usual internet handle is Tommy Tutone =)
Corey Hart - Not just Sunglasses at Night, but also Never Surrender was a very big hit.
Bonnie Tyler - Also It’s a Heartache and Holding Out For a Hero.
The Knack - also, Good Girls Don’t hit top 10.
Actually, Mr. Stewart also had
**Time Passages **, a #7 hit in 1978,
Song on the Radio reached #29 in 1979 and
Midnight Rocks topped out at #24 in 1980
If you like his stuff, I highly recommend finding a copy of the out of print “Rhymes in Rooms” CD, a live show set with Peter White that includes several of the above.
On the other hand
Amii Stewart reached #1 in February, 1979, and didn’t chart again
Albert Rose:
He also had “Foolish Heart.” And I’m pretty sure there was another one of his, much later…around 1993 or so, but I can’t recall the title.
Chaim Mattis Keller
Did anyone say In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus), by the popular duo Zager and Evans?
Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C. Riley
Perhaps even the song {b]Convoy**, but I can’t think of the singer right now.
CW MaColl did “Convoy”
** Slade ** also did the original versions of “Cum on Feel the Noize” and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (both of them spelled approximately correctly). As an aside, Robert Hazard wrote “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, which was covered by Cyndi Lauper.
The ultimate question is can we consider “Western Union” by that bunch of has beens **The Five Americans ** a one hit or a none hit band? :flees aha’s wrath;
Keith
The Bellamy Brothers also had hits with: “Old Hippie,” “Kids of The Baby Boom.” If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body… (no need to even finish that double entendre), and I think they’ve gone straight country and have had even more hits in that genre.
Sir
People, People, you’re missing the best one hit wonder ever. Ice Ice Baby! Don’t laugh, you know you like it!
“Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill
“Alone Again, Naturally” by Gilbert O’Sullivan
Brewha, Saltire:
Vanilla Ice - honestly, he may as well be a one-hit guy. Technically, however, Play That Funky Music did piggyback Ice, Ice Baby to the #4 slot on the American Top 40.
Gilbert O’Sullivan: In 1972, the follow-up to Alone Again (Naturally), Clair somehow hit #2 in the U.S… The following year, he had a #7 hit with Get Down, a #17 with Out of the Question, and a #25 with Ooh Baby.
But after that, O’Sullivan pulled one of the all-time great disappearing acts.
Dan Hill: A two-hit wonder. He hit #7 in 1987 in a duet with Ally McBeal’s Vonda Shepard titled Can’t We Try.
…
Some more one-hitters:
Mountain - Mississippi Queen
Vicki Lawrence - The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (#1 in 1973, a cover of the Gladys Knight original)
B.W. Stevenon - My Maria (#9 in 1973, since covered by Brooks & Dunn)
Johnny Lee - Lookin’ For Love (#5 on the AT40 in 1980, from the Urban Cowboy soundtrack)
Moving Pictures - What About Me?
Danny Wilson - Mary’s Prayer
L.A. Guns - The Ballad of Jayne
I hardly think foreign bands who happened to get credit once in the States should count (e.g. Falco, A-ha, Midnight Oil, Los Del Rio). In fact, the ones who produced lots of great music but fell to the whims of a fickle public are highly questionable. And don’t get me started on non-pop bands who have only one “mainstream” hit (hello, Everything But the Girl!) IMHO, a real] one hit wonder is a complete flash in the pan, someone who was never known for anything else.
Anyhoo…some of the more memorable ones.
Johnny Hates Jazz, Shattered Dreams. Standard bitter breakup song. Even more standard complete fade into oblivion afterward.
Sheriff, When I’m With You. Somewhat sappy love song a la REO Speedwagon or Chicago. Dunno why some hit it big and some don’t.
Take That, Back For Good. A pretty good pop single from a “boy band” that never caught on. And this was well before the enormous backlash began.
After the Fire, Der Komissar. Somewhat confusing Americanized version of Falco’s hit. Never heard from again afterward. (Note: A “kommissar”, in the early 20th century, was a Soviet official assigned to enforce Communism amongst the masses. From what I’ve heard, they weren’t too popular.)
Chumbawamba, Tubthumping. The funny thing is, they never even wanted to have a hit 'cause they’re anarchists. Fight the power, don’t accept anything from The Man, etc. The Man deigned to give them their big break regardless.
Boy Meets Girl, Waiting For a Star to Fall. Beautiful song. Moving but not sappy and great to listen to.
Soul Sister, The Way to Your Heart. Would have never even heard of this song if a couple of radio hosts didn’t have a real fondness for it. I never found any of their albums in any store, and this was the only song of theirs I could ever find anywhere.
And before anyone even mentions M.C. Hammer, remember, 2 Legit 2 Quit was a pretty big follow-up to U Can’t Touch This. (I kinda miss him…he was the first rapper I actually liked.)
As long as we are pointing out all the two-hit wonders (and there are a lot of them), here are a couple:
General Public, Tenderness and I’ll Take You There. Britpop band. Saw about half of the music video for the former once in my life. Never heard once on the radio. Heard the latter from a commercial which I don’t even remember. Both songs now on my computer. I love this modern age. 
Tracy Chapman, Fast Car and Give Me One Reason. Remarkable mainly because so much time passed between them (same for Never Surrender and Sunglasses at Night).
It’s bizarre the kind of songs that become hit… I have eight Aqua songs on my computer right now, and as far as I’m concerned they all absolutely blow Barbie Girl out of the water. I also liked Cross My Heart a lot better than the too-freaking-confusing-to-be-depressing Toy Soldiers. (And HOW the hell is it supposed to be about drug addiction??)
Just a footnote: I watched a few one hit wonder specials on VH1. If you have the time to watch one, do; they’re real eye-openers. It’s amazing how many bands had a great thing going and then just broke up for some stupid reason.
That one song by the French 5 year old (or something of the sorts) Don’t remember the name of the song, but it went something along the lines of Oo-la-la La Baby (Baybay more like)