# What one-hit-wonder songs were actually really good, even GREAT, songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148 "2007-11-29T05:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/201 "2007-12-07T06:11:30Z")
“Strokin’” by Clarence Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/202 "2007-12-07T07:05:18Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] Rock and Roll, Part 2 was also commonly played, but the anti Gary Glitter crowd has all but eliminated that song from the playlist. [/QUOTE] I imagine that the anti-Gary Glitter crowd would include the UK police (based on his UK conviction for copious quantities of child porn) and the Cambodian and Vietnamese cops as well (based on his convictions for child sexual abuse). Probably doesn’t make lots of sports teams want to contribute to his royalty payments. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/203 "2008-09-08T01:35:24Z")
It’s been mentioned above, but just to second it, “Lovefool” by The Cardigans was actually a fantastic piece of pop, even if it _was_ played to death at the time. [I don’t know if it’s technically a one-hit wonder or not…] ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/204 "2008-09-08T02:07:18Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > “Strokin’” by Clarence Carter. Clarence Carter actually had several Top 40 hits in the US (“Patches” and “Slip Away” are probably the most familiar), and this isn’t one of them. (I’d link, but I’m having problems finding a clear single chart listing.) ---
**Author:** ![Momofgirls](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/momofgirls/32/21798_2.png) [@Momofgirls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momofgirls)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/205 "2008-09-08T02:29:14Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > “Amie” by Pure Prairie League. Surely a nice country-rock song like that would come from a great album? Nope. They had another hit in 1980 (“Let Me Love You Tonight”). It peaked at #10, and was in the Top 40 for eleven weeks. Vince Gill was their lead singer at the time! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/206 "2008-09-08T11:44:54Z")
“Zombie” by the Cranberries was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/207 "2008-09-08T12:17:37Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:206, topic:428148”] “Zombie” by the Cranberries was pretty good. [/QUOTE] Not a one-hit. “Linger” peaked at #8 on the US charts, and “Dreams” hit #38 on the Top 40 in 1994. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/208 "2008-09-08T12:24:05Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Not a one-hit. “Linger” peaked at #8 on the US charts, and “Dreams” hit #38 on the Top 40 in 1994. You got whooshed. (Check the date on post #202). ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/209 "2008-09-08T14:23:21Z")
More '80s The Kings - _The Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide_ The Records - _[Starry Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8-tYFRF9A0)_ ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/210 "2008-09-08T14:35:32Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > _Along Comes Mary_ by The Association (1966. They’re not a one-hit wonder, though. Remember _Windy_? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/211 "2008-09-08T14:43:30Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > You got whooshed. (Check the date on post #202). :smack: ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/212 "2008-09-08T14:52:50Z")
Took me a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/213 "2008-09-08T20:02:34Z")
I know absolutely nothing about music, but I do like _“Tell Me”_ by Groove Theory. Never heard of them before or since. Out of curiosity _is_ this a one hit wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/214 "2008-09-08T20:47:34Z")
Whoa, this was a zombie thread I resurrected?! I have no idea how I even came across it in the first place if it wasn’t staring at me from the front page 😕. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/215 "2008-09-08T21:30:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In retrospect I think all these songs blow: > > “Mickey” by Toni Basil > **“867-5309” by Tommy Tutone** > “In the Year 2525” by Zager & Evans (the worst song ever) > **“Tainted Love,” Soft Cel, which was actually a cover** > “Ice Ice Baby,” Vanilla Ice > “Major Tom,” Peter Schilling > **“Somebody’s Watching Me,” Rockwell** > The other day I was listening to “Steal my Sunshine” by Len, a one hit wonder if there ever was one, and I thought; you know, this a decent song. It’s not genius, but it’s catchy and not at all irritating. The songs I have bolded are actually quite good as pop songs. Granted, “867-5309” as performed by Tommy Tutone was still inchoate; you are perhaps right to say that rendition blows. I recommend instead [Zayra Alvarez’s cover.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xTRAU1cnjo);)Further, you claim that"Steal My Sunshine" is “not at all irritating”? What color is the sky in your world? All that said, I have to say that [“Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut09zkRoG0g) blows away the whole rest of her eponymous album. There’s some principle here about doing one song in a different & smoother style, with better production, than the rest of the album. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/216 "2008-09-08T21:33:54Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > All that said, I have to say that [“Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut09zkRoG0g) blows away the whole rest of her eponymous album. There’s some principle here about doing one song in a different & smoother style, with better production, than the rest of the album. There’s gotta be a law dealing with that, the REST of Danny Wilson’s album was nothing like Mary’s Prayer: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b3CYUCBnYE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b3CYUCBnYE) Much to the chagrin of this podunk town youth that special ordered the tape. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/217 "2008-09-08T21:34:23Z")
Just curious. How long can a resurrected zombie thread stay open? I thought all zombie threads got closed fairly quickly. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/218 "2008-09-08T21:53:17Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Just curious. How long can a resurrected zombie thread stay open? I thought all zombie threads got closed fairly quickly. That rule can [legitimately be stretched in Cafe Society](http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6769982&postcount=7). ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/219 "2008-09-08T22:24:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That rule can [legitimately be stretched in Cafe Society](http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6769982&postcount=7). Well, I violated the first bullet point there… ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-one-hit-wonder-songs-were-actually-really-good-even-great-songs/428148/220 "2008-09-08T23:20:27Z")
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