# What are your favorite one-hit wonders? (gathering nominations for a possible poll) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602 "2018-09-19T21:14:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/21 "2018-09-20T02:08:55Z")
Since I have two more: Spirit – I Got a Line on You. Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth Spirit’s song was an college radio hit, but did reach #25 on the charts. Buffalo Springfield released other singles, but the best they got on the charts was #44. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/22 "2018-09-20T02:19:37Z")
So Alive – Love and Rockets Unbelievable – EMF ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/23 "2018-09-20T02:42:06Z")
(Eumir) Deodato - Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) [45 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPVsncF1_s); [album version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_6Uy6hE65U) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/24 "2018-09-20T03:35:07Z")
I’m going to second “This Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide” by the Kings. “Driver’s Seat” by Sniff 'n The Tears “Der Kommissar” but After The Fire “Black Betty” by Ram Jam “What Do All The People Know?” by the Monroes ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/25 "2018-09-20T03:56:51Z")
Fountains of Wanye - Stacy’s Mom Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight Another in the “One Hit _In the US_” category: Madness - Our House And I’ll second: Men Without Hats - Safety Dance Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/26 "2018-09-20T04:11:23Z")
“Girl of My Dreams”, Bram Tchaikovsky “Children of the Sun”, Billy Thorpe (the original, not the remix) “Crash”, the Primitives (again, the original) I’m sure I can think of some others that haven’t already been mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/27 "2018-09-20T04:28:59Z")
Posters should give a URL for each song. Several lists have been done. > **[One-hit wonder | Music industry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-hit_wonder#Music_industry)** > > In The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, music journalist Wayne Jancik defines a one-hit wonder as "an act that has won a position on \[the\] national, pop, Top 40 record chart just once." > This formal definition can include acts with greater success outside their lone pop hit and who are not typically considered one-hit wonders, while at the same time excluding acts who have multiple hits which have been overshadowed by one signature song, or those performers who never hit the top 40, but had exa... I like Four Jacks and a Jill: Master Jack [They were a South African group but this was their only hit in the U.S.] ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/28 "2018-09-20T04:31:22Z")
Take on me - A-ha Torn - Natalie Imbruglia I just died in your arms tonight - cutting crew Save tonight - eagle eye cherry I’m not sure if those are one hit wonders or not. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/29 "2018-09-20T04:36:50Z")
Seconding: Focus - Hocus Pocus Fountains of Wayne - Stacy’s Mom Adding: Disclosure - [Latch](https://youtu.be/93ASUImTedo) Tasmin Archer - [Sleeping Satellite](https://youtu.be/yGL2lcaRYqk) The Beta Band - [Dry the Rain](https://youtu.be/DS0hSP-3U14) (Those are UK artists, but the one-hit-wonderness (and even which one (if any) is the one hit) is US-centric.) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/30 "2018-09-20T04:39:20Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > **Blur** , [Song no.2](https://youtu.be/SSbBvKaM6sk) [As always, these “one hit wonder” surveys need to specify “in the US”. Blur were _huge_.](http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/19177/blur/) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/31 "2018-09-20T10:18:41Z")
I’ll second Tommy Tutone, Men Without Hats, and Natalie Imbruglia, and add Chumbawumba, “Tubthumping” and The Knack, “My Sharona.” ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/32 "2018-09-20T11:07:04Z")
Some of these groups may have had more than one hit in some markets, but are best known in the Anglosphere for one single: The Open Mind - Magic Potion Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta Focus - Hocus Pocus Procul Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/33 "2018-09-20T11:08:40Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” by Crash Test Dummies. This one is a weird personal favorite. [Jeremy Renner](https://www.jeremyleerenner.com/1122-jeremy-singing-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-as-heard-during-the-end-credits-of-tag) does a really nice version over the end credits of the recent movie _Tag_. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/34 "2018-09-20T11:14:34Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [As always, these “one hit wonder” surveys need to specify “in the US”. Blur were _huge_.](http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/19177/blur/) Yep. And Song 2 wasn’t even their highest-charting single in the US. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/35 "2018-09-20T11:27:26Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Outstanding selection, wish I had thought of it. Has it been seconded? If not, I’ll second Hurricane Smith, also The Raspberries ‘go all the way’ and “Driver’s Seat” Sniff n the Tears If it’s a one-hit wonder, then I nominate Redbone “Come and Get your love” Weather girls “It’s raining men” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/36 "2018-09-20T12:05:37Z")
[The Pipkins “Gimme Dat Ding”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEy615Jzg4) ---
**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 20, 2018, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/37 "2018-09-20T12:09:37Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Yep. And Song 2 wasn’t even their highest-charting single in the US. Not even their first or second highest-charting single! (Song #2 didn’t even crack the top 100, and even just considering the alternative charts, it was only the third-best. “Girls & Boys” and “There’s No Other Way” outperformed it chart-wise. I know their stuff reasonably well, and in today’s playlists I’m by far most likely to hear Song #2, then maybe “Girls & Boys,” and I can’t remember the last time I heard “There’s No Other Way” on the radio.) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/38 "2018-09-20T12:23:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Not even their first or second highest-charting single! (Song #2 didn’t even crack the top 100, and even just considering the alternative charts, it was only the third-best. “Girls & Boys” and “There’s No Other Way” outperformed it chart-wise. I know their stuff reasonably well, and in today’s playlists I’m by far most likely to hear Song #2, then maybe “Girls & Boys,” and I can’t remember the last time I heard “There’s No Other Way” on the radio.) I choked on my lunch on that one - I’d been wincing at the mention of artists like Dexy’s and Gary Numan - both highly successful - but BLUR! To a Brit, that’s like saying The Who were a one hit wonder. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/39 "2018-09-20T12:29:44Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I choked on my lunch on that one - I’d been wincing at the mention of artists like Dexy’s and Gary Numan - both highly successful - but BLUR! To a Brit, that’s like saying The Who were a one hit wonder. **Dexy’s** had only one hit in the US. We had a mention of the \*\*Grateful Dead \*\*and while technically correct, it was very odd as the group was hugely successful for 30+ years. Also I had assumed Truckin’ was a hit at some point but it only reached #64 on the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602/40 "2018-09-20T12:42:10Z")
Seconding T’Pau’s _Heart and Soul_, and Starland Vocal Band’s _Afternoon Delight_. Then I’m gonna post my five and if they don’t make the cut, that’s cool: _She Blinded Me With Science_, Thomas Dolby _Running Up That Hill_, Kate Bush (only hit in the US) _One Tin Soldier_, Coven _One Night in Bangkok_, Murray Head _What’s Up_, 4 Non Blondes [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-one-hit-wonders-gathering-nominations-for-a-possible-poll/821602.md?page=3)